Patent ID: 9002511
Filing Date: 2015-04-07
Classification: G01S,G05D,Y10S

Abstract:
1. An obstacle detector for a mobile robot, the detector comprising: at least one light source configured to project light in a path of the robot wherein light projected in the path of the robot has structure, and a visual sensor for capturing a plurality of images comprising reflections of the projected light, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of images are captured by the visual sensor while the robot is in motion; a processing unit for detecting reflections, wherein the processing unit is configured to: a tilt sensor, included in the robot, configured to sense a tilt of the robot caused by a floor surface over which wheels of the robot are traversing; wherein the tilt sensor included in the robot is configured to determine an orientation of the robot with respect to at least the floor surface the wheels of robot are traversing; and an obstacle detection unit configured to detect an object in the filtered image and determine whether the object is an obstacle or is the surface the robot is traversing based on the detected reflections from the at least one filtered image, wherein the obstacle detection unit is configured to apply tilt compensation with respect to one or more images, comprising one or more images of reflected light, based at least in part on information from the tilt sensor to facilitate determination as to whether the object is an obstacle or is the surface the robot is traversing.