Scythe Robotics, Inc.

Occipital, Inc.

Xrpro, LLC

Davis Thorp Foster

John Gordon Morrison

Isaac Heath Roberts

Robert Johnstone McCutcheon, Iv

Matthew G Quick

Matthew Kaplan

Zachary Austin Goins

Kevin Peter McGlade

Jeffrey Roger Powers

Vikas Muppidi Reddy

Evan Haley Fletcher

Christopher Caleb Slaughter

Roger Wayne Landowski

Paul Schroeder

Matthew Alexander Kaplan

Paul Jakob Schroeder

Evan Thomas Kaufman

An autonomous lawn mower is described. The autonomous lawn mower comprises a chassis supporting a podium. In some examples, the podium comprises a top portion that may support one or more sensors, antennas and/or cameras that may be used to provide environmental information regarding the surroundings of the autonomous lawn mower. In additional or alternative examples, the autonomous lawn mower receives, via a wireless receiver, a signal from a remote controller, the signal comprising one or more of an emergency stop signal or a pause signal. Based at least in part on the signal comprising the emergency stop signal, causing the autonomous lawn mower to invoke an emergency stop procedure, or based at least in part on the signal comprising the pause signal, causing the autonomous lawn mower to invoke a pause procedure.

Autonomous lawn mower

An autonomous lawn mower is described. The autonomous lawn mower comprises a chassis supporting a podium that is raked forward with respect to a horizontal plane. In some examples, the podium comprises a top portion that may support one or more sensors, antennas and/or cameras that may be used to provide environmental information regarding the surroundings of the autonomous lawn mower. In additional or alternative examples, the podium may facilitate communication services to and/or from the autonomous lawn mower. Such a podium may improve the operation of the mower by a user when manually (or semi-autonomously controlled) while optimizing a field of view of such sensors with respect to the mowable area.

Systems and techniques for detecting a difference in orientation between a lawn mower and a surface on which the mower is mowing, or between portions of such surface, based on one or more of sensor data or map data are discussed. The difference in orientation may then be used to control the lawn mower by, for example, raising a deck height or idling a blade speed, though other actuations are contemplated. In some examples, an amount the deck height is raised may be based on the difference in orientation. Based on a subsequent difference detected being at or below a threshold difference, the mower may return to previous operating conditions including, but not limited to, returning a blade speed to a previous blade speed and/or returning the deck height to a previous deck height, among other controls. Such techniques may prevent undercutting turf due to such differences.

Orientation-based mower control

Techniques and architectures for manually controlling a lawn mower while a user is positioned on or within proximity to the lawn mower are discussed herein. For example, the lawn mower can include a control interface having a handle that the user grips with one or more fingers and a control attached to the handle to receive input from one or more other fingers of the user. The control can include a lever or other element with opposing tabs configured to receive input from fingers of the user.

Control interfaces for autonomous lawn mowers

An autonomous lawn mower is described. The autonomous lawn mower comprises a chassis supporting a podium. In some examples, the podium comprises an upper portion and a lower portion, where the upper portion may support one or more sensors, antennas and/or cameras that may be used to provide environmental information regarding the surroundings of the autonomous lawn mower. The upper portion may be detached from the lower portion such that the upper portion is calibrated prior to the upper portion being coupled to the lower portion.

A vegetative health mapping system which creates two- or three-dimensional maps and associates moisture content, soil density, ambient light, surface temperature, and/or additional indications of vegetative health with the map. Moisture content is inferred using radar return signals of near-field and/or far-field radar. By tuning various parameters of the one or more radar (e.g. frequency, focus, power), additional data may be associated with the map from subterranean features (such as rocks, soil density, sprinklers, etc.). Additional sensors (camera(s), lidar, IMU, GPS, etc.) may be fused with radar returns to generate maps having associated moisture content, surface temperature, ambient light levels, additional indications of vegetative health (as may be determined by machine learned algorithms), etc. Such vegetative health maps may be provided to a user who, in turn, may indicate additional areas for the vegetative health device to scan or otherwise used to recommend and/or perform treatments.

Moisture and vegetative health mapping

A three-dimensional (3D) sensing apparatus together with a projector subassembly is provided. The 3D sensing apparatus includes two cameras, which may be configured to capture ultraviolet and/or near-infrared light. The 3D sensing apparatus may also contain an optical filter and one or more computing processors that signal a simultaneous capture using the two cameras and processing the captured images into depth. The projector subassembly of the 3D sensing apparatus includes a laser diode, one or optical elements, and a photodiode that are useable to enable 3D capture.

Apparatus and methods for three-dimensional sensing

Systems and techniques for detecting a difference in orientation between a lawn mower and a surface on which the mower is mowing, or between portions of such surface, based on one or more of sensor data or map data are discussed. The difference in orientation may then be used to control the lawn mower by, for example, raising a deck height or idling a blade speed, though other actuations are contemplated. In some examples, an amount the deck height is raised may be based on the difference in orientation. Based on a subsequent difference detected being at or below a threshold difference, the mower may return to previous operating conditions including, but not limited to, returning a blade speed to a previous blade speed and/or returning the deck height to a previous deck height, among other controls.

Systems and techniques for detecting suboptimal mowing due to impacted vegetation and/or orientation changes are discussed. In some examples, blade speeds, blade heights, torques, and/or a current required to spin the blades of a mower at a determined rate may be calibrated and associated with a lawn mower and/or map. Changes in any one or more of the blade speed, current required, torque, etc. (and/or additional data from one or more sensors on the mower) may be used as an indication for determining whether vegetation has impacted the underside of a mower, whether the blade has struck an object, whether the mower is undergoing an orientation change, whether the mower requires maintenance, and the like. Based on the indication, the mower can perform one or more functions to attempt to remediate the problem autonomously and/or send a signal to a user for additional help.

Growing community of inventors

Boulder, CO, United States of America

Davis Thorp Foster