US 12,466,075 B2
Autonomous and teleoperated sensor pointing on a mobile robot
Christopher Stathis, Bedford, MA (US); Dion Gonano, Somerville, MA (US); Robert Eugene Paolini, Cambridge, MA (US); and Adam Komoroski, Westwood, MA (US)
Assigned to Boston Dynamics, Inc., Waltham, MA (US)
Filed by Boston Dynamics, Inc., Waltham, MA (US)
Filed on Jun. 2, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/805,101.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/202,291, filed on Jun. 4, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0388174 A1, Dec. 8, 2022
Int. Cl. B25J 9/16 (2006.01)
CPC B25J 9/1697 (2013.01) [B25J 9/163 (2013.01); B25J 9/1653 (2013.01); B25J 9/1664 (2013.01)] 27 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A computer-implemented method that when executed by data processing hardware of a legged robot causes the data processing hardware to perform operations comprising:
receiving, from a user computing device, a sensor pointing command that commands the legged robot to navigate to a waypoint and use a first sensor of the legged robot to capture sensor data of a target location in an environment of the legged robot by pointing the first sensor in a target direction toward the target location at the waypoint;
commanding a first movement of one or more legs of the legged robot to move the legged robot to the waypoint based on receiving the sensor pointing command, wherein the first movement of the one or more legs transitions the legged robot from a first pose of the legged robot to a second pose of the legged robot using a set of joints of the legged robot;
determining a first orientation of the first sensor relative to the target location based on the second pose of the legged robot;
obtaining, from a second sensor that is different than the first sensor, first image data;
determining, based on the sensor pointing command, the first image data obtained from the second sensor, and the first orientation of the first sensor relative to the target location, a third pose of the legged robot that points the first sensor in the target direction toward the target location, wherein each of the first pose, the second pose, and the third pose correspond to a respective set of positions of the set of joints;
commanding a second movement of the one or more legs based on receiving the sensor pointing command, wherein the second movement of the one or more legs transitions the legged robot from the second pose to the third pose using the set of joints; and
commanding the first sensor to capture the sensor data of the target location based on receiving the sensor pointing command.