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SonyPatent applicationRobots & automationInterest 4/10

Sony patents route planning that weighs the effort to remove obstacles

Patent drawing
Patent drawing from the official filing.

Sony describes a method for planning a path for a moving object by calculating the cost to remove or bypass obstacles along the way. The system compares the effort needed to clear an obstacle against the standard cost of moving to find the best route.

Why it mattersThis approach could help robots or autonomous vehicles make smarter decisions about whether to detour around a blockage or spend energy clearing it.

In the filing’s own words

Detecting an obstacle on a route along which a mobile object is movable, on the basis of movement route planning from a start point to an end point of movement of the mobile object; deriving a resolution cost required to resolve the detected obstacle; and searching for a route from the start point to the end point of the movement of the mobile object on the basis of the resolution cost and a movement cost related to the movement of the mobile object are executed. The present technology can be applied, for example, to an information processing device, an information processing method, or a program and the like.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An information processing method comprising: detecting an obstacle on a route along which a mobile object is movable, on a basis of movement route planning from a start point to an end point of movement of the mobile object; deriving a resolution cost required to resolve the detected obstacle; and searching for a route from the start point to the end point of the movement of the mobile object on a basis of the resolution cost and a movement cost related to the movement of the mobile object.

Facts

Company
Sony (Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation)
Official title
INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD AND DEVICE
Publication number
US20260328575A1
Application number
19646578
Filed
Apr 14, 2026
Published
Oct 22, 2026
Inventors
1
Claims
20

Classified under

G01C 21/3453 Physics & computingG01C 21/3629 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.