US 12,227,219 B2
Shopping cart self-tracking in an indoor environment
Lin Gao, Miami, FL (US); Yilin Huang, Shanghai (CN); Shiyuan Yang, Shanghai (CN); Xiaofei Zhou, Shanghai (CN); Kaiyang Chu, Shanghai (CN); and Sikun Zhu, Shanghai (CN)
Assigned to Maplebear Inc., San Francisco, CA (US)
Filed by Maplebear Inc., San Francisco, CA (US)
Filed on Jul. 26, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/873,526.
Application 17/873,526 is a continuation of application No. PCT/CN2022/102796, filed on Jun. 30, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2024/0001981 A1, Jan. 4, 2024
Int. Cl. H04W 4/00 (2018.01); B62B 3/14 (2006.01); B62B 5/00 (2006.01); G01C 21/00 (2006.01); G01C 21/16 (2006.01); G01S 5/00 (2006.01); G07C 5/04 (2006.01); H04W 4/029 (2018.01)
CPC B62B 5/0096 (2013.01) [B62B 3/1424 (2013.01); G01C 21/16 (2013.01); G01C 21/383 (2020.08); G01S 5/0036 (2013.01); G07C 5/04 (2013.01); H04W 4/029 (2018.02)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of tracking a shopping cart in an indoor environment, the method comprising:
detecting, by a wireless device located on the shopping cart, one or more signals from one or more external wireless devices in the indoor environment;
determining, by a computer processor, a first baseline location of the shopping cart at a first timestamp based on the detected one or more signals from the one or more external wireless devices in the indoor environment;
receiving, by the computer processor, wheel motion data from one or more wheel sensors coupled to one or more wheels of the shopping cart, wherein the wheel motion data describes a rotation of each of the one or more wheels and an orientation of each of the one or more wheels measured as an angle along an axis orthogonal to a ground plane;
calculating, by the computer processor, a translation traveled by the shopping cart from the first baseline location, the translation indicating a direction and a distance traveled by the shopping cart, wherein calculating the translation comprises:
calculating the direction traveled by aggregating the orientations of the one or more wheels, and
calculating the distance traveled by integrating the rotations of the one or more wheels over time;
determining, by the computer processor, an estimated location of the shopping cart at a second timestamp based on the first baseline location and the translation including the direction and the distance traveled; and
updating, by the computer processor, a map with the estimated location of the shopping cart.