Remotely controlled motile device system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10197998-B2
Application number	US-201615385728-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 20, 2016
Priority date	Dec 27, 2015
Publication date	Feb 5, 2019
Grant date	Feb 5, 2019

Abstract

A remotely controlled motile device system comprises a remotely controlled motile device, and a mobile smart device that comprises a data processor operatively connected to a display screen, a memory, a user input interface, a camera, and a wireless transceiver. The memory stores computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the data processor, cause the mobile smart device to capture images of an optical reference background and the remotely controlled motile device, present the images on the display screen, register a target position relative to the optical reference background and entered via the user input interface, determine a pose of the remotely controlled motile device relative to the optical reference background, and transmit commands to the remotely controlled motile device to move to the target position.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A remotely controlled motile device system, comprising:
a remotely controlled motile device; and
a mobile smart device, comprising a data processor operatively connected to a display screen, a memory, a user input interface, a camera, and a wireless transceiver, wherein the memory stores computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the data processor, cause the mobile smart device to capture images via the camera of an optical reference background and the remotely controlled motile device, present the images on the display screen, register a target position relative to the optical reference background and entered via the user input interface, determine a pose of the remotely controlled motile device relative to the optical reference background at least partially based on at least one of the captured images, and transmit commands via the wireless transceiver to the remotely controlled motile device to move to the target position.

2. A remotely controlled motile device system according to claim 1 , wherein the mobile smart device registers the target position received via the user input interface in two dimensions.

3. A remotely controlled motile device system according to claim 1 , wherein the mobile smart device comprises a touch screen that registers the target position received via the user input interface as a point one of at and above a surface of the optical reference background.

4. A remotely controlled motile device system according to claim 1 , wherein the mobile smart device comprises a touch screen that registers the target position received via the user input interface as a point along a surface of the optical reference background.

5. A remotely controlled motile device system according to claim 1 , wherein the mobile smart device registers the target position received via the user input interface in three dimensions.

6. A remotely controlled motile device system according to claim 1 , wherein the remotely controlled motile device comprises a set of fiducial points, and the computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the data processor, cause the mobile smart device to implement a visual pose estimator that comprises a blob tracker that determines the pose of the remotely controlled motile device by detecting the set of fiducial points relative to the optical reference background.

7. A remotely controlled motile device system according to claim 1 , wherein the remotely controlled motile device comprises a set of fiducial points, and the computer-readable instructions, when executed by the data processor, cause the mobile smart device to implement a visual pose estimator that comprises a surface design tracker which determines the pose of the remotely controlled motile device based on the surface design of the remotely controlled motile device relative to the optical reference background.

8. A remotely controlled motile device system according to claim 1 , wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed by the data processor, cause the mobile smart device to determine the commands to move the remotely controlled motile device to the target position.

9. A remotely controlled motile device system, comprising:
a remotely controlled motile device; and
a mobile smart device, comprising a data processor operatively connected to a memory, a camera, and a wireless transceiver, wherein the memory stores computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the data processor, cause the mobile smart device to capture images via the camera of the remotely controlled motile device, determine a pose of the remotely controlled motile device relative to the mobile smart device at least partially based on at least one of the captured images, and transmit commands via the wireless transceiver to the remotely controlled motile device to rotate the remotely controlled motile device to a set orientation relative to one of the orientation and the position of the mobile smart device.

10. A remotely controlled motile device system according to claim 9 , wherein the mobile smart device comprises a user input interface, and wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed by the mobile smart device, cause the mobile smart device to receive commands to translate the remotely controlled motile device via the user input interface and to transmit the commands to the remotely controlled motile device.

11. A remotely controlled motile device system according to claim 10 , wherein the remotely controlled motile device is a flying remotely controlled motile device.

12. A remotely controlled motile device system according to claim 10 , wherein the user interface comprises a control for launching and landing the remotely controlled motile device without further player intervention.

13. A remotely controlled motile device system according to claim 10 , wherein the flying remotely controlled motile device hovers stably without player intervention.

14. A remotely controlled motile device system according to claim 9 , wherein the remotely controlled motile device comprises at least three fiducial points, and wherein the mobile smart device determines the pose of the remotely controlled motile device using the at least three fiducial points.

15. A remotely controlled motile device system according to claim 9 , wherein the mobile smart device comprises an orientation sensor for registering changes in the orientation of the mobile smart device.

16. A remotely controlled motile device system according to claim 9 , wherein the remotely controlled motile device comprises an inertial measurement unit, wherein the remotely controlled motile device transmits inertial data captured via the inertial measurement unit to the mobile smart device, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions causes the mobile smart device to implement an inertial dead reckoning estimator that generates inertial pose estimates using the inertial data, and to determine the pose of the remotely controlled motile device by augmenting the visual pose estimates with the inertial pose estimates.

Assignees

• Spin Master Ltd

Inventors

• Steele Edwin
• Shivas Michael

Classifications

• B64U2101/30

  for imaging, photography or videography · CPC title

• B64U2201/20

  Remote controls · CPC title

• B64C2201/027

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B64C2201/146

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B64C2201/127

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic