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 .
Status of Claims
This Office Action is in response to the application filed on August 7, 2024. Claims 1-20 are pending. Claims 1, 8 and 15 are independent.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDSs) submitted on December 5, 2024 has been considered. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. The Forms PTO-1449 are signed and attached hereto.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Publication No. 2021/0298244 to King et al. (hereinafter “King”).
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by King.
With respect to independent claims 1, 8 and 15, King discloses receiving, at a client device, a map image of a field having a plurality of rows, in which each row includes a plurality of plants (see paragraph [0031]: The AHF system may facilitate collecting plant-related information via one or more autonomous devices instead of a human grower. For example, a ground robot may be equipped with one or more still image cameras or video cameras. The AHF system may maneuver the ground robot to a target plant within the horticultural field to capture pictures (i.e., still images) or a video of the target plant. The pictures or the video may be stored in a digital format, and subsequently analyzed by image processing algorithms to extract various plant-related information including the ones mentioned above. If equipped with multiple cameras, the ground robot may capture a binocular or multi-ocular image or video, which can indicate size of objects in the image or video.);
determining, at a cloud component, a perimeter for the field (see paragraph [0130]: The path can also be defined as a continuous airspace region through which the ground robot is authorized to travel, and parameters can be set so that the ground robot travels through the region or path while maintaining predetermined distances from lateral boundaries of the region. Limits can be defined proportionally (e.g., staying within a central third of any confining dimension of the path) and/or discretely (e.g., no closer than three feet to any path boundary), and can appropriately vary along the path according to various conditions such as obstacles, prevailing winds, or other hazards. Process 1400 may proceed from block 1460 to block 1470 after the ground robot (or each of the ground robots) arrives at the destination.);
determining, at the cloud component, a row distance between at least two rows (see paragraphs [0066] and [0076]: a horticultural field to perform various AHF missions, a ground robot is required to position itself within the horticultural field so that the ground robot may navigate while traversing the horticultural field. In some embodiments, the positioning/navigation function may be realized by a global positioning system (GPS) receiver disposed on the ground robot. As shown on local area map 400, field F04 is divided as a 7×7 matrix having forty-nine local areas, each identified with a respective identifier. For example, the seven local areas in the first column of the matrix are specified with identifiers A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, and A7, respectively, wherein the seven local areas in the middle row of the matrix are specified with identifiers A4, B4, C4, D4, E4, F4, and G4, respectively.);
determining, at the cloud component, a plant type for the plurality of plants (see paragraph [0054]: the camera may be used to capture a picture or a video of a grow operation as plant-related horticultural data, whereas sensors may be used to collect contextual information of a grow operation as non-plant-related horticultural data. Regarding the use of an onboard camera, AHF system 100 may assign a mission, for instance, to a ground robot 131 equipped with a camera to perform the mission. The mission may contain an identification (e.g., a QR code, a serial number, an identification number, or a bar code) of a target plant within field F01, as well as an action to be performed with respect to the target plant.);
determining, at the cloud component, an orientation for one or more rows (see paragraph [0100]: plants in a local area may be growing in rows or clusters but not in physical planters, and each cluster or row of plants may be designated as a PU of the local area. Each PU is uniquely identified by a PU identification (hereinafter referred as a “PUID”) within AHF system 100. Namely, a PU is uniquely identified by its PUID among all the PUs of all the horticultural fields managed by AHF system 100.);
generating, at the cloud component, a row-based frame of reference, in which each row has an associated frame of reference that includes a distance, wherein a location is determined based on a row number and a distance associated with the row number (see paragraphs [0066] and [0076]: a horticultural field to perform various AHF missions, a ground robot is required to position itself within the horticultural field so that the ground robot may navigate while traversing the horticultural field. In some embodiments, the positioning/navigation function may be realized by a global positioning system (GPS) receiver disposed on the ground robot. As shown on local area map 400, field F04 is divided as a 7×7 matrix having forty-nine local areas, each identified with a respective identifier. For example, the seven local areas in the first column of the matrix are specified with identifiers A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, and A7, respectively, wherein the seven local areas in the middle row of the matrix are specified with identifiers A4, B4, C4, D4, E4, F4, and G4, respectively.);
generating, at the cloud component, a row-based world model with the row- based frame of references (see paragraphs [0097] and [0102]: A mission may be entered or initiated by master grower 198, or the AI functions of central server 199. A mission for collecting horticultural data may be pre-scheduled to monitor growing conditions of grow operations. A mission for implementing a remediation solution may be entered upon a possible horticultural issue is identified based on the horticultural data collected. According to mission dashboard 1100, mission m10080 requires locating a target identified by PUID pu_1231. Searching through PU lists 1200, AHF system 100 may find that the target is located in local area A1 of field F04. A ground robot, such as ground robot av03, may travel to local area A1 of field F04. After arriving at local area A1, ground robot av03 may scan some or all of the PU labels 1213, 1223, 1233, 1243, 1253, 1263, 1273 and 1283 by maneuvering near PUs 1212, 1222, 1232, 1242, 1252, 1262, 1272 and 1282 in a systematic way (e.g., moving from row to row, or moving from the edges of local area A1 spirally toward the middle of local area A1, etc.).);
associating, at the cloud component, one or more semantic instruction with the row-based world model (see paragraph [0086] and [0093]: an example path 910 for a UAV 920, as determined by RAHF system 100, after UAV 920 is assigned a horticultural mission to collect certain horticultural data regarding a target plant 930 of field F04. The mission may comprise collecting a pH level reading of the soil that grows target plant 930. Ground robot dashboard 1000 records a current status in general, an immediate location, a mission ID representing a horticultural mission that has been assigned to the respective ground robot, a fuel or battery level, whether the respective ground robot is available for a new mission assignment, various resources the respective vehicle is equipped with (e.g., sensors, cameras, memory, sample containers, etc.), and other specifications (e.g., payload).); and
downloading, from the cloud component, the row-based world model to the AV (See paragraph [0063]: AI functions in a local server may provide analysis, diagnosis, and remedial solutions in a way that is more specific to the respective horticultural field, because the AI functions have been trained using horticultural data collected from the horticultural field. The use of local servers can also reduce network overhead, for example due to downloading of neural networks or other machine learning models.).
With respect to dependent claims 2, 9 and 16, King discloses wherein the cloud component includes a computer vision module that detects the perimeter of the field from the map image (see paragraphs [0052] and [0090]: cameras 151 and 152 may have low light or night vision capabilities for monitoring field F01 and greenhouse G02 during dawn and dusk hours, at night, or under a low illumination condition. The still images and video recordings captured by cameras 151 and 152 may be used or otherwise analyzed to provide horticultural data such as an estimate height, an estimated density of flower buds or fruits, an estimated size or quantity of produces, etc., regarding a grow operation or a specific plant thereof. A camera 151 may observe that irrigation robot 161 has been deployed unexpectedly (e.g., not as planned according to a field activity map of field F01), which may impede ground robot movement in certain local areas. The RZ map may be updated such that the affected space is included in the RZs. Ground robots servicing field F01 may receive an updated RZ list, and adjust respective travel paths to avoid the local areas affected by the unexpected operation of irrigation robot 161. In some embodiments, autonomous vehicles with on-board vision may be able to avoid smaller obstacles such as deployed robots. The generation of the RZ can just be adjusted based on the capabilities of the autonomous vehicles.).
With respect to dependent claims 3, 10 and 17, King discloses wherein the cloud component includes a computer vision module that detects the row distance between the at least two rows (see paragraphs [0066] and [0076]: a horticultural field to perform various AHF missions, a ground robot is required to position itself within the horticultural field so that the ground robot may navigate while traversing the horticultural field. In some embodiments, the positioning/navigation function may be realized by a global positioning system (GPS) receiver disposed on the ground robot. As shown on local area map 400, field F04 is divided as a 7×7 matrix having forty-nine local areas, each identified with a respective identifier. For example, the seven local areas in the first column of the matrix are specified with identifiers A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, and A7, respectively, wherein the seven local areas in the middle row of the matrix are specified with identifiers A4, B4, C4, D4, E4, F4, and G4, respectively.).
With respect to dependent claims 4, 11 and 18, King discloses wherein the cloud component includes a computer vision module that detects an end of each row and a beginning of each row (see paragraph [0102]: After arriving at local area A1, ground robot av03 may scan some or all of the PU labels 1213, 1223, 1233, 1243, 1253, 1263, 1273 and 1283 by maneuvering near PUs 1212, 1222, 1232, 1242, 1252, 1262, 1272 and 1282 in a systematic way (e.g., moving from row to row, or moving from the edges of local area A1 spirally toward the middle of local area A1, etc.). Ground robot av03 may continue the maneuvering and the scanning until a PU label reveals PUID pu_1231. For instance, ground robot av03 may start from the first row of the PUs and maneuver to a vicinity of PU 1212 and scan PU label 1213, which reveals PUID pu_1211, different from the target PUID pu_1231. Ground robot av03 may subsequently maneuver to a vicinity of PU 1252 and scan PU label 1253, which reveals PUID pu_1251, also different from the target PUID pu_1231.).
With respect to dependent claims 5, 12 and 19, King discloses wherein the plant type is determined from a user input (see paragraph [0039] and [0040]: The AHF system may facilitate an automation of this follow-up step by sending ground robots to collect horticultural data of a target plant after a remedial solution has been applied to the target plant. In some embodiments, the AHF system may send a ground robot to obtain a physical sample from a plant for further analysis. A master grower may use a phone or desktop-based application to consume data. In some embodiments, an application programming interface (API) may be provided to facilitate the servicing of input and output to the AHF system.).
With respect to dependent claims 6, 13 and 20, King discloses wherein the row-based world model includes a plant height and the cloud component generates a 2.5-D world model that includes a plant height (see paragraph [0031] and [0066]: The plant-related information may include, but is not limited to, height of a plant, color of leaves, density of buds or flowers, size of fruits or grains, etc. The GPS receiver of the robot may receive positioning signals from a plurality of space-based satellites. The GPS receiver may further triangulate the positioning signals to determine a three-dimensional (3-D) geophysical position of the robot on the Earth surface.).
With respect to dependent claims 7 and 14, King discloses wherein the row-based world model includes a 2-D world model having a plurality of horizontal information gathered from the map image (see paragraph [0031] and [0066]: The plant-related information may include, but is not limited to, height of a plant, color of leaves, density of buds or flowers, size of fruits or grains, etc. The GPS receiver of the robot may receive positioning signals from a plurality of space-based satellites. The GPS receiver may further triangulate the positioning signals to determine a three-dimensional (3-D) geophysical position of the robot on the Earth surface.).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DEMETRA R SMITH-STEWART whose telephone number is (571)270-3965. The examiner can normally be reached 10am - 6pm.
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/DEMETRA R SMITH-STEWART/Examiner, Art Unit 3661
/PETER D NOLAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3661
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