Inventors:
Kenneth Sinclair - Newton MA, US
Pace Willisson - Medway MA, US
Jay Gainsboro - Framingham MA, US
Lee Weinstein - Arlington MA, US
International Classification:
G01C003/08, G01P005/00, G01B003/12, G01B005/02, G01B005/04, G01B007/02, G01B007/14, G01B011/02, G01B011/14, G01B013/02, G06F015/00, G01B021/02, G01C022/00
US Classification:
116/062100, 702/165000, 356/004030
Abstract:
A method and apparatus for optical odometry are disclosed which inexpensively facilitate diverse applications including indoor/outdoor vehicle tracking in secure areas, industrial and home robot navigation, automated steering and navigation of autonomous farm vehicles, shopping cart navigation and tracking, and automotive anti-lock braking systems. In a preferred low-cost embodiment, a telecentric lens is used with an optical computer mouse chip and a microprocessor. In a two-sensor embodiment, both rotation and translation are accurately measured.