Caterpillar Inc.

Airviz Inc.

Duality Robotics, Inc.

Carnegie Mellon University

Michael Allen Taylor

Mo Wei

Thandava Krishna Edara

Troy Kenneth Becicka

Kenneth Lee Stratton

Jean-Jacques Clar

Kyle Adam Edwards

Illah R Nourbakhsh

Timothy Joe Felty

Joshua Schapiro

Jason Deperro

Robert J McGee

Apurva Shah

Ramadev Burigsay Hukkeri

Michael D Braunstein

Daniel Stanek

Seth J Redenbo

Steven E Empson

Paul Russell Friend

Brian Gerard Funke

Steven R Krause

James H DeVore

Matthew Michael Tinker

Andrew Whitten

Matthew Edward Kontz

Charles D Litton

Dömötör Gulyás

Chris Bartley

Christopher Bartley

Ross McAree

Peter Beasley

Seth J Rodenbo

David Litton

Mikael Holmqvist

A virtualization system implemented within a cloud server enables the simulation of robot structure and behavior in a virtual environment. The simulated robots are controlled by clients remote from the cloud server, enabling human operators or autonomous robot control programs running on the clients to control the movement and behavior of the simulated robots within the virtual environment. Data describing interactions between robots, the virtual environment, and objects can be recorded for use in future robot design. The virtualization system can include robot templates, enabling users to quickly select and customize a robot to be simulated, and further enabling users to update and re-customize the robot in real-time during the simulation. The virtualization system can re-simulate a portion of the robot simulation when an intervention by a human operator is detected, positioning robots, people, and objects within the virtual environment based on the detected intervention.

Robot templates in a simulation environment

Autonomous robot scenario re-simulation

Robot simulation engine architecture

An optical-particle sensor head comprises an electromagnetic radiation source to transmit electromagnetic radiation toward the detection chamber; one or more baffles, between the light source and the detection chamber, to restrain a spread of the electromagnetic radiation from the electromagnetic radiation source; and at least two off-angle photo-sensors.

Optical-particle sensor head

A low energy particle detection device comprises alight source, multiple photodetectors positioned at different scattering angles, and a microcontroller for computing a total mass concentration of fine and ultrafine particles and a mass fraction of ultrafine particles to fine particles in an incoming air particle airflow based on the ratio of the readings from the multiple photodetectors. The optical particle detection device also can determine surface area concentration of the air particle sample and the associated lung deposited surface area (LDSA) to measure and improve estimates of air quality.

Low energy ultrafine particle detector

A system for moving material with a work implement includes an image display device, an operator input device, and a position sensor. A controller is configured to determine a position of a work surface at a work site, display a portion of the work site on the image display device including an operational location at the work area, modify a position of the operational location on the image display device with the operator input device to define a modified operational location, generate a material movement plan based upon the position of the work surface and modified operational location, and generate command instructions to move the machine according to the material movement plan.

System and method for modifying a material movement plan

A control system for controlling an earthmoving machine operating at a worksite is disclosed. The control system includes a receiving unit to receive a first input indicative of a terrain profile of the worksite, a second input indicative of a target terrain profile for the worksite, and a third input indicative of machine characteristics. The control system also includes a mission planning controller to generate an excavation plan based on the first input, the second input, and the third input. The controller controls operation of the machine, based on the generated excavation plan, to obtain an excavated terrain profile. Further, the controller determines whether the excavated terrain profile matches with the target terrain profile, and operates the machine based on inputs indicative of the excavated terrain profile, the second input, the third input, and an extent of match between the excavated terrain profile and the target terrain profile.

System and method for controlling earthmoving machines

A method for depositing piles of material, by a machine, in a work zone of a worksite. The method comprising detecting, by a controller, a first area occupied by a first pile deposited in the work zone, determining, by the controller, an available area in the work zone based on a comparison of the first area with an area of the work zone, determining, by the controller, a remaining number of piles to be deposited in the available area based on the determination of the available area, determining, by the controller, a location for each pile of the remaining number of piles to be deposited in the available area such that each pile of the remaining number of piles are evenly spaced from each other; and generating, by the controller, a machine signal to operate the machine to form the remaining number of piles at the respective determined location.

Systems and methods for pile spacing

Computer-based systems and methods characterize indoor air quality in a particular building having multiple locations therein. The system comprises a back-end data center, at least one indoor air quality sensor located inside the particular building, and a graphical display device. The indoor air quality sensor(s) transmits time-stamped air quality readings collected by it to the data center via a computer network. The data center computes spatiotemporal air quality measures for the particular building based on the time-stamped air quality readings from the indoor air quality sensor(s) and transmits the computed spatiotemporal air quality measures to the graphical display device for display to the user/resident.

Home air quality analysis and reporting

A method for monitoring a work zone in a worksite is disclosed. The work zone includes an overburden region, a dump region having an incline of positive slope, and an initial pivot point at a junction of the overburden region and the incline. The method includes monitoring, by a controller, an elevation of the work zone based on an elevation data received from one or more sensors. Further, the method comprises detecting, by the controller, a location in the work zone having an elevation lower than an elevation of the initial pivot point based on the elevation data. Furthermore, the method comprises updating, by the controller, the detected location as a new pivot point if the detected location is within a predetermined distance from the initial pivot point.

Methods and systems for monitoring work zone in worksite

A system for evaluating a target profile for moving material with a work implement along a path includes a position sensor and a controller. The controller is configured to utilize a planning system to determine the target profile, receive position signals from the position sensor, and determine from the position signals an actual profile indicative of the work surface after the work implement is moved along the path to move a volume of material. The controller is further configured to compare the target profile to the actual profile, determine at least two performance factor scores based upon a difference between the target profile and the actual profile, and generate a quantitative evaluation of the target profile based upon the at least two performance factor scores.

System and method for evaluating a material movement plan

A system for determining an optimized cut location for a work implement includes a position sensor and a controller. The controller is configured to determine the position of a work surface and determine a plurality of potential cut locations along a path between an initial cut location and an end location. The controller is further configured to determine an efficiency for moving an amount of material for each of the initial cut location and the plurality of potential cut locations based upon the amount of material to be moved, a parameter associated with moving the amount of material, and a loading profile, and select the optimized cut location from one of the initial cut location and the plurality of potential cut locations based upon the efficiency of each of the initial cut location and the plurality of potential cut locations.

System and method for optimizing a work implement path

Systems and methods batch calibrate environmental sensors. Candidate environmental sensors and a high-performance reference sensor are located in an enclosure with a particle excitation system that controls the particle concentration in the enclosure. The calibration process includes multiple phases with different particle concentrations, and the candidate and reference sensors continuously report their particle counts to a calibration server during these phases. Based on the collected data, the calibration server: (i) identifies for removal candidate sensors with outlying behavior through statistical analysis; and (ii) computes calibration values for the particle count estimation algorithms for the remaining candidate sensors that are optimized to minimize the error relative to the reference sensor(s).

Group calibration of environmental sensors

A computer-implemented method of responding to a missed cut during a pass made along a planned cut profile using an implement is provided. The computer-implemented method may include identifying the missed cut based at least partially on an implement position and a target cut point, predicting a performance value of the pass based at least partially on the missed cut and an implement load, and restarting the pass if the performance value is less than a minimum performance threshold and the implement load is less than a minimum load threshold.

Missed cut detection and reaction

Air quality sensor comprises an optical particle sensor and a programmable processor circuit. The optical particle sensor detects particles having a size of 10 microns or less in diameter in ambient air of the optical particle sensor. The programmable processor circuit continuously computes updated air quality measures for the ambient air using an estimation algorithm based on pulses in an output signal from the particle sensor over time, such as a cumulative particle density value and/or a cumulative particle weight value. The optical particle sensor may comprise a LED and accordingly detect particles based on reflection of light energy from the LED by particles in a chamber of the sensor.

Air quality sensor

Growing community of inventors

Wexford, PA, United States of America

Michael Allen Taylor