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NvidiaPatent applicationRobots & automationInterest 6/10

Nvidia patents robot speed control using time-space maps

Nvidia describes a method for mobile robots to determine safe speeds by analyzing maps of their environment. The system creates a visual model of the path over time, searching for a speed pattern that avoids obstacles without hitting speed limits.

Why it mattersThis approach helps robots navigate complex spaces more smoothly by planning their speed in advance rather than just reacting to obstacles.

In the filing’s own words

In various examples, a technique for generating speed change decisions for a mobile robot includes identifying, using one or more maps of a physical environment, one or more obstacles associated with one or more portions of a path of the mobile robot in the physical environment. The technique also includes generating, based at least on the one or more obstacles, one or more speed constraints, each speed constraint specifying a speed limit for a respective portion of the path. The technique further includes generating one or more speed change decisions specifying actions to be performed by the mobile robot to cause a speed profile of the mobile robot to satisfy the one or more speed constraints.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A method, comprising: identifying, using one or more maps of a physical environment, one or more obstacles associated with one or more portions of a path of a mobile robot in the physical environment; generating, based at least on the one or more obstacles, one or more speed constraints, each speed constraint specifying a speed limit for a respective portion of the path; and generating one or more speed change decisions specifying actions to be performed by the mobile robot to cause a speed profile of the mobile robot to satisfy the one or more speed constraints, wherein generating the one or more speed change decisions comprises: generating a representation of a path time-space region having a spatial dimension based at least on a length of the path and a time dimension based at least on a time of travel along the path, the path time-space region including a time-space representation of each speed constraint; searching the path time-space region for a particular speed profile that does not intersect the time-space representations of the speed constraints; and generating the one or more speed change decisions based at least on the particular speed profile.

Facts

Company
Nvidia (NVIDIA Corporation)
Official title
SPEED DETERMINATION IN ROBOTICS SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS
Publication number
US20260295828A1
Application number
19702960
Filed
Jun 9, 2026
Published
Oct 1, 2026
Inventors
5
Claims
1

Classified under

B25J 9/1651 Operations & transportB25J 9/1666 Operations & transportB25J 13/089 Operations & transport
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.