Patent ID: 11879751
Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 16:
17. A portable inspection apparatus comprising:
a housing including a handle structure, wherein the handle structure is integrally formed with the housing;
an on-board controller module housed in the housing and comprising a processor and a memory for storing instructions;
a vision data acquisition module arranged with the housing and configured to capture images;
a lighting module arranged adjacent to the vision data acquisition module with the housing and configured to adjust intensity of light for operation of the vision data acquisition module;
a sensor module disposed with the housing and comprising a light sensor, an inertial measurement unit (IMU), and a distance sensor;
a user interface module disposed at the housing and configured to receive an input and display an output;
a wireless communication module; and
a battery module, wherein:
the on-board controller module is communicatively coupled to the vision data acquisition module, the lighting module, the sensor module, the user interface module, and the wireless communication module, and the on-board controller module is configured to:
process the image captured from the vision data acquisition module and generate inspection data as a stand-alone computing node without communication with and processing at a central node,
process measurement data from the sensor module to determine at least one of light intensity of surrounding, orientation, and distance between the housing an external reference point,
control intensity of light generated from the lighting modules based on the light intensity of the surrounding, control positional orientation of the housing based on the determined orientation, control the distance between the housing and the external reference point to a desired distance based on the determined distance, or a combination thereof; and
transmit inspection data via the wireless communication module to the central server node upon request;

wherein the on-board controller module is configured to be removably coupled to the housing.