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SonyGranted patentRobots & automationInterest 4/10

Sony patents system that helps work machines detect obstacles by angle and height

Patent drawing
Patent drawing from the official filing.

Sony has been granted a patent for a system that helps construction vehicles identify where they can safely travel. It uses distance sensors to measure the angle and height of the ground, then flags areas that are too steep or too high as obstacles.

Why it mattersThis technology could make heavy machinery like excavators and bulldozers more autonomous by allowing them to navigate uneven terrain without human intervention.

In the filing’s own words

A system detects a traveling obstacle region that is a region that obstructs traveling of a work machine. The system includes a region angle detector, a region height detector, an angle obstacle region detector, a height obstacle region detector, and a traveling obstacle region detector. The region angle detector detects an angle of a traveling surface based on a distance image around the work machine. The region height detector detects height of the traveling surface based on the distance image. The angle obstacle region detector detects an angle obstacle region that is an obstacle region based on the detected angle. The height obstacle region detector detects a height obstacle region that is an obstacle region based on the detected height. The traveling obstacle region detector detects a traveling obstacle region based on the detected angle obstacle region and the detected height obstacle region.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A system that detects a traveling obstacle region that is a region that obstructs traveling of a work machine, the system comprising: processing circuitry configured to detect an angle of a traveling surface based on a distance image around the work machine; detect a height of the traveling surface based on the distance image; detect an angle obstacle region that is an obstacle region based on the detected angle; detect a height obstacle region that is an obstacle region based on the detected height; detect a traveling obstacle region based on the detected angle obstacle region and the detected height obstacle region, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to detect the traveling obstacle region by excluding a region having a predetermined height in the detected angle obstacle region and by excluding a region having a predetermined width in the detected height obstacle region; and output the detected traveling obstacle region to an external device, the detected traveling obstacle region being a region that obstructs traveling of the work machine; and control the work machine based on the detected traveling obstacle region.

Facts

Company
Sony (Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation)
Official title
System and program
Patent number
US12747565B2
Application number
18872283
Filed
Jun 23, 2023
Granted
Sep 29, 2026
Inventors
1
Claims
8

Classified under

E02F 9/264 Buildings & constructionG05D 1/622 Physics & computingG06T 7/60 Physics & computingG05D 2105/05 Physics & computingG05D 2111/10 Physics & computing
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.