DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Application status
This office action is in response to application filed on 01/10/2024. Claims 1-20 are pending. Claims 1-20 are rejected.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 01/10/2024. FIG. 3 is objected as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference character “Acc_121” has been used to designate both “Acc_121” and “Acc_123” within the column 303. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-2, 6-9, 13-16, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by MAKINENI (US 20220120918 A1).
Regarding claim 1, MAKINENI teaches A system for navigating uncrewed vehicles, the system (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0013; “Some implementations herein are directed to techniques and arrangements for enabling a UAV to navigate based on acceleration and position information without relying on inputs from cameras, and without relying on inputs from a compass or other magnetometer. ”) comprising:
one or more processors (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0026; “the UAV 102 may include one or more algorithms executed by at least one processor (not shown in FIG. 1) to estimate the relative heading of the UAV 102.”); and
one or more non-transitory, computer-readable storage media storing instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to perform operations (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0026; “The processor may receive, as inputs, GNSS location coordinates in the world frame 110. The processor may also receive measurements in the body frame 106 based on the output of the vehicle IMU, which may include the acceleration of the UAV 102 and the rotation of the UAV 102 relative to the Nay frame. Based on these inputs, the processor is able to compute the rotation between the world frame 110 and the Nay frame 108 (e.g., a yaw angle). When the yaw angle of the body of the UAV 102 is determined with respect to the world frame, the heading of the UAV 102 can be used for controlling the navigation of the UAV 102.”) comprising:
receiving, at an uncrewed vehicle, a target location and a target mode, wherein the target mode indicates a type of activity for the uncrewed vehicle (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0043; “the process 500 may be performed before or during takeoff of the UAV 102 to establish an initial relative heading of the UAV 102 between the Nay frame and the world frame, which will enable navigating the UAV 102 using world frame measurements, by transforming them into the navigation frame using the relative heading.”) and (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0067; “Furthermore, in some examples, the vehicle control program 802 may receive, one or more control inputs 819 from external sources (e.g., from a remote user using a controller, from a remote navigation application executing on a remote computing device, etc.) through one or more communication interfaces 820, which may set forth one or more specified navigation objectives. For instance, the control input(s) 819 may include calls to via an application programming interface (API) associated with the vehicle control program 802. For example, the API calls may be made by an application executing on a remote computing device or controller 822 for setting one or more navigation objectives as part of the motion planning process. Navigation objectives may include, for example, avoiding collision with other objects, maneuvering to follow a particular object, maneuvering to a specified location, traversing a specified area or the like.”, wherein target location can be maneuvering to a specific location or traversing a specific area, and target mode can be avoiding collision with other objects and follow a particular object);
accessing a plurality of acceleration profiles associated with the uncrewed vehicle, wherein each acceleration profile of the plurality of acceleration profiles comprises a corresponding first duration for accelerating the uncrewed vehicle (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0045; “the UAV 102 may be configured to take off in a controlled motion, such as at a prescribed trajectory and acceleration profile for determining the initial relative heading. For instance, the UAV 102 may takeoff in a known direction, e.g., diagonally to the ground plane at an angled ascent at a known angle and known acceleration. In this case, the UAV 102 may initialize its heading in the Nay frame and the world frame, and proceed with a programmed autonomous navigation course.”) and a corresponding second duration for not accelerating the uncrewed vehicle (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0040; “In the case that the relative heading between the Nay frame 108 and the world frame 110 is not determined with sufficient certainty during the takeoff sequence, the UAV 102 may be configured to automatically land or otherwise return as near as possible to the takeoff location 402.”, it is inherent that not decelerating of the uncrewed vehicle is a component within the acceleration profile in order to land the vehicle);
generating, based on the target location and the target mode, a trajectory profile for the target location, wherein the trajectory profile comprises a plurality of instances of the plurality of acceleration profiles (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0045; “the UAV 102 may takeoff in a known direction, e.g., diagonally to the ground plane at an angled ascent at a known angle and known acceleration. In this case, the UAV 102 may initialize its heading in the Nay frame and the world frame, and proceed with a programmed autonomous navigation course.”);
determining, while executing the trajectory profile after each instance of the one or more acceleration profiles, a corresponding vehicle location of the uncrewed vehicle (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0046; “At 506, the UAV 102 may determine the acceleration of the UAV 102 in the world frame based on finite differencing a velocity signal determined based on GNSS information. For example, the acceleration in the world frame may be determined based on determining a finite difference for the velocity signals determined through sequentially received GNSS location data. For example, the GNSS data may be received multiple times per second such as at a rate of 8 hertz, 16 hertz, or the like. The velocity and acceleration of the UAV 102 in the world frame may be determined based on the sequential location information received via the GNSS receiver.”);
adjusting the trajectory profile based on the corresponding vehicle location (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0047; “At 508, the UAV 102 may determine a relative heading between the Nay frame and the world frame of the UAV based on the acceleration and rotation of the UAV measured in the Nay frame and the acceleration of the UAV determined in the world frame.”); and
based on determining that the plurality of instances of the one or more acceleration profiles have been executed, terminating execution of the trajectory profile (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0070; “The tracking/navigation program 808 may communicate with the motion planning program 806, for example, to maneuver the UAV 102 based on measured, estimated, and/or predicted positions, orientations, and/or trajectories of objects, structures, and landmarks in the physical environment. For example, the tracking/navigation program 808 may communicate a navigation objective to the motion planning program 806 to cause the motion planning program 806 to determine a suitable flight path for achieving the navigation objective.”).
Regarding claim 2, MAKINENI teaches The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
generating the plurality of acceleration profiles, wherein each acceleration profile of the plurality of acceleration profiles comprises the corresponding first duration determined based on vehicle parameters of the uncrewed vehicle (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0039; “the UAV 102 may be programmed to determine the relative heading between the Nay frame 108 and the world frame 110. In the illustrated example, the UAV 102 may be programmed to takeoff at a known acceleration profile, i.e., accelerating at a given acceleration for a given amount of time.”), the vehicle parameters comprising at least one of vehicle type or an acceleration sensor type (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0091; “UAV 102 may include one or more of the IMUs 814. The IMU 814 may measure and report the velocity, acceleration, orientation, and gravitational forces on the UAV 102, such as by using a combination of the gyroscopes 916 and accelerometers 914.”).
Regarding claim 6, MAKINENI teaches The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions or generating the trajectory profile for travelling to the target location further cause the one or more processors to perform operations (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0045; “the UAV 102 may takeoff in a known direction, e.g., diagonally to the ground plane at an angled ascent at a known angle and known acceleration. In this case, the UAV 102 may initialize its heading in the Nay frame and the world frame, and proceed with a programmed autonomous navigation course.”) comprising:
determining that the target mode comprises a request for a pre-determined aerial trajectory (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0045; “As another example, the UAV 102 may be configured to take off in a controlled motion, such as at a prescribed trajectory and acceleration profile for determining the initial relative heading.”);
determining a set of acceleration profiles for achieving the pre-determined aerial trajectory (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0045; “As another example, the UAV 102 may be configured to take off in a controlled motion, such as at a prescribed trajectory and acceleration profile for determining the initial relative heading.”); and
generating the trajectory profile based on the set of acceleration profiles for achieving the pre-determined aerial trajectory (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0045; “the UAV 102 may takeoff in a known direction, e.g., diagonally to the ground plane at an angled ascent at a known angle and known acceleration. In this case, the UAV 102 may initialize its heading in the Nay frame and the world frame, and proceed with a programmed autonomous navigation course.”).
Regarding claim 7, MAKINENI teaches The system of claim 1, wherein the trajectory profile comprises, for each instance of the plurality of instances of the one or more acceleration profiles of the plurality of acceleration profiles (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0046; “At 506, the UAV 102 may determine the acceleration of the UAV 102 in the world frame based on finite differencing a velocity signal determined based on GNSS information. For example, the acceleration in the world frame may be determined based on determining a finite difference for the velocity signals determined through sequentially received GNSS location data. For example, the GNSS data may be received multiple times per second such as at a rate of 8 hertz, 16 hertz, or the like. The velocity and acceleration of the UAV 102 in the world frame may be determined based on the sequential location information received via the GNSS receiver.”), a direction of travel and wherein the direction of travel is adjusted during execution of the trajectory profile (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0035; “the UAV 102 may apply a weighted sampling technique to a plurality of relative headings for selecting a particular one of the relative headings to use as the current selected relative heading for the UAV 102. For instance, a plurality of directional bins corresponding to the possible angles of the relative heading may be established, and one or more scoring points may be applied to one or more particular bins based on the one or more particular bins matching a calculated relative heading.”).
Regarding claim 8, MAKINENI teaches A method (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0013; “Some implementations herein are directed to techniques and arrangements for enabling a UAV to navigate based on acceleration and position information without relying on inputs from cameras, and without relying on inputs from a compass or other magnetometer. ”) comprising:
receiving, for an uncrewed vehicle, a target location and a target mode, wherein the target mode indicates a type of activity for the uncrewed vehicle MAKINENI, at least one para. 0043; “the process 500 may be performed before or during takeoff of the UAV 102 to establish an initial relative heading of the UAV 102 between the Nay frame and the world frame, which will enable navigating the UAV 102 using world frame measurements, by transforming them into the navigation frame using the relative heading.”) and (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0067; “Furthermore, in some examples, the vehicle control program 802 may receive, one or more control inputs 819 from external sources (e.g., from a remote user using a controller, from a remote navigation application executing on a remote computing device, etc.) through one or more communication interfaces 820, which may set forth one or more specified navigation objectives. For instance, the control input(s) 819 may include calls to via an application programming interface (API) associated with the vehicle control program 802. For example, the API calls may be made by an application executing on a remote computing device or controller 822 for setting one or more navigation objectives as part of the motion planning process. Navigation objectives may include, for example, avoiding collision with other objects, maneuvering to follow a particular object, maneuvering to a specified location, traversing a specified area or the like.”, wherein target location can be maneuvering to a specific location or traversing a specific area, and target mode can be avoiding collision with other objects and follow a particular object);
accessing a plurality of acceleration profiles associated with the uncrewed vehicle, wherein each acceleration profile of the plurality of acceleration profiles comprises a corresponding first duration for accelerating the uncrewed vehicle (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0045; “the UAV 102 may be configured to take off in a controlled motion, such as at a prescribed trajectory and acceleration profile for determining the initial relative heading. For instance, the UAV 102 may takeoff in a known direction, e.g., diagonally to the ground plane at an angled ascent at a known angle and known acceleration. In this case, the UAV 102 may initialize its heading in the Nay frame and the world frame, and proceed with a programmed autonomous navigation course.”) and a corresponding second duration for not accelerating the uncrewed vehicle (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0040; “In the case that the relative heading between the Nay frame 108 and the world frame 110 is not determined with sufficient certainty during the takeoff sequence, the UAV 102 may be configured to automatically land or otherwise return as near as possible to the takeoff location 402.”, it is inherent that not decelerating of the uncrewed vehicle is a component within the acceleration profile in order to land the vehicle);
generating, based on the target location and the target mode, a trajectory profile for the target location, wherein the trajectory profile comprises a plurality of instances of one or more acceleration profiles of the plurality of acceleration profiles (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0045; “the UAV 102 may takeoff in a known direction, e.g., diagonally to the ground plane at an angled ascent at a known angle and known acceleration. In this case, the UAV 102 may initialize its heading in the Nay frame and the world frame, and proceed with a programmed autonomous navigation course.”);
causing the trajectory profile to be executed on the uncrewed vehicle (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0047; “At 508, the UAV 102 may determine a relative heading between the Nay frame and the world frame of the UAV based on the acceleration and rotation of the UAV measured in the Nay frame and the acceleration of the UAV determined in the world frame.”); and
determining locations of the uncrewed vehicle as the trajectory profile is executed (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0046; “At 506, the UAV 102 may determine the acceleration of the UAV 102 in the world frame based on finite differencing a velocity signal determined based on GNSS information. For example, the acceleration in the world frame may be determined based on determining a finite difference for the velocity signals determined through sequentially received GNSS location data. For example, the GNSS data may be received multiple times per second such as at a rate of 8 hertz, 16 hertz, or the like. The velocity and acceleration of the UAV 102 in the world frame may be determined based on the sequential location information received via the GNSS receiver.”).
Regarding claim 9, MAKINENI teaches The method of claim 8, further comprising generating the plurality of acceleration profiles, wherein each acceleration profile of the plurality of acceleration profiles comprises the corresponding first duration determined based on vehicle parameters of the uncrewed vehicle (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0039; “the UAV 102 may be programmed to determine the relative heading between the Nay frame 108 and the world frame 110. In the illustrated example, the UAV 102 may be programmed to takeoff at a known acceleration profile, i.e., accelerating at a given acceleration for a given amount of time.”), the vehicle parameters comprising at least one of vehicle type or an acceleration sensor type (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0091; “UAV 102 may include one or more of the IMUs 814. The IMU 814 may measure and report the velocity, acceleration, orientation, and gravitational forces on the UAV 102, such as by using a combination of the gyroscopes 916 and accelerometers 914.”).
Regarding claim 13, MAKINENI teaches The method of claim 8, wherein generating the trajectory profile for travelling to the target location further (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0045; “the UAV 102 may takeoff in a known direction, e.g., diagonally to the ground plane at an angled ascent at a known angle and known acceleration. In this case, the UAV 102 may initialize its heading in the Nay frame and the world frame, and proceed with a programmed autonomous navigation course.”) comprises:
determining that the target mode comprises a request for a pre-determined aerial trajectory (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0045; “As another example, the UAV 102 may be configured to take off in a controlled motion, such as at a prescribed trajectory and acceleration profile for determining the initial relative heading.”);
determining a set of acceleration profiles for achieving the pre-determined aerial trajectory (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0045; “As another example, the UAV 102 may be configured to take off in a controlled motion, such as at a prescribed trajectory and acceleration profile for determining the initial relative heading.”); and
generating the trajectory profile based on the set of acceleration profiles for achieving the pre-determined aerial trajectory (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0045; “the UAV 102 may takeoff in a known direction, e.g., diagonally to the ground plane at an angled ascent at a known angle and known acceleration. In this case, the UAV 102 may initialize its heading in the Nay frame and the world frame, and proceed with a programmed autonomous navigation course.”).
Regarding claim 14, MAKINENI teaches The method of claim 8, wherein the trajectory profile comprises, for each instance of the plurality of instances of the one or more acceleration profiles of the plurality of acceleration profiles (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0046; “At 506, the UAV 102 may determine the acceleration of the UAV 102 in the world frame based on finite differencing a velocity signal determined based on GNSS information. For example, the acceleration in the world frame may be determined based on determining a finite difference for the velocity signals determined through sequentially received GNSS location data. For example, the GNSS data may be received multiple times per second such as at a rate of 8 hertz, 16 hertz, or the like. The velocity and acceleration of the UAV 102 in the world frame may be determined based on the sequential location information received via the GNSS receiver.”), a direction of travel and wherein the direction of travel is adjusted during execution of the trajectory profile (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0035; “the UAV 102 may apply a weighted sampling technique to a plurality of relative headings for selecting a particular one of the relative headings to use as the current selected relative heading for the UAV 102. For instance, a plurality of directional bins corresponding to the possible angles of the relative heading may be established, and one or more scoring points may be applied to one or more particular bins based on the one or more particular bins matching a calculated relative heading.”).
Regarding claim 15, MAKINENI teaches One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions thereon, wherein the instructions cause one or more processors to perform operations (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0026; “The processor may receive, as inputs, GNSS location coordinates in the world frame 110. The processor may also receive measurements in the body frame 106 based on the output of the vehicle IMU, which may include the acceleration of the UAV 102 and the rotation of the UAV 102 relative to the Nay frame. Based on these inputs, the processor is able to compute the rotation between the world frame 110 and the Nay frame 108 (e.g., a yaw angle). When the yaw angle of the body of the UAV 102 is determined with respect to the world frame, the heading of the UAV 102 can be used for controlling the navigation of the UAV 102.”) comprising:
receiving, for an uncrewed vehicle, a target location and a target mode, wherein the target mode indicates a type of activity for the uncrewed vehicle (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0043; “the process 500 may be performed before or during takeoff of the UAV 102 to establish an initial relative heading of the UAV 102 between the Nay frame and the world frame, which will enable navigating the UAV 102 using world frame measurements, by transforming them into the navigation frame using the relative heading.”) and (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0067; “Furthermore, in some examples, the vehicle control program 802 may receive, one or more control inputs 819 from external sources (e.g., from a remote user using a controller, from a remote navigation application executing on a remote computing device, etc.) through one or more communication interfaces 820, which may set forth one or more specified navigation objectives. For instance, the control input(s) 819 may include calls to via an application programming interface (API) associated with the vehicle control program 802. For example, the API calls may be made by an application executing on a remote computing device or controller 822 for setting one or more navigation objectives as part of the motion planning process. Navigation objectives may include, for example, avoiding collision with other objects, maneuvering to follow a particular object, maneuvering to a specified location, traversing a specified area or the like.”, wherein target location can be maneuvering to a specific location or traversing a specific area, and target mode can be avoiding collision with other objects and follow a particular object);
accessing a plurality of acceleration profiles associated with the uncrewed vehicle, wherein each acceleration profile of the plurality of acceleration profiles comprises a corresponding first duration for accelerating the uncrewed vehicle (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0045; “the UAV 102 may be configured to take off in a controlled motion, such as at a prescribed trajectory and acceleration profile for determining the initial relative heading. For instance, the UAV 102 may takeoff in a known direction, e.g., diagonally to the ground plane at an angled ascent at a known angle and known acceleration. In this case, the UAV 102 may initialize its heading in the Nay frame and the world frame, and proceed with a programmed autonomous navigation course.”) and a corresponding second duration for not accelerating the uncrewed vehicle (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0040; “In the case that the relative heading between the Nay frame 108 and the world frame 110 is not determined with sufficient certainty during the takeoff sequence, the UAV 102 may be configured to automatically land or otherwise return as near as possible to the takeoff location 402.”, it is inherent that not decelerating of the uncrewed vehicle is a component within the acceleration profile in order to land the vehicle);
generating, based on the target location and the target mode, a trajectory profile for the target location, wherein the trajectory profile comprises a plurality of instances of one or more acceleration profiles of the plurality of acceleration profiles (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0045; “the UAV 102 may takeoff in a known direction, e.g., diagonally to the ground plane at an angled ascent at a known angle and known acceleration. In this case, the UAV 102 may initialize its heading in the Nay frame and the world frame, and proceed with a programmed autonomous navigation course.”); and
causing the trajectory profile to be executed on the uncrewed vehicle (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0046; “At 506, the UAV 102 may determine the acceleration of the UAV 102 in the world frame based on finite differencing a velocity signal determined based on GNSS information. For example, the acceleration in the world frame may be determined based on determining a finite difference for the velocity signals determined through sequentially received GNSS location data. For example, the GNSS data may be received multiple times per second such as at a rate of 8 hertz, 16 hertz, or the like. The velocity and acceleration of the UAV 102 in the world frame may be determined based on the sequential location information received via the GNSS receiver.”) and (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0047; “At 508, the UAV 102 may determine a relative heading between the Nay frame and the world frame of the UAV based on the acceleration and rotation of the UAV measured in the Nay frame and the acceleration of the UAV determined in the world frame.”).
Regarding claim 16, MAKINENI teaches The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein each acceleration profile of the plurality of acceleration profiles comprises the corresponding first duration determined based on vehicle parameters of the uncrewed vehicle (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0039; “the UAV 102 may be programmed to determine the relative heading between the Nay frame 108 and the world frame 110. In the illustrated example, the UAV 102 may be programmed to takeoff at a known acceleration profile, i.e., accelerating at a given acceleration for a given amount of time.”), the vehicle parameters comprising at least one of vehicle type or an acceleration sensor type (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0091; “UAV 102 may include one or more of the IMUs 814. The IMU 814 may measure and report the velocity, acceleration, orientation, and gravitational forces on the UAV 102, such as by using a combination of the gyroscopes 916 and accelerometers 914.”).
Regarding claim 20, MAKINENI teaches The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the instructions for generating the trajectory profile for travelling to the target location further cause the one or more processors to perform operations (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0045; “the UAV 102 may takeoff in a known direction, e.g., diagonally to the ground plane at an angled ascent at a known angle and known acceleration. In this case, the UAV 102 may initialize its heading in the Nay frame and the world frame, and proceed with a programmed autonomous navigation course.”) comprising:
determining that the target mode comprises a request for a pre-determined aerial trajectory (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0045; “As another example, the UAV 102 may be configured to take off in a controlled motion, such as at a prescribed trajectory and acceleration profile for determining the initial relative heading.”);
determining a set of acceleration profiles for achieving the pre-determined aerial trajectory (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0045; “As another example, the UAV 102 may be configured to take off in a controlled motion, such as at a prescribed trajectory and acceleration profile for determining the initial relative heading.”); and
generating the trajectory profile based on the set of acceleration profiles for achieving the pre-determined aerial trajectory (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0045; “the UAV 102 may takeoff in a known direction, e.g., diagonally to the ground plane at an angled ascent at a known angle and known acceleration. In this case, the UAV 102 may initialize its heading in the Nay frame and the world frame, and proceed with a programmed autonomous navigation course.”).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 3-4, 10-11, and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MAKINENI (US 20220120918 A1) as applied to claim 1, 8, and 15 above, respectively, and further in view of Chesser (US 8991765 B1) and Althobaiti (US 20240134373 A1).
Regarding claim 3, MAKINENI teaches The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions for generating the trajectory profile for travelling to the target location further cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
determining that the target mode (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0067; “Navigation objectives may include, for example, avoiding collision with other objects, maneuvering to follow a particular object, maneuvering to a specified location, traversing a specified area or the like.”, wherein the target mode can be avoiding collision with other objects and follow a particular object)
generating a plurality of waypoints to the target location (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0037; “When the relative heading between the Nay frame and the world frame has been determined, the UAV 102 may transform the Nay frame heading to the world frame to determine a heading of the UAV 102 in the world frame 110, e.g., as discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2. [0015] The UAV may determine a plurality of sequential relative headings for the UAV based on the GNSS information and the IMU information.”),
generating a plurality of portions of the trajectory profile for travelling to the target location through the plurality of waypoints, wherein each portion of the plurality of portions of the trajectory profile comprises a set of instances of the one or more acceleration profiles (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0072; “As discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1-7, the vehicle heading program 804 may determine an initial vehicle heading before or during takeoff, and may continually determine subsequent vehicle headings during flight of the vehicle, such as to enable navigation in no-light or low-light conditions. Thus, the IMU 814 may provide a body acceleration 830 and a body rotation 832 to the vehicle heading program 804. Further, the GNSS receiver may provide sequential location data to the vehicle heading program 804 for determining a world acceleration 834. Based on the data 830-834, as discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1-7, the vehicle heading program 804 may determine the relative heading between the Nay frame and the World frame, and may use that to determine a world heading of the UAV 102 in the world frame. ”).
MAKINENI does not explicitly teach about comprises a request to obscure pathing
wherein each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints is closer to the target location than a previous waypoint; and
However, Chesser, in the same field of endeavor (Chesser, col 1: lines 56-61; “In one illustrative embodiment, a method for generating avoidance data is presented. Strips are generated for a path of a space object. The strips are positioned relative to the path of the space object. The strips have parameters that obscure an identification of the path of the space object to form the avoidance data.”) teaches a request to obscure pathing (Chesser, col 4: lines 19-26; “In these illustrative examples, strip 114 may be configured in a manner that avoids an identification of the location of satellite 108. In one illustrative example, multiple strips may be used in place of strip 114 in which those strips have parameters that obscure identification of a location of satellite 108. In other words, the information is generated in such a manner that an identification of orbital path 110 is obscured and cannot be easily identified.”).
wherein each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints is closer to the target location than a previous waypoint; and
MAKINENI and Chesser are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because both of them are in the same field as trajectory planning of unmanned vehicle as the claimed invention. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified the target mode of MAKINENI with the teaching of Chesser. One of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification so that exact location of the unmanned vehicle cannot be easily identifiable (Chesser, col. 6: paragraph 4).
The combination of MAKINENI and Chesser does not explicitly teach wherein each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints is closer to the target location than a previous waypoint; and
However, Althobaiti, in the same field of endeavor (Althobaiti, at least one para. 0001; “The present disclosure generally relates to the control of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and specifically to using augmented reality (AR) display features for respective wayfinding and precision landing control modes during inspection and/or maintenance of a structure.”) teaches wherein each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints is closer to the target location than a previous waypoint (Althobaiti, at least one para. 0044; “As illustrated in FIG. 1, UAV 100 is initially (1) navigated from the home base 105 to a vicinity of inspection point 110; and then, (2) switched to a precision landing mode once it reaches a vicinity of the inspection point 110. In the (1) navigation mode, the display features on the control device of the operator includes AR elements that indicate one or more waypoints (e.g., at or in the vicinity of one or more respective inspection points) and corresponding paths thereto and/or therebetween.”); and
The combination of MAKINENI, Chesser, and Althobaiti are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because all of them are in the same field as trajectory planning of unmanned vehicle as the claimed invention. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modify the waypoints of MAKINENI with the teaching of Althobaiti. All the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention.
Regarding claim 4, MAKINENI teaches The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions for generating the trajectory profile for travelling to the target location further cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
determining that the target mode (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0067; “Navigation objectives may include, for example, avoiding collision with other objects, maneuvering to follow a particular object, maneuvering to a specified location, traversing a specified area or the like.”, wherein the target mode can be avoiding collision with other objects and follow a particular object)
generating a plurality of waypoints (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0037; “When the relative heading between the Nay frame and the world frame has been determined, the UAV 102 may transform the Nay frame heading to the world frame to determine a heading of the UAV 102 in the world frame 110, e.g., as discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2. [0015] The UAV may determine a plurality of sequential relative headings for the UAV based on the GNSS information and the IMU information.”),
generating a plurality of portions of the trajectory profile, wherein each portion of the plurality of portions of the trajectory profile comprises a set of instances of the one or more acceleration profiles for travelling to one of the plurality of waypoints (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0072; “As discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1-7, the vehicle heading program 804 may determine an initial vehicle heading before or during takeoff, and may continually determine subsequent vehicle headings during flight of the vehicle, such as to enable navigation in no-light or low-light conditions. Thus, the IMU 814 may provide a body acceleration 830 and a body rotation 832 to the vehicle heading program 804. Further, the GNSS receiver may provide sequential location data to the vehicle heading program 804 for determining a world acceleration 834. Based on the data 830-834, as discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1-7, the vehicle heading program 804 may determine the relative heading between the Nay frame and the World frame, and may use that to determine a world heading of the UAV 102 in the world frame. ”).
MAKINENI does not explicitly teach about comprises a request to obscure the target location;
wherein each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints is within a range of the target location;
adding the target location to the plurality of waypoints; and
However, Chesser, in the same field of endeavor (Chesser, col 1: lines 56-61; “In one illustrative embodiment, a method for generating avoidance data is presented. Strips are generated for a path of a space object. The strips are positioned relative to the path of the space object. The strips have parameters that obscure an identification of the path of the space object to form the avoidance data.”) teaches comprises a request to obscure the target location (Chesser, col 4: lines 19-26; “In these illustrative examples, strip 114 may be configured in a manner that avoids an identification of the location of satellite 108. In one illustrative example, multiple strips may be used in place of strip 114 in which those strips have parameters that obscure identification of a location of satellite 108. In other words, the information is generated in such a manner that an identification of orbital path 110 is obscured and cannot be easily identified.”);
wherein each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints is within a range of the target location;
adding the target location to the plurality of waypoints; and
MAKINENI and Chesser are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because both of them are in the same field as trajectory planning of unmanned vehicle as the claimed invention. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified the target mode of MAKINENI with the teaching of Chesser. One of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification so that exact location of the unmanned vehicle cannot be easily identifiable (Chesser, col. 6: paragraph 4).
The combination of MAKINENI and Chesser does not explicitly teach wherein each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints is within a range of the target location;
adding the target location to the plurality of waypoints; and
However, Althobaiti, in the same field of endeavor (Althobaiti, at least one para. 0001; “The present disclosure generally relates to the control of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and specifically to using augmented reality (AR) display features for respective wayfinding and precision landing control modes during inspection and/or maintenance of a structure.”) teaches wherein each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints is within a range of the target location (Althobaiti, at least one para. 0044; “As illustrated in FIG. 1, UAV 100 is initially (1) navigated from the home base 105 to a vicinity of inspection point 110; and then, (2) switched to a precision landing mode once it reaches a vicinity of the inspection point 110. In the (1) navigation mode, the display features on the control device of the operator includes AR elements that indicate one or more waypoints (e.g., at or in the vicinity of one or more respective inspection points) and corresponding paths thereto and/or therebetween.”);
adding the target location to the plurality of waypoints (Althobaiti, at least one para. 0097; “According to one implementation of the present disclosure, UAV 100 performs certain checks immediately before touching down on a landing spot (e.g., visualized target 715 for landing target 615) at a waypoint that is very near a structure (e.g., pipe 115).”); and
The combination of MAKINENI, Chesser, and Althobaiti are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because all of them are in the same field as trajectory planning of unmanned vehicle as the claimed invention. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modify the waypoints of MAKINENI with the teaching of Althobaiti. All the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention.
Regarding claim 10, MAKINENI teaches The method of claim 8, wherein generating the trajectory profile for travelling to the target location further comprises:
determining that the target mode (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0067; “Navigation objectives may include, for example, avoiding collision with other objects, maneuvering to follow a particular object, maneuvering to a specified location, traversing a specified area or the like.”, wherein the target mode can be avoiding collision with other objects and follow a particular object)
generating a plurality of waypoints to the target location (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0037; “When the relative heading between the Nay frame and the world frame has been determined, the UAV 102 may transform the Nay frame heading to the world frame to determine a heading of the UAV 102 in the world frame 110, e.g., as discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2. [0015] The UAV may determine a plurality of sequential relative headings for the UAV based on the GNSS information and the IMU information.”),
generating a plurality of portions of the trajectory profile for travelling to the target location through the plurality of waypoints, wherein each portion of the plurality of portions of the trajectory profile comprises a set of instances of the one or more acceleration profiles (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0072; “As discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1-7, the vehicle heading program 804 may determine an initial vehicle heading before or during takeoff, and may continually determine subsequent vehicle headings during flight of the vehicle, such as to enable navigation in no-light or low-light conditions. Thus, the IMU 814 may provide a body acceleration 830 and a body rotation 832 to the vehicle heading program 804. Further, the GNSS receiver may provide sequential location data to the vehicle heading program 804 for determining a world acceleration 834. Based on the data 830-834, as discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1-7, the vehicle heading program 804 may determine the relative heading between the Nay frame and the World frame, and may use that to determine a world heading of the UAV 102 in the world frame. ”).
MAKINENI does not explicitly teach about comprises a request to obscure pathing
wherein each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints is closer to the target location than a previous waypoint; and
However, Chesser, in the same field of endeavor (Chesser, col 1: lines 56-61; “In one illustrative embodiment, a method for generating avoidance data is presented. Strips are generated for a path of a space object. The strips are positioned relative to the path of the space object. The strips have parameters that obscure an identification of the path of the space object to form the avoidance data.”) teaches a request to obscure pathing (Chesser, col 4: lines 19-26; “In these illustrative examples, strip 114 may be configured in a manner that avoids an identification of the location of satellite 108. In one illustrative example, multiple strips may be used in place of strip 114 in which those strips have parameters that obscure identification of a location of satellite 108. In other words, the information is generated in such a manner that an identification of orbital path 110 is obscured and cannot be easily identified.”).
wherein each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints is closer to the target location than a previous waypoint; and
MAKINENI and Chesser are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because both of them are in the same field as trajectory planning of unmanned vehicle as the claimed invention. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified the target mode of MAKINENI with the teaching of Chesser. One of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification so that exact location of the unmanned vehicle cannot be easily identifiable (Chesser, col. 6: paragraph 4).
The combination of MAKINENI and Chesser does not explicitly teach wherein each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints is closer to the target location than a previous waypoint; and
However, Althobaiti, in the same field of endeavor (Althobaiti, at least one para. 0001; “The present disclosure generally relates to the control of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and specifically to using augmented reality (AR) display features for respective wayfinding and precision landing control modes during inspection and/or maintenance of a structure.”) teaches wherein each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints is closer to the target location than a previous waypoint (Althobaiti, at least one para. 0044; “As illustrated in FIG. 1, UAV 100 is initially (1) navigated from the home base 105 to a vicinity of inspection point 110; and then, (2) switched to a precision landing mode once it reaches a vicinity of the inspection point 110. In the (1) navigation mode, the display features on the control device of the operator includes AR elements that indicate one or more waypoints (e.g., at or in the vicinity of one or more respective inspection points) and corresponding paths thereto and/or therebetween.”); and
The combination of MAKINENI, Chesser, and Althobaiti are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because all of them are in the same field as trajectory planning of unmanned vehicle as the claimed invention. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modify the waypoints of MAKINENI with the teaching of Althobaiti. All the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention.
Regarding claim 11, MAKINENI teaches The method of claim 8, wherein generating the trajectory profile for travelling to the target location further comprises:
determining that the target mode (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0067; “Navigation objectives may include, for example, avoiding collision with other objects, maneuvering to follow a particular object, maneuvering to a specified location, traversing a specified area or the like.”, wherein the target mode can be avoiding collision with other objects and follow a particular object)
generating a plurality of waypoints (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0037; “When the relative heading between the Nay frame and the world frame has been determined, the UAV 102 may transform the Nay frame heading to the world frame to determine a heading of the UAV 102 in the world frame 110, e.g., as discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2. [0015] The UAV may determine a plurality of sequential relative headings for the UAV based on the GNSS information and the IMU information.”),
generating a plurality of portions of the trajectory profile, wherein each portion of the plurality of portions of the trajectory profile comprises a set of instances of the one or more acceleration profiles for travelling to one of the plurality of waypoints (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0072; “As discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1-7, the vehicle heading program 804 may determine an initial vehicle heading before or during takeoff, and may continually determine subsequent vehicle headings during flight of the vehicle, such as to enable navigation in no-light or low-light conditions. Thus, the IMU 814 may provide a body acceleration 830 and a body rotation 832 to the vehicle heading program 804. Further, the GNSS receiver may provide sequential location data to the vehicle heading program 804 for determining a world acceleration 834. Based on the data 830-834, as discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1-7, the vehicle heading program 804 may determine the relative heading between the Nay frame and the World frame, and may use that to determine a world heading of the UAV 102 in the world frame. ”).
MAKINENI does not explicitly teach about comprises a request to obscure the target location;
wherein each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints is within a range of the target location;
adding the target location to the plurality of waypoints; and
However, Chesser, in the same field of endeavor (Chesser, col 1: lines 56-61; “In one illustrative embodiment, a method for generating avoidance data is presented. Strips are generated for a path of a space object. The strips are positioned relative to the path of the space object. The strips have parameters that obscure an identification of the path of the space object to form the avoidance data.”) teaches comprises a request to obscure the target location (Chesser, col 4: lines 19-26; “In these illustrative examples, strip 114 may be configured in a manner that avoids an identification of the location of satellite 108. In one illustrative example, multiple strips may be used in place of strip 114 in which those strips have parameters that obscure identification of a location of satellite 108. In other words, the information is generated in such a manner that an identification of orbital path 110 is obscured and cannot be easily identified.”);
wherein each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints is within a range of the target location;
adding the target location to the plurality of waypoints; and
MAKINENI and Chesser are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because both of them are in the same field as trajectory planning of unmanned vehicle as the claimed invention. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified the target mode of MAKINENI with the teaching of Chesser. One of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification so that exact location of the unmanned vehicle cannot be easily identifiable (Chesser, col. 6: paragraph 4).
The combination of MAKINENI and Chesser does not explicitly teach wherein each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints is within a range of the target location;
adding the target location to the plurality of waypoints; and
However, Althobaiti, in the same field of endeavor (Althobaiti, at least one para. 0001; “The present disclosure generally relates to the control of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and specifically to using augmented reality (AR) display features for respective wayfinding and precision landing control modes during inspection and/or maintenance of a structure.”) teaches wherein each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints is within a range of the target location (Althobaiti, at least one para. 0044; “As illustrated in FIG. 1, UAV 100 is initially (1) navigated from the home base 105 to a vicinity of inspection point 110; and then, (2) switched to a precision landing mode once it reaches a vicinity of the inspection point 110. In the (1) navigation mode, the display features on the control device of the operator includes AR elements that indicate one or more waypoints (e.g., at or in the vicinity of one or more respective inspection points) and corresponding paths thereto and/or therebetween.”);
adding the target location to the plurality of waypoints (Althobaiti, at least one para. 0097; “According to one implementation of the present disclosure, UAV 100 performs certain checks immediately before touching down on a landing spot (e.g., visualized target 715 for landing target 615) at a waypoint that is very near a structure (e.g., pipe 115).”); and
The combination of MAKINENI, Chesser, and Althobaiti are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because all of them are in the same field as trajectory planning of unmanned vehicle as the claimed invention. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modify the waypoints of MAKINENI with the teaching of Althobaiti. All the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention.
Regarding claim 17, MAKINENI teaches The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the instructions for generating the trajectory profile for travelling to the target location further cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
determining that the target mode (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0067; “Navigation objectives may include, for example, avoiding collision with other objects, maneuvering to follow a particular object, maneuvering to a specified location, traversing a specified area or the like.”, wherein the target mode can be avoiding collision with other objects and follow a particular object)
generating a plurality of waypoints to the target location (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0037; “When the relative heading between the Nay frame and the world frame has been determined, the UAV 102 may transform the Nay frame heading to the world frame to determine a heading of the UAV 102 in the world frame 110, e.g., as discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2. [0015] The UAV may determine a plurality of sequential relative headings for the UAV based on the GNSS information and the IMU information.”),
generating a plurality of portions of the trajectory profile for travelling to the target location through the plurality of waypoints, wherein each portion of the plurality of portions of the trajectory profile comprises a set of instances of the one or more acceleration profiles (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0072; “As discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1-7, the vehicle heading program 804 may determine an initial vehicle heading before or during takeoff, and may continually determine subsequent vehicle headings during flight of the vehicle, such as to enable navigation in no-light or low-light conditions. Thus, the IMU 814 may provide a body acceleration 830 and a body rotation 832 to the vehicle heading program 804. Further, the GNSS receiver may provide sequential location data to the vehicle heading program 804 for determining a world acceleration 834. Based on the data 830-834, as discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1-7, the vehicle heading program 804 may determine the relative heading between the Nay frame and the World frame, and may use that to determine a world heading of the UAV 102 in the world frame. ”).
MAKINENI does not explicitly teach about comprises a request to obscure pathing
wherein each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints is closer to the target location than a previous waypoint; and
However, Chesser, in the same field of endeavor (Chesser, col 1: lines 56-61; “In one illustrative embodiment, a method for generating avoidance data is presented. Strips are generated for a path of a space object. The strips are positioned relative to the path of the space object. The strips have parameters that obscure an identification of the path of the space object to form the avoidance data.”) teaches a request to obscure pathing (Chesser, col 4: lines 19-26; “In these illustrative examples, strip 114 may be configured in a manner that avoids an identification of the location of satellite 108. In one illustrative example, multiple strips may be used in place of strip 114 in which those strips have parameters that obscure identification of a location of satellite 108. In other words, the information is generated in such a manner that an identification of orbital path 110 is obscured and cannot be easily identified.”).
wherein each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints is closer to the target location than a previous waypoint; and
MAKINENI and Chesser are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because both of them are in the same field as trajectory planning of unmanned vehicle as the claimed invention. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified the target mode of MAKINENI with the teaching of Chesser. One of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification so that exact location of the unmanned vehicle cannot be easily identifiable (Chesser, col. 6: paragraph 4).
The combination of MAKINENI and Chesser does not explicitly teach wherein each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints is closer to the target location than a previous waypoint; and
However, Althobaiti, in the same field of endeavor (Althobaiti, at least one para. 0001; “The present disclosure generally relates to the control of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and specifically to using augmented reality (AR) display features for respective wayfinding and precision landing control modes during inspection and/or maintenance of a structure.”) teaches wherein each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints is closer to the target location than a previous waypoint (Althobaiti, at least one para. 0044; “As illustrated in FIG. 1, UAV 100 is initially (1) navigated from the home base 105 to a vicinity of inspection point 110; and then, (2) switched to a precision landing mode once it reaches a vicinity of the inspection point 110. In the (1) navigation mode, the display features on the control device of the operator includes AR elements that indicate one or more waypoints (e.g., at or in the vicinity of one or more respective inspection points) and corresponding paths thereto and/or therebetween.”); and
The combination of MAKINENI, Chesser, and Althobaiti are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because all of them are in the same field as trajectory planning of unmanned vehicle as the claimed invention. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modify the waypoints of MAKINENI with the teaching of Althobaiti. All the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention.
Regarding claim 18, MAKINENI teaches The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the instructions for generating the trajectory profile for travelling to the target location further cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
determining that the target mode (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0067; “Navigation objectives may include, for example, avoiding collision with other objects, maneuvering to follow a particular object, maneuvering to a specified location, traversing a specified area or the like.”, wherein the target mode can be avoiding collision with other objects and follow a particular object)
generating a plurality of waypoints (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0037; “When the relative heading between the Nay frame and the world frame has been determined, the UAV 102 may transform the Nay frame heading to the world frame to determine a heading of the UAV 102 in the world frame 110, e.g., as discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2. [0015] The UAV may determine a plurality of sequential relative headings for the UAV based on the GNSS information and the IMU information.”),
generating a plurality of portions of the trajectory profile, wherein each portion of the plurality of portions of the trajectory profile comprises a set of instances of the one or more acceleration profiles for travelling to one of the plurality of waypoints (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0072; “As discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1-7, the vehicle heading program 804 may determine an initial vehicle heading before or during takeoff, and may continually determine subsequent vehicle headings during flight of the vehicle, such as to enable navigation in no-light or low-light conditions. Thus, the IMU 814 may provide a body acceleration 830 and a body rotation 832 to the vehicle heading program 804. Further, the GNSS receiver may provide sequential location data to the vehicle heading program 804 for determining a world acceleration 834. Based on the data 830-834, as discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1-7, the vehicle heading program 804 may determine the relative heading between the Nay frame and the World frame, and may use that to determine a world heading of the UAV 102 in the world frame. ”).
MAKINENI does not explicitly teach about comprises a request to obscure the target location;
wherein each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints is within a range of the target location;
adding the target location to the plurality of waypoints; and
However, Chesser, in the same field of endeavor (Chesser, col 1: lines 56-61; “In one illustrative embodiment, a method for generating avoidance data is presented. Strips are generated for a path of a space object. The strips are positioned relative to the path of the space object. The strips have parameters that obscure an identification of the path of the space object to form the avoidance data.”) teaches comprises a request to obscure the target location (Chesser, col 4: lines 19-26; “In these illustrative examples, strip 114 may be configured in a manner that avoids an identification of the location of satellite 108. In one illustrative example, multiple strips may be used in place of strip 114 in which those strips have parameters that obscure identification of a location of satellite 108. In other words, the information is generated in such a manner that an identification of orbital path 110 is obscured and cannot be easily identified.”);
wherein each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints is within a range of the target location;
adding the target location to the plurality of waypoints; and
MAKINENI and Chesser are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because both of them are in the same field as trajectory planning of unmanned vehicle as the claimed invention. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modified the target mode of MAKINENI with the teaching of Chesser. One of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification so that exact location of the unmanned vehicle cannot be easily identifiable (Chesser, col. 6: paragraph 4).
The combination of MAKINENI and Chesser does not explicitly teach wherein each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints is within a range of the target location;
adding the target location to the plurality of waypoints; and
However, Althobaiti, in the same field of endeavor (Althobaiti, at least one para. 0001; “The present disclosure generally relates to the control of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and specifically to using augmented reality (AR) display features for respective wayfinding and precision landing control modes during inspection and/or maintenance of a structure.”) teaches wherein each waypoint of the plurality of waypoints is within a range of the target location (Althobaiti, at least one para. 0044; “As illustrated in FIG. 1, UAV 100 is initially (1) navigated from the home base 105 to a vicinity of inspection point 110; and then, (2) switched to a precision landing mode once it reaches a vicinity of the inspection point 110. In the (1) navigation mode, the display features on the control device of the operator includes AR elements that indicate one or more waypoints (e.g., at or in the vicinity of one or more respective inspection points) and corresponding paths thereto and/or therebetween.”);
adding the target location to the plurality of waypoints (Althobaiti, at least one para. 0097; “According to one implementation of the present disclosure, UAV 100 performs certain checks immediately before touching down on a landing spot (e.g., visualized target 715 for landing target 615) at a waypoint that is very near a structure (e.g., pipe 115).”); and
The combination of MAKINENI, Chesser, and Althobaiti are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because all of them are in the same field as trajectory planning of unmanned vehicle as the claimed invention. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modify the waypoints of MAKINENI with the teaching of Althobaiti. All the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention.
Claim(s) 5, 12, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MAKINENI (US 20220120918 A1) as applied to claim 1, 8, and 15 above, respectively, and further in view of LI (CN 119414858 A).
Regarding claim 5, MAKINENI teaches The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions or generating the trajectory profile for travelling to the target location further cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
determining that the target mode (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0067; “Navigation objectives may include, for example, avoiding collision with other objects, maneuvering to follow a particular object, maneuvering to a specified location, traversing a specified area or the like. (wherein the traget mode can be avoiding collision with other objects and follow a particualr object)”) comprises a request for minimum noise;
determining a set of acceleration profiles associated with minimal noise generation; and (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0045; “the UAV 102 may be configured to take off in a controlled motion, such as at a prescribed trajectory and acceleration profile for determining the initial relative heading. For instance, the UAV 102 may takeoff in a known direction, e.g., diagonally to the ground plane at an angled ascent at a known angle and known acceleration. In this case, the UAV 102 may initialize its heading in the Nay frame and the world frame, and proceed with a programmed autonomous navigation course.”)
generating the trajectory profile based on the set of acceleration profiles associated with the minimal noise generation. (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0045; “the UAV 102 may takeoff in a known direction, e.g., diagonally to the ground plane at an angled ascent at a known angle and known acceleration. In this case, the UAV 102 may initialize its heading in the Nay frame and the world frame, and proceed with a programmed autonomous navigation course.”)
MAKINENI does not explicitly teach about comprises a request for minimum noise and the association of the minimum noise.
However, LI, in the same field of endeavor (LI, Technical field; “The invention relates to the technical field of unmanned aerial vehicle path planning, especially relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle low-cost flight path planning method based on noise protection area.”) teaches comprises a request for minimum noise and the association of the minimum noise (LI, content of the invention; “In the flight path planning of the unmanned aerial vehicle of the invention, in the aspects of enriching the path selection and optimizing the path smoothing and so on, the method for improving Dubins path planning is proposed, improving the selectable path enrichment of Dubins path planning, and shortens the flight distance of the unmanned aerial vehicle, improves the operation efficiency, at the same time, based on the total energy consumption cost, the total noise cost is combined with the Dijkstra algorithm, based on the setting of the noise protection area of the building, the unmanned aerial vehicle has the minimum noise influence under the preset flight height in the urban low-altitude area, It has the lowest cost, high efficiency and safe running path.”).
The combination of MAKINENI and LI are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because all of them are in the same field as trajectory planning of unmanned vehicle as the claimed invention. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modify the target mode and acceleration profile of MAKINENI with the teaching of LI. All the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention. Furthermore, One of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification so that most efficient path can be calculated while accommodating the noise protected area (LI, content of the invention).
Regarding claim 12, MAKINENI teaches The method of claim 8, wherein generating the trajectory profile for travelling to the target location further comprises:
determining that the target mode (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0067; “Navigation objectives may include, for example, avoiding collision with other objects, maneuvering to follow a particular object, maneuvering to a specified location, traversing a specified area or the like. (wherein the traget mode can be avoiding collision with other objects and follow a particualr object)”) comprises a request for minimum noise;
determining a set of acceleration profiles associated with minimal noise generation; and (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0045; “the UAV 102 may be configured to take off in a controlled motion, such as at a prescribed trajectory and acceleration profile for determining the initial relative heading. For instance, the UAV 102 may takeoff in a known direction, e.g., diagonally to the ground plane at an angled ascent at a known angle and known acceleration. In this case, the UAV 102 may initialize its heading in the Nay frame and the world frame, and proceed with a programmed autonomous navigation course.”)
generating the trajectory profile based on the set of acceleration profiles associated with the minimal noise generation. (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0045; “the UAV 102 may takeoff in a known direction, e.g., diagonally to the ground plane at an angled ascent at a known angle and known acceleration. In this case, the UAV 102 may initialize its heading in the Nay frame and the world frame, and proceed with a programmed autonomous navigation course.”)
MAKINENI does not explicitly teach about comprises a request for minimum noise and the association of the minimum noise.
However, LI, in the same field of endeavor (LI, Technical field; “The invention relates to the technical field of unmanned aerial vehicle path planning, especially relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle low-cost flight path planning method based on noise protection area.”) teaches comprises a request for minimum noise and the association of the minimum noise (LI, content of the invention; “In the flight path planning of the unmanned aerial vehicle of the invention, in the aspects of enriching the path selection and optimizing the path smoothing and so on, the method for improving Dubins path planning is proposed, improving the selectable path enrichment of Dubins path planning, and shortens the flight distance of the unmanned aerial vehicle, improves the operation efficiency, at the same time, based on the total energy consumption cost, the total noise cost is combined with the Dijkstra algorithm, based on the setting of the noise protection area of the building, the unmanned aerial vehicle has the minimum noise influence under the preset flight height in the urban low-altitude area, It has the lowest cost, high efficiency and safe running path.”).
The combination of MAKINENI and LI are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because all of them are in the same field as trajectory planning of unmanned vehicle as the claimed invention. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modify the target mode and acceleration profile of MAKINENI with the teaching of LI. All the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention. Furthermore, One of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification so that most efficient path can be calculated while accommodating the noise protected area (LI, content of the invention).
Regarding claim 19, MAKINENI teaches The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the instructions for generating the trajectory profile for travelling to the target location further cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
determining that the target mode (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0067; “Navigation objectives may include, for example, avoiding collision with other objects, maneuvering to follow a particular object, maneuvering to a specified location, traversing a specified area or the like. (wherein the traget mode can be avoiding collision with other objects and follow a particualr object)”) comprises a request for minimum noise;
determining a set of acceleration profiles associated with minimal noise generation; and (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0045; “the UAV 102 may be configured to take off in a controlled motion, such as at a prescribed trajectory and acceleration profile for determining the initial relative heading. For instance, the UAV 102 may takeoff in a known direction, e.g., diagonally to the ground plane at an angled ascent at a known angle and known acceleration. In this case, the UAV 102 may initialize its heading in the Nay frame and the world frame, and proceed with a programmed autonomous navigation course.”)
generating the trajectory profile based on the set of acceleration profiles associated with the minimal noise generation. (MAKINENI, at least one para. 0045; “the UAV 102 may takeoff in a known direction, e.g., diagonally to the ground plane at an angled ascent at a known angle and known acceleration. In this case, the UAV 102 may initialize its heading in the Nay frame and the world frame, and proceed with a programmed autonomous navigation course.”)
MAKINENI does not explicitly teach about comprises a request for minimum noise and the association of the minimum noise.
However, LI, in the same field of endeavor (LI, Technical field; “The invention relates to the technical field of unmanned aerial vehicle path planning, especially relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle low-cost flight path planning method based on noise protection area.”) teaches comprises a request for minimum noise and the association of the minimum noise (LI, content of the invention; “In the flight path planning of the unmanned aerial vehicle of the invention, in the aspects of enriching the path selection and optimizing the path smoothing and so on, the method for improving Dubins path planning is proposed, improving the selectable path enrichment of Dubins path planning, and shortens the flight distance of the unmanned aerial vehicle, improves the operation efficiency, at the same time, based on the total energy consumption cost, the total noise cost is combined with the Dijkstra algorithm, based on the setting of the noise protection area of the building, the unmanned aerial vehicle has the minimum noise influence under the preset flight height in the urban low-altitude area, It has the lowest cost, high efficiency and safe running path.”).
The combination of MAKINENI and LI are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because all of them are in the same field as trajectory planning of unmanned vehicle as the claimed invention. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to have modify the target mode and acceleration profile of MAKINENI with the teaching of LI. All the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention. Furthermore, One of the ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification so that most efficient path can be calculated while accommodating the noise protected area (LI, content of the invention).
Conclusion
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/U.P.C./Examiner, Art Unit 3665 /CHRISTIAN CHACE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3665