US 12,436,535 B2
Suspended load detection for autonomous vehicles
Sun Xin, Singapore (SG); Mahdi Abolfazli Esfahani, Singapore (SG); and Xinxin Du, Singapore (SG)
Assigned to Venti Technologies, Singapore (SG)
Filed by Venti Technologies, Singapore (SG)
Filed on Oct. 20, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/491,121.
Claims priority of application No. 10202251451E (SG), filed on Oct. 20, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2024/0134379 A1, Apr. 25, 2024
Prior Publication US 2024/0231361 A9, Jul. 11, 2024
Int. Cl. G05D 1/00 (2024.01); G01S 17/89 (2020.01); G05D 1/247 (2024.01); G05D 1/661 (2024.01)
CPC G05D 1/0225 (2013.01) [G01S 17/89 (2013.01); G05D 1/0248 (2013.01); G05D 1/247 (2024.01); G05D 1/661 (2024.01)] 23 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for detecting a suspended load by an autonomous vehicle maneuvering about an environment, the method comprising:
receiving, from a scanning device mounted on and perpendicular to a top surface of the autonomous vehicle, a plurality of data points surrounding the autonomous vehicle;
filtering the plurality of data points to remove any data points that fall within a predetermined region of the environment so as to exclude load stacks;
detecting, using a point detection module, whether an object is present within a detection range of the autonomous vehicle by:
clustering subsets of the plurality of data points; and
determining whether at least one clustered subset of the plurality of data points is within the detection range;
based on the object being present within the detection range, extracting, by a suspended load detection module, at least three features from the object to detect whether the object is a suspended load; and
controlling maneuvering of the autonomous vehicle based on detection of the suspended load.