US 12,241,969 B2
System and method for support structure detection
Aaron Hoy, San Jose, CA (US); Derek King, Seattle, WA (US); Steffen Fuchs, San Jose, CA (US); Vishnu Sudheer Menon, Sunnyvale, CA (US); David Dymesich, New York, NY (US); Robert Isaiah Chatman, III, Campbell, CA (US); Jenna Guergah, Santa Cruz, CA (US); Brian Richard Cairi, Huntington, NY (US); Melonee Wise, San Jose, CA (US); Alison Cheng, Santa Clara, CA (US); and Katrin Beauchaud, Sunnyvale, CA (US)
Assigned to Zebra Technologies Corporation, Lincolnshire, IL (US)
Filed by ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, Lincolnshire, IL (US)
Filed on Nov. 11, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/985,681.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/344,335, filed on May 20, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2023/0375697 A1, Nov. 23, 2023
Int. Cl. G01S 13/89 (2006.01); G05D 1/00 (2006.01)
CPC G01S 13/89 (2013.01) [G05D 1/0212 (2013.01); G05D 1/0274 (2013.01)] 22 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method, comprising:
capturing, via a sensor of a mobile automation apparatus, three-dimensional point cloud data depicting a portion of an aisle containing a support structure, the support structure having a forward plane facing into the aisle;
generating, from the point cloud data, a two-dimensional projection in a facility coordinate system;
retrieving, from a stored map, an expected location of the forward plane of the support structure in the facility coordinate system;
selecting, from the projection, a subset of regions satisfying a positional criterion relative to the expected location of the forward plane;
determining, based on the selected subset of regions from the projection, an actual location of the forward plane of the support structure in the facility coordinate system; and
providing the actual location of the forward plane to a navigational controller of the mobile automation apparatus.