The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 11, 2019
Filed:
Jun. 17, 2016
The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., Cambridge, MA (US);
Luna Innovations Incorporated, Roanoke, VA (US);
Juha-Pekka J. Laine, Boston, MA (US);
Bruce Dow, West Newbury, MA (US);
Marc McConley, Andover, MA (US);
Gregory Blasche, Burlington, MA (US);
Paul Bohn, St. Petersburg, FL (US);
Matthew S. Bottkol, Boston, MA (US);
Michael Ricard, Natick, MA (US);
Evan M. Lally, Blacksburg, VA (US);
Sandra M. Klute, Blacksburg, VA (US);
Matthew T. Reaves, Baltimore, MD (US);
Emily H. Templeton, Blacksburg, VA (US);
James Donna, Watertown, MA (US);
THE CHARLES STARK DRAPER LABORATORY, INC., Cambridge, MA (US);
Abstract
Systems and methods for determining the shape and/or position of an object are described. A fiber optic shape sensor (FOSS) may be used in combination with one or more inertial measurement units (IMUs) to mutually cross-correct for errors in the sensors' measurements of position and/or orientation. The IMU(s) may be attached to the FOSS's optical fiber, such that each IMU measures the orientation of a corresponding portion of the optical fiber. The position and shape of the optical fiber can then be determined based on the measurements obtained from the IMU(s) and the measurements obtained from the FOSS. For example, the FOSS measurements and the IMU measurements can be provided to a state estimation unit (e.g., a Kalman filter), which can estimate the position and/or shape of the optical fiber based on those measurements. In some embodiments, the estimates of position are used for navigation of tethered mobile devices.