US 12,140,963 B2
Systems and methods for optical target based indoor vehicle navigation
Ralf Haeusler, Auckland (NZ); Stuart Park, Auckland (NZ); and Mark Bell, Auckland (NZ)
Assigned to Crown Equipment Corporation
Filed by Crown Equipment Corporation, New Bremen, OH (US)
Filed on Oct. 5, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/481,571.
Application 18/481,571 is a continuation of application No. 17/506,946, filed on Oct. 21, 2021, granted, now 11,815,905.
Application 17/506,946 is a continuation of application No. 16/280,736, filed on Feb. 20, 2019, granted, now 11,181,925, issued on Nov. 23, 2021.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/634,219, filed on Feb. 23, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2024/0028045 A1, Jan. 25, 2024
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. G05D 1/02 (2020.01); G01C 15/04 (2006.01); G01C 21/20 (2006.01); G05D 1/00 (2024.01); G06T 7/73 (2017.01); G06V 20/10 (2022.01); G06V 20/56 (2022.01)
CPC G05D 1/0251 (2013.01) [G01C 15/04 (2013.01); G01C 21/206 (2013.01); G05D 1/0212 (2013.01); G05D 1/0234 (2013.01); G05D 1/0272 (2013.01); G06T 7/73 (2017.01); G06V 20/10 (2022.01); G06V 20/56 (2022.01); G06T 2207/30204 (2013.01); G06T 2207/30248 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A materials handling vehicle comprising a camera communicatively coupled to a vehicular processor of the materials handling vehicle for capturing an input image of overhead features, wherein the vehicular processor executes vehicle functions comprising:
generating a plurality of feature candidates from the overhead features in the input image;
extracting one or more active target candidates from the feature candidates;
verifying the active target candidates in the input image to generate a detected active target;
decoding a pattern of the detected active target to generate an identified code;
identifying an optical target associated with the identified code to determine an identified optical target representative of the overhead features in the input image;
determining a camera metric comprising representations of a distance and an angle of the camera relative to the identified optical target and a position and orientation of the identified optical target in a warehouse map in response to the determination of the identified optical target;
calculating a vehicle pose based on the camera metric;
determining whether the materials handling vehicle is localized or lost;
updating a current estimated pose based on the vehicle pose in response to a determination that the materials handling vehicle is localized;
resetting the current estimated pose to the vehicle pose in response to a determination that the materials handling vehicle is lost; and
navigating the materials handling vehicle utilizing the updated or reset estimated pose.