Irobot Corporation

The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Disney Enterprises, Inc.

David S Barrett

Robert Todd Pack

James Raymond Allard

Selma Svendsen

Misha Filippov

Chikyung Won

Michael S Triantafyllou

Frank J Siraco

Selma Slipichevich

Thomas L DeFazio

Daniel E Whitney

Donald C Fyler

Thomas L De Fazio

Mikhail Filippov

George A Wood

John R Lawson

Eric D Rosenthal

Scott N Miller

Gillian M Lee

Selma Svendson

Jay A Sampson

F Keith Glick

Arthur Ciccolo

Robert D Whiteside

William B Costain

M O Simpson

System and method for behavior based control of an autonomous vehicle. Actuators (e.g., linkages) manipulate input devices (e.g., articulation controls and drive controls, such as a throttle lever, steering gear, tie rods, throttle, brake, accelerator, or transmission shifter) to direct the operation of the vehicle. Behaviors that characterize the operational mode of the vehicle are associated with the actuators. The behaviors include action sets ranked by priority, and the action sets include alternative actions that the vehicle can take to accomplish its task. The alternative actions are ranked by preference, and an arbiter selects the action to be performed and, optionally, modified.

System and method for behavior based control of an autonomous vehicle

Systems and methods for multi-modal control of a vehicle

A wheeled platformis disclosed, which is characterized by high mobility and reliability, and which can be used in a wide range of applications including transport and robotic devices. The wheeled platformhas fore and aft body portions, each body portionhaving first and second sides. Overlapping wheelsare rotatably attached to the first sideand overlapping wheelsare rotatably attached to the second side. The fore body portioncan be connected to the aft body portionvia an articulation element

Wheeled platforms

Systems and methods for interruptible autonomous control of a vehicle. Autonomous control is achieved by using actuators that interact with input devices in the vehicle. The actuators (e.g., linkages) manipulate the input devices (e.g., articulation controls and drive controls, such as a throttle, brake, tie rods, steering gear, throttle lever, or accelerator) to direct the operation of the vehicle. Although operating autonomously, manual operation of the vehicle is possible following the detection of events that suggest manual control is desired. Subsequent autonomous control may be permitted, permitted after a prescribed delay, or prevented.

Systems and methods for control of an unmanned ground vehicle

System and method for multi-modal control of a vehicle. Actuators (e.g., linkages) manipulate input devices (e.g., articulation controls and drive controls, such as a throttle, brake, accelerator, throttle lever, steering gear, tie rods, or transmission shifter) to direct the operation of the vehicle. Behaviors that characterize the operational mode of the vehicle are associated with the actuators. After receipt of a mode select command that dictates the operational mode of the vehicle (e.g., manned operation, remote unmanned tele-operation, assisted remote tele-operation, and autonomous unmanned operation), the actuators manipulate the operator input devices, in accordance with the behaviors, to affect the desired operational mode.

System and method for multi-modal control of an autonomous vehicle

System and method for processing a safety signal in an autonomous vehicle. Safety signals are typically generated in response to the detection of unsafe conditions or are sent by the vehicle operator. In either case, the safety signals are conveyed using redundant communication paths. The paths include a computer network and a current loop. The safety signals are processed, thereby causing actuators (e.g., linkages) to manipulate input devices (e.g., articulation controls and drive controls, such as a throttle, brake, tie rods, steering gear, throttle lever, accelerator, or transmission shifter). The manipulation ensures the vehicle responds appropriately to the safety signals, for example, by shutting down the vehicle.

System and method for processing safety signals in an autonomous vehicle

System and method for tracking obstacles by an autonomous vehicle. Localization sensors (i.e., sensors to measure pitch, roll, and yaw, and systems including an inertial navigation system, a compass, a global positioning system, or an odometer) detect the position of the vehicle. Perception sensors (e.g., LIDAR, stereo vision, infrared vision, radar, or sonar) assess the environment about the vehicle. Using these sensors, locations of terrain features relative to the vehicle are computed and kept up-to-date. The vehicle trajectory is adjusted to avoid terrain features that are obstacles in the path of the vehicle.

System and method for terrain feature tracking

A wheeled platform is disclosed, which is characterized by high mobility and reliability, and which can be used in a wide range of applications including transport and robotic devices. The wheeled platform has fore and aft body portions , each body portion having first and second sides . Overlapping wheels are rotatably attached to the first side and overlapping wheels are rotatably attached to the second side . The fore body portion can be connected to the aft body portion via an articulation element

The present invention comprises a method and apparatus for television program selection that monitors the viewing preferences of a viewer to create a dynamic viewer profile that is used to rate available programs. Based on the viewer profile, available programs are sorted and presented to the viewer in descending order of predicted interest. The invention allows a viewer to quickly find the program of greatest interest to the viewer without having to tediously search through large numbers of available programs. The invention may also be used for selecting from among a plurality of programs other than television programs, such as, for example, radio programs or audio or video programs stored on digital storage media such as CD's and DVD's.

Method and apparatus for program selection

A method and apparatus for providing reduced drag on a body moving in a direction D through a selected fluid medium at a speed U which is normally sufficient to cause turbulence. Reduced drag is generally accomplished by flexing at least the outer surface of at least the rear third of the body to produce a wave-like motion of the body having a wavelength of between 0.5 and 2.0 times the length of the body, a reduced frequency value .OMEGA. between 0.1 and 0.5 and a time delay between successive points on the body reaching peaks for their flex motion which is directly proportional to the distance x.sub.i in the direction D of the point from a reference point on the body and inversely proportional to the phase speed c.sub.p of the wave. A variety of techniques are described for achieving the desired wave-like motion.

Method and apparatus for reducing drag on a moving body

A propulsion system for use in a fluid, the system utilizing at least one foil which is both oscillated at a frequency f with an amplitude a in a direction substantially transverse to the propulsion direction and flapped or pitched about a pivot point to change the foil pitch angle to the selected direction of motion with a smooth periodic motion. Parameters of the system including Strouhal number, angle of attack, ratio of the distance to the foil pivot point from the leading edge of the foil to the chord length, the ratio of the amplitude of oscillation to the foil chord width and the phase angle between heave and pitch are all selected so as to optimize the drive efficiency of the foil system.

Propulsion mechanism employing flapping foils

Growing community of inventors

Needham, MA, United States of America

David S Barrett