Optical detection apparatus and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9848112-B2
Application number	US-201414321736-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 1, 2014
Priority date	Jul 1, 2014
Publication date	Dec 19, 2017
Grant date	Dec 19, 2017

Abstract

An optical object detection apparatus and associated methods. The apparatus may comprise a lens (e.g., fixed-focal length wide aperture lens) and an image sensor. The fixed focal length of the lens may correspond to a depth of field area in front of the lens. When an object enters the depth of field area (e.g., due to a relative motion between the object and the lens) the object representation on the image sensor plane may be in-focus. Objects outside the depth of field area may be out of focus. In-focus representations of objects may be characterized by a greater contrast parameter compared to out of focus representations. One or more images provided by the detection apparatus may be analyzed in order to determine useful information (e.g., an image contrast parameter) of a given image. Based on the image contrast meeting one or more criteria, a detection indication may be produced.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of navigating a trajectory by a robotic apparatus comprising a controller, an actuator and a sensor, the method comprising:
obtaining at least one image associated with surroundings of the apparatus using the sensor, the sensor comprising two or more discrete image detectors, each of the two or more discrete image detectors sharing a common lens and being associated with respective two or more areas of focus, the two or more areas of focus corresponding to two or more respective extents in the surroundings;
analyzing the at least one image to determine a contrast parameter of the at least one image;
detecting a presence of an object in the at least one image based at least in part on the contrast parameter meeting one or more criteria;
during the navigating of the trajectory by the robotic apparatus, determining a distance to the object when the presence of the object produces an in-focus representation within a given extent of the two or more extents in the surroundings; and
causing the controller to activate the actuator based on the detection of the presence of the object;
wherein the actuator activation is configured consistent with a characteristic of the object.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the robotic apparatus comprises a vehicle;
the object comprises one of a target or an obstacle; and
the actuator activation comprises causing the vehicle to perform at least one of a target approach action or an obstacle avoidance action.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein:
the characteristic of the object comprises a distance of a camera to the object;
for the target approach action, the actuator activation comprises reducing the distance; and
for the obstacle avoidance action, the actuator activation comprises increasing the distance.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein:
the trajectory is characterized by motion direction;
the characteristic of the object comprises a location of the object with respect to the camera;
for the target approach action, the actuator activation comprises adjusting the motion towards the location; and
for the obstacle avoidance action, the actuator activation comprises adjusting the motion away from the location.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the selective activation comprises an activation of one or more actions by the actuator which comprises causing the apparatus to either increase or decrease proximity of the apparatus to the object.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising producing the respective two or more areas of focus by disposing the each of the two or more discrete image detectors sharing the common lens at an angle relative to the common lens.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the causing of the controller to activate the actuator comprises causing the robotic apparatus to execute a physical task relevant to the surroundings.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the analyzing the at least one image to determine the contrast parameter comprises obtaining a high-pass filtered version of the at least one image.

9. A method of navigating a robotic apparatus comprising a controller, an actuator and a sensor, the method comprising:
obtaining, through a lens, at least one image associated with surroundings of the apparatus using the sensor, the sensor comprising a plurality of image detectors disposed at an angle with respect to a plane of the lens, each of the plurality of image detectors being associated with an extent located in the surroundings;
analyzing the at least one image to detect a presence of one or more objects in the at least one image;
during the navigating of the robotic apparatus, detecting a distance to the one or more objects based on the presence of at least one of the one or more objects within the extent located in the surroundings;
determining that the detected object comprises one of either a target or an obstacle; and
causing the controller to selectively activate the actuator based on the determination.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising producing one or more areas of focus with the plurality of image detectors via the angle with respect to the plane of the lens.

11. The method of claim 9 , further comprising determining a physical feature of at least one of the one or more objects.

12. The method of claim 9 , further comprising producing a high-passed version of the at least one image obtained through the lens.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising determining a contrast parameter of the high-passed version of the at least one image.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the detection of the one or more objects in the at least one image comprises a determination that the contrast parameter satisfies a threshold.

15. An apparatus configured to cause a robotic device to navigate a trajectory, the apparatus comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising a plurality of instructions configured to cause the apparatus to, when executed by a processor:
obtain an image associated with surroundings of the apparatus using a sensor of the device, the sensor comprising multiple discrete image sensors located behind a single lens, each of the multiple discrete image sensors being associated with respective extents located in the surroundings of the apparatus;
analyze the image to determine a contrast parameter of the image;
detect a presence of an object in the image based at least in part on the contrast parameter meeting one or more criteria; and
cause a controller of the device to activate an actuator of the device based on the detection of the presence of the object;
wherein the actuator is configured to be activated based on a characteristic of the object; and
wherein during the navigation of the trajectory by the robotic device, the apparatus is configured to determine (i) a first distance to the object when the presence of the object produces a first in-focus representation within a first extent of the respective extents and (ii) a second distance to the object when the presence of the object produces a second in-focus representation within a second extent of the respective extents.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein:
the characteristic of the object comprises the first or the second distance of the device to the object;
the trajectory is configured to be adjusted based on the first or the second distance to the object.

17. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of instructions are configured to cause the apparatus to, when executed by the processor, obtain a high-pass filtered version of the image.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the contrast parameter of the image comprises a contrast parameter of the high-pass filtered version of the image.

19. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the one or more criteria comprise a threshold or a detection range.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the plurality of instructions are configured to cause the apparatus to, when executed by the processor:
when the one or more criteria are met, produce an object detection indication; and
communicate the object detection indication to the controller.

Assignees

• Brain Corp

Inventors

• Piekniewski Filip
• Polonichko Vadim
• Izhikevich Eugene

Classifications

• G02B5/204 Primary

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• H04N23/45

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• H04N23/54

  Mounting of pick-up tubes, electronic image sensors, deviation or focusing coils · CPC title

• G06V20/00

  Scenes; Scene-specific elements (control of digital cameras H04N23/60) · CPC title

• G06V10/446

  using Haar-like filters, e.g. using integral image techniques · CPC title