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:
Aug. 27, 2024
Filed:
Oct. 14, 2022
Zoox, Inc., Foster City, CA (US);
Xuan Zhong, San Jose, CA (US);
Nam Gook Cho, Cupertino, CA (US);
Evan David Cook, Woodside, CA (US);
MacKenzie Cunningham, Redwood City, CA (US);
Caleb Heath Norfleet, Foster City, CA (US);
Rohan Agrawal, Milpitas, CA (US);
Zoox, Inc., Foster City, CA (US);
Abstract
An impact is detected with a vehicle having a body comprising parts which are deformable in an impact, by a secondary impact detection system configured to detect an impact that may not trigger a primary impact detection system. The secondary impact detection system comprises a plurality of deformation sensors attached to the deformable parts and configured to detect bending of the deformable parts. One or more processors are configured to receive a plurality of respective outputs from the plurality of deformation sensors, process the respective outputs to increase sensitivity to short-term changes relative to long-term changes and generate an indication of an impact dependent on detecting a processed output meeting a predetermined criterion. Outputs associated with a group of neighboring flex sensors may be used to localize the impact, characterize the source of impact, and/or reduce a likelihood of a false positive associated with the detection.