Patent Document ID: 10088566
Application ID: 14927748
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A method of tracking a known object immersed in a sound wave transmitting medium, comprising: a) sending sonar signals from a sonar signal generator towards the known object; b) receiving sonar signals reflected from the known object and from other objects near the known object, the sonar signals received by a sonar signal receiver; wherein at least one of the other objects is closer than a defined distance to the known object; c) calculating from the received sonar signals the three dimensional (3D) positions of a set S 1 of sonar imaging points P, wherein the sonar imaging points P are on the surface of the known object and on the surfaces of the other objects near the known object; d) defining a closed bounding sphere around the known object, the bounding sphere having a radius sufficient to surround all points on the surface of the known object, wherein the distance between the surface of the bounding sphere and all points on the surface of the known object has a defined minimum; e) removing sonar image points P e from the set S 1 , wherein sonar image points P e are exterior to the bounding sphere; f) adding sonar image points P o to a set of occlusion points S 3 , wherein the sonar image points P o are interior to the bounding sphere and greater than a defined distance from the surface of the known object; g) removing the set S 3 of occlusion points from the set S 1 ; h) generating a combined 3D image of the known object calculated from the set S 1 of the other objects calculated from the set S 3 , wherein the relationship between the known object and the other objects may be determined by viewing the combined image from different eyepoints; and if the object is not in the correct location with respect to the other objects to within a specified criterion; i) moving the object repeating steps a)- i); and if the object is in the correct location with respect to the other objects to within a specified criterion; j) placing the object.