An individual access element to a room in a household can be brought into an open state and into a closed state. A method for recognizing an individual state of the access element includes the steps of determining a position at which an individual access element is located in the household, non-contact scanning the individual access element while it is in a predetermined state, storing information regarding the individual access element on the basis of its scan and state, capturing a further non-contact scan of the individual access element in the household, and recognizing a state of the individual access element on the basis of the further non-contact scan and the stored and predetermined information. A floor robot and a system having a floor robot, are also provided.

A method for controlling a movable platform includes obtaining a trajectory of the movable platform and controlling the movable platform to move along the trajectory, obtaining a reference sensing orientation of a sensing apparatus of the movable platform, and adjusting the sensing orientation of the sensing apparatus from the reference sensing orientation to a target sensing orientation. When a sensing orientation of the sensing apparatus is the reference sensing orientation, first one or more trajectory points between a current location of the movable platform and a first location are within a sensing range of the sensing apparatus, and second one or more trajectory points after the first location are outside the sensing range of the sensing apparatus. When the sensing orientation of the sensing apparatus is the target sensing orientation, the first one or more trajectory points and the second one or more trajectory points are within the sensing range.

An automatic implement attachment and detachment system having a ground utility robot a sensor, a computer processor, an artificial intelligence processing unit for learning, and a computer memory where the system also includes a quick hitch attachment apparatus having a body securable to the ground utility robot, at least one mateable connection part, and an implement having a connection member where the implement attachment system is configured to automatically attach and detach the implement to and from the ground utility robot.

A system and method is disclosed for configuring a group of mobile field devices using a configuration device (an HMI) is provided. In particular, the HMI is programmed to configure identically programmed field devices that are arbitrarily arranged in an application-dependent formation by defining and providing configuration parameters to the devices via wired and/or wireless communication. In particular, the HMI assigns a unique identifier to respective robots as a function of the position of the robot within the formation or the layout of the environment. Accordingly each robot can be efficiently configured by the HMI to operate independently yet as a coordinated member of the group and without requiring the robots to be placed in specific positions during the initial deployment. This obviates the need for constant independent control commands for each robot by a central controller or providing a customized control program to each robot during deployment.

A vehicular system includes a measuring unit attached to a vehicle to detect a magnetic marker laid along a traveling road, a database storing position information of the magnetic marker, and a control unit that acquires the position information of the magnetic marker by referring to a storage area of the database. The database has stored therein position information of each magnetic marker to which a distance from a reference point on the traveling road as a starting point to each magnetic marker is linked. By referring to the database by using a distance traveled until the magnetic marker is detected after the vehicle passes over the reference point, position information of newly detected magnetic marker is acquired.

A sensor module having multiple sensors for collecting, analyzing, storing, and transmitting data related to environmental and plant growth data in an agricultural habitat, such as a greenhouse, is disclosed. One or more modules are placed at various locations in a greenhouse, to collect data including any of temperature, temperature gradient, humidity, light levels, light frequencies, soil moisture, soil composition, plant health, plant growth, plant quality e.g. maturity and/or fruit quantity and/or ripeness. The sensor module is adapted for robotic placement within the greenhouse, although the module ay initially be placed by hand. The module is powered by internal batteries or a large capacitor or capacitor array and is recharged by a greenhouse robot that may comprise any of a robot arm configured for movement within a greenhouse via a conveyer or track system, a wheeled robot, or a drone.

A power feeding system 1 includes a floating body 11 having power and a control function and an unmanned aerial vehicle 21 that observes environmental information using the floating body 11 as a base, in which the floating body 11 includes a power feeding device 12 that moves in a space below a top surface of the floating body 11 with reference to one of a plurality of planes arranged in a lattice shape on the floating body 11, roughly specifies a position of the unmanned aerial vehicle 21 in two dimensions based on a reflectance of an emitted radio wave, estimates and calculates a power feeding position of the unmanned aerial vehicle 21 based on a reflectance of an output light beam reflected on a reflector attached to a back surface corresponding to a power receiving position of the unmanned aerial vehicle 21, and feeds the unmanned aerial vehicle 21 with power at the power feeding position.

A method comprising, by a processor and memory circuitry, for an aerial vehicle comprising a payload operative to perform an interaction with a target: for each target of a plurality of targets, determining an interaction area based on a position of the target, wherein, for each position of the aerial vehicle located in the interaction area of the target, the interaction between the payload and the target is enabled according to an operability criterion, generating a series of connections, wherein each connection comprises at least one waypoint located in an interaction area of a target of the plurality of targets and at least one waypoint located in an interaction area of another different target of the plurality of targets, wherein each interaction area comprises a waypoint of at least one connection of the series of connections, and obtaining a flight path for the aerial vehicle using the series of connections.

Disclosed herein is a method and system for flying rotary wing drone. An add-on flight camera that is free to rotate around the vehicle's yaw axis is attached to the drone. The flight camera is automatically looking in the direction of its flight. The video from the flight camera is streamed to the operator's display. Thus the rotary wing drone can fly in any direction with respect to its structure, giving the operator a first person view along the flight path, thus keeping high level of situational awareness to the operator. The information required for controlling the camera orientation is derived from sensors, such as GPS, magnetometers, gyros and accelerometer. As a backup mode the information can be derived from propeller commands or tilt sensors.

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) for use in the detection, localization, and quantification of gas leaks are provided. More specifically the use of an in-situ sensor mounted to a UAS such that the sensor is positioned in a region unaffected by prop wash that is relatively undisturbed by the effects of the propeller(s) and other environmental conditions when in use is described. Additionally, methods of determining the optimal placement of the in-situ sensor on any given UAS are also provided.