US 11,896,536 B2
Wheelchair systems and methods to follow a companion
Dario Jose Villarreal Suarez, Farmers Branch, TX (US); Sarah Darrow, The Colony, TX (US); Douglas A. Moore, Fairview, TX (US); and Christopher Lee, Little Elm, TX (US)
Assigned to Toyota Motor North America, Inc., Plano, TX (US)
Filed by Toyota Motor North America, Inc., Plano, TX (US)
Filed on Nov. 6, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/091,559.
Prior Publication US 2022/0142832 A1, May 12, 2022
Int. Cl. A61G 5/02 (2006.01); G06V 40/16 (2022.01); G06V 20/56 (2022.01)
CPC A61G 5/024 (2013.01) [A61G 5/022 (2013.01); G06V 20/56 (2022.01); G06V 40/174 (2022.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A wheelchair system comprising:
a wheelchair operable to detect a companion, the wheelchair comprising:
a plurality of sensors,
one or more wheels,
at least one actuator coupled to the one or more wheels,
a processing device, and
a processor-readable storage medium in communication with the processing device and the plurality of sensors, the storage medium storing one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the processing device to:
generate a companion profile based on a plurality of identifying features of a determined companion,
determine a movement of the companion,
actuate the at least one actuator to drive the one or more wheels to follow the movement of the companion,
wherein the actuation of the at least one actuator to drive the one or more wheels to follow the movement of the companion is an autonomous control,
detect an undesirable object in a path of movement of the wheelchair, and
inhibit the autonomous control of the at least one actuator.