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Sony patents sensor placement method to avoid object interference

Sony describes a system that uses two probes to send and receive electrical signals through a material. It calculates how much of the signal gets through to detect if an object is blocking the path, allowing the sensor to be positioned where it won't be hit by moving items.

Why it mattersThis could help farmers use moisture sensors more accurately by keeping them away from crops or machinery, potentially saving water.

In the filing’s own words

[Object] To place a sensor apparatus at a position that is free from impacts of objects to improve the measurement accuracy. [Solving Means] An information processing apparatus includes a transmission coefficient calculator that calculates a transmission coefficient from a time waveform of a transmitted wave that is transmitted through the first region in a medium and received by a receiver that receives the transmitted wave, the transmitted wave being from among incident waves that are transmitted by a transmitter that transmits an electric signal including the incident wave to one of a pair of probes each including an antenna, the region in the medium being situated between probes of the pair of probes; and a determination section that determines whether an object is situated in a specified range in the medium with respect to the pair of probes, on the basis of the transmission coefficient. Water spraying on crops can also be controlled according to a result of measurement performed by a moisture sensor. This could result in contributing toward using water more efficiently in the field of agriculture.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An information processing apparatus, comprising: a transmission coefficient calculator that calculates a transmission coefficient from a time waveform of a transmitted wave that is transmitted through a region in a medium and received by a receiver that receives the transmitted wave, the transmitted wave being from among incident waves that are transmitted by a transmitter that transmits an electric signal including the incident wave to one of a pair of probes each including an antenna, the region in the medium being situated between probes of the pair of probes; and a determination section that determines whether an object is situated in a specified range in the medium with respect to the pair of probes, on a basis of the transmission coefficient.

Facts

Company
Sony (SONY GROUP CORPORATION)
Official title
INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, AND INFORMATION PROCESSING PROGRAM
Publication number
US20260266796A1
Application number
18725031
Filed
Dec 26, 2022
Published
Sep 10, 2026
Inventors
3
Claims
33

Classified under

G01N 33/1886 Physics & computingG01N 33/246 Physics & computingG16Y 10/05 Physics & computingG16Y 20/10 Physics & computingG16Y 40/10 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.