US 12,214,497 B2
Footstep contact detection
Eric Whitman, Waltham, MA (US); and Alex Khripin, Waltham, MA (US)
Assigned to Boston Dynamics, Inc., Waltham, MA (US)
Filed by Boston Dynamics, Inc., Waltham, MA (US)
Filed on Jun. 30, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/810,130.
Application 17/810,130 is a continuation of application No. 16/573,579, filed on Sep. 17, 2019, granted, now 11,383,381.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/883,636, filed on Aug. 6, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0324104 A1, Oct. 13, 2022
Int. Cl. B25J 13/08 (2006.01); B25J 9/16 (2006.01); B62D 57/02 (2006.01); B62D 57/024 (2006.01); B62D 57/028 (2006.01); B62D 57/032 (2006.01)
CPC B25J 9/1633 (2013.01) [B25J 9/162 (2013.01); B25J 9/1664 (2013.01); B25J 13/085 (2013.01); B62D 57/02 (2013.01); B62D 57/024 (2013.01); B62D 57/028 (2013.01); B62D 57/032 (2013.01)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of footstep contact detection, the method comprising:
receiving, at data processing hardware of a robot, joint dynamics data associated with a leg of the robot;
receiving, at data processing hardware of the robot, odometry data indicative of a pose of the robot;
determining, by the data processing hardware, based on the joint dynamics data and an amount of completion of a swing phase of the leg, a classification of an impact on the leg from a set of classifications, wherein the set of classifications comprises a touchdown classification and a non-touchdown classification;
determining, by the data processing hardware, using the joint dynamics data and the odometry data and based on the classification of the impact corresponding to the non-touchdown classification, that occurrence of the impact is based on a particular condition, wherein-based on the joint dynamics data and the odometry data are indicative of the particular condition; and
instructing, by the data processing hardware, movement by the robot based on determining that the occurrence of the impact is based on the particular condition.