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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) filed 07/16/2025 has been received and considered by the examiner. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97.
Claim Objections
Claims 7, 15, and 19 are objected to because of the following informalities: In Claim 7, the phrase “identifies a presence or obstacles in respective of the cells” is inconsistent with commensurate claim 17 and the specification which recite “identifying a presence or absence of an obstacle in respective of the cells.” In Claim 15, the phrase “performing following path position information position correction processing that to correct the piece of following path position information to another position the mobile device away from the obstacle” is grammatically incorrect. In Claim 19, the phrase “further configured to generate a comprising generating the following path” is grammatically incorrect. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4-6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14-16, 18, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ISHII (JP 2006155349 A) in view of TANG (WO 2019128070 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, ISHII teaches A mobile device comprising: a camera configured to capture an image of a target to be followed by the mobile device (See at least paragraph [0129], “In this way, even if an obstacle is present along the route and the vehicle temporarily stops, it can resume tracking the vehicle by following the memorized route once the obstacle has been removed. Since a personal authentication code is included in the communication data, the object (or person) being tracked can be identified. In this way, it is possible to identify and track the target object from among many others. Furthermore, because it remembers the path taken, it can track the object being tracked not only from the rear but also from the sides and while maintaining a specified positional relationship. For example, it becomes possible to track a vehicle diagonally behind it. This allows tracking even in environments where detection by images or proximity sensors is not possible”, paragraph [0132], “Furthermore, as shown in Figures 17, 18, and 19, it becomes possible for multiple vehicles to track the same object while maintaining a constant distance from each other and avoiding collisions. Furthermore, by incorporating personal information into the data, individual recognition becomes easier, and even if the vehicle has to stop due to an obstacle, it can continue driving without losing the tracking route, ensuring reliable tracking without losing the person's path. Even with numerous tracking vehicles present, it becomes possible to recognize, identify, and track a specific individual” and paragraph [0133], “In other words, in the present invention, as shown in Figure 14, a vehicle (or walking robot) equipped with an attitude sensor and a proximity sensor (or camera) is controlled to control its wheels in the manner shown in Figure 15. Furthermore, the vehicle configured in Figure 15 is equipped with attitude sensors that detect acceleration, angular velocity, and orientation according to the coordinates defined in Figure 7, and the sensor signals are defined in Figure 3. Furthermore, a device is implemented that wirelessly transmits the same posture sensor and its sensor signal or converted position signal data to the person (or object) being tracked, as shown in Figure 16.”); a distance sensor that measures a distance from the sensor to the target (See at least paragraph [0121], “By the way, when a tracking vehicle, as shown in Figure 25, tracks a target (person or animal) on the non-tracking side, the tracking vehicle calculates the distance to the tracking side using sensors and tracks at a constant distance Lp as shown in Figure 26. However, as shown in Figure 27, if the target being tracked moves and approaches the tracking vehicle within a certain distance Lp, a collision between the tracking vehicle and the target arises. This can be avoided by (3) or (4) below, which will prevent the rear-end collision problem”, paragraph [0122], “(3) When the tracking vehicle calculates that it is within Lp, the tracking vehicle stops tracking and comes to a stop in place. (4) The current position and time change of the tracked object are calculated from Figure 28, and the current distance Ld between the tracked vehicle and the tracked object, and the direction of change of that distance are calculated”, and paragraph [0123], “Here, in Figures 26 and 27, the distance Ld(t) at the current time t is calculated by the following equation 40, where Xm(t), Ym(t) is the current position of the tracking vehicle and Xp (t), Yp(t) is the current position of the target being tracked. Ld(t)=√[{Xp(t)−Xm(t)}<sup>２</sup>+{Yp(t)−Ym(t)}<sup>２</sup>] Formula 40.”); a drive apparatus that drives a movement of the mobile device (See at least paragraph [0054], “Furthermore, the tracking device 200 is equipped with motors 206 and 207 for driving wheels (not shown), and control signals from the control device 202 are supplied to motor drivers 208 and 209 to control the rotation of motors 206 and 207. Furthermore, proximity sensors 210 and 211 are provided to detect the approach of obstacles or the like to the tracking device 200. The control device 202 is also provided with a storage device 212 for storing various types of data.”); movement path circuitry configured to determine a movement path of the mobile device, the movement path circuitry further configured to create a following path to follow the target based on sequential position information about the target (See at least paragraph [0019], “According to the tracking device of the present invention as described in claim 11, a tracking target object equipped with a first position detection sensor and a first information communication means has a storage means for sequentially storing position detection information from the position detection sensor, and is also equipped with a second position detection sensor and a second information communication means. By reconstructing the path previously taken by the tracking target object based on the information stored in the storage means and performing tracking, tracking can be continued even if the space between the tracking target object and the tracking device is obstructed, thereby achieving good tracking” and paragraph [0095], “By the above methods, the trajectory position (Xp1, Yp1) of the object being tracked can be determined. Then, tracking trajectory control is performed using the determined trajectory position (Xp1, Yp1) as the target trajectory, as described below. In other words, tracking control is performed to make the difference between the correction path calculated as described above and the current position attached to the vehicle zero. The tracking route will select only those routes that match the specified ID code, and the tracking will proceed according to the following principle.”), and convey information about the following path to the drive apparatus so the drive apparatus can drive the mobile device toward the target (See at least paragraph [0054], “Furthermore, the tracking device 200 is equipped with motors 206 and 207 for driving wheels (not shown), and control signals from the control device 202 are supplied to motor drivers 208 and 209 to control the rotation of motors 206 and 207. Furthermore, proximity sensors 210 and 211 are provided to detect the approach of obstacles or the like to the tracking device 200. The control device 202 is also provided with a storage device 212 for storing various types of data” and paragraph [0135], “Thus, as shown in Figure 18, the stored tracking trajectory information is read and used as a driving command to control the vehicle's movement. Furthermore, the tracking path is converted to global coordinates as defined in Figure 28, and the tracking path is calculated (Equations 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). When sensors are attached to a person, their walking posture causes the sensor coordinates to change in three dimensions. These coordinates are then converted to global coordinate axes using equations 8-17 to calculate the person's path.”), wherein the information processing apparatus is further configured to determine whether the target to be followed moves a predetermined distance measured by the sensor from a current position (See at least paragraph [0019], “According to the tracking device of the present invention as described in claim 11, a tracking target object equipped with a first position detection sensor and a first information communication means has a storage means for sequentially storing position detection information from the position detection sensor, and is also equipped with a second position detection sensor and a second information communication means. By reconstructing the path previously taken by the tracking target object based on the information stored in the storage means and performing tracking, tracking can be continued even if the space between the tracking target object and the tracking device is obstructed, thereby achieving good tracking”, paragraph [0112], “Furthermore, if the target value for travel is not the position at time tx, but rather the position at time tx when a certain distance change occurs, then the target value (Xp(tx), Yp(tx), Zp(tx)) can be used to continuously track a person's trajectory regardless of the travel time. Furthermore, when Mref1 = -Mref2 and Mref1 is given as positive, the vehicle moves forward (in the positive direction of the Xm axis). Furthermore, when Mref1 = Mref2 and Mref1 is positive, the vehicle rotates clockwise in place (yaw axis θmy positive direction)”, and paragraph [0150], “Furthermore, in step S75, the position of the person being tracked at time tx is read, and in step S76, the distance between the current position and past position of the person being tracked is compared. If the distance does not match (NO), the past reference time is updated in step S77, and it is determined in step S78 whether the reference time is a positive value. If it is a positive value (YES), the process returns to step S75. Then, in step S76, if the distance between the current position and past position of the subject being tracked (person) is the same (YES), the target time tx and target position are determined in step S79.”), under a condition the target has not moved from the current position, the movement path circuitry does not update the following path, and under another condition that the target moves from the current position, the movement path circuitry creates a new movement path (See at least paragraph [0111], “Subsequently, the vehicle is driven using the same principle as in (1) above, with the target values being the position of the person's trajectory (Xp(tx), Yp(tx), Zp(tx)) at time tx at regular time intervals. When driving according to these target values, the tracking vehicle will stop at the same time as the person stops, and the route will also change over time”, paragraph [0112], “Furthermore, if the target value for travel is not the position at time tx, but rather the position at time tx when a certain distance change occurs, then the target value (Xp(tx), Yp(tx), Zp(tx)) can be used to continuously track a person's trajectory regardless of the travel time. Furthermore, when Mref1 = -Mref2 and Mref1 is given as positive, the vehicle moves forward (in the positive direction of the Xm axis). Furthermore, when Mref1 = Mref2 and Mref1 is positive, the vehicle rotates clockwise in place (yaw axis θmy positive direction)”, paragraph [0113], “Therefore, regarding the method of driving control that tracks a person's trajectory stored in a memory device, the tracking vehicle control system shown in Figure 22 above operates on the same principle as shown in Figure 19. To track a person's trajectory stored in memory, when the vehicle moves to the target trajectory at time tx and the errors EXref and EYref approach zero, the trajectory position at the next time (tx + Δt) is recalled, and the vehicle is controlled in the same manner using the new target values (Xp(tx + Δt), Yp(tx + Δt), Zp(tx + Δt))”, paragraph [0149], “On the other hand, if the ID codes match in step S68, the process proceeds to step S71 in Figure 34. In step S71, a fluctuation correction calculation is performed, and a digital filter calculation is performed on the coordinate values of the tracking target position. Furthermore, in step S72, the position of the tracked target with correction for vibration is stored in memory. Also, in step S73, the interval distance Ld is read into memory. Then, in step S74, the current position image of the vehicle is read, and the reference time for the position of the target being tracked is set”, and paragraph [0150], “Furthermore, in step S75, the position of the person being tracked at time tx is read, and in step S76, the distance between the current position and past position of the person being tracked is compared. If the distance does not match (NO), the past reference time is updated in step S77, and it is determined in step S78 whether the reference time is a positive value. If it is a positive value (YES), the process returns to step S75. Then, in step S76, if the distance between the current position and past position of the subject being tracked (person) is the same (YES), the target time tx and target position are determined in step S79.”).
ISHII does not explicitly disclose, however, TANG, in the same field of endeavor, teaches an information processing apparatus comprising target recognition circuitry configured to receive image data of the image captured by the camera and identify the target as well as a position of the target (See at least paragraph [0036], “The tracking sensor may include: an image acquisition device, which can acquire images containing the target object, analyze the image content to obtain the position of the target object in the image, and then use the position combined with the depth image to obtain the position parameters” and paragraph [0084], “There are various ways to detect the position parameters of the target object. For example, step S110 may include: using an image acquisition device to acquire an image containing the graphic of the target object. In this way, by using image recognition, combined with the acquisition parameters of the image acquisition device, such as focal length and acquisition angle, and the depth map acquired by the depth camera, the relative position of the target object from the image acquisition device can be calculated, thereby determining the position parameters.”).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the invention of ISHII with the teachings of TANG such that the tracking system of ISHII is further configured to utilize an information processing apparatus comprising target recognition circuitry configured to receive image data of the image captured by the camera and identify the target as well as a position of the target, as taught by TANG (See paragraph [0036], [0084].), with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation for doing so would be to enable the mobile device to autonomously follow and avoid obstacles while tracking the target, as taught by TANG (See paragraph [0004].).
With respect to claim 11, please see the rejection above with respect to claim 1, which is commensurate in scope to claim 11, with claim 1 being drawn to a mobile device and claim 11 being drawn to a corresponding method.
Regarding Claim 2, ISHII and TANG teach The mobile device according to claim 1, as set in the obviousness rejection above. ISHII teaches further comprising a user input interface configured to receive user request to control the mobile device (See at least paragraph [0096], “There are two methods for tracking: (1) It follows a person's trajectory in real time at a constant distance interval. (2) Recreate and drive the trajectory of a person that has already been recorded. The selection of these two methods is determined by the operation procedure using the device's driving mode switch” and paragraph [0110], “Therefore, when a track movement command is given to the vehicle's control device wirelessly or by a switch signal from the device, the vehicle moves to the starting position, i.e., the position at time t=0 (Xp(0), Yp(0), Zp(0)), using the trajectory information of the person (or object being tracked) stored in the memory device, in accordance with the same principle as in (1) above.”).
With respect to claim 12, please see the rejection above with respect to claim 2, which is commensurate in scope to claim 12, with claim 2 being drawn to a mobile device and claim 12 being drawn to a corresponding method.
Regarding Claim 4, ISHII and TANG teach The mobile device according to claim 1, as set in the obviousness rejection above. ISHII teaches wherein the movement path circuitry is further configured to determine the following path based on travel direction information of the target (See at least paragraph [0092], “Similarly, if Yp(k) is the positional trajectory of a person's path along the Y-axis, then the corrected trajectories Yp0(k) and Yp1(k) are given by equations 24 and 25 below. Therefore, by determining the position and trajectory in the Y-axis direction, similar to the Xaxis direction described above, the trajectory in the plane can be determined” and paragraph [0095], “By the above methods, the trajectory position (Xp1, Yp1) of the object being tracked can be determined. Then, tracking trajectory control is performed using the determined trajectory position (Xp1, Yp1) as the target trajectory, as described below.”).
With respect to claim 14, please see the rejection above with respect to claim 4, which is commensurate in scope to claim 14, with claim 4 being drawn to a mobile device and claim 14 being drawn to a corresponding method.
Regarding Claim 5, ISHII and TANG teach The mobile device according to claim 1, as set in the obviousness rejection above. ISHII teaches wherein under a condition a piece of the following path position information is set within or a predetermined distance from an obstacle, the movement path circuitry performs following path position correction processing that corrects the piece of following path position information to another position away from the obstacle (See at least paragraph [0115], “Furthermore, obstacle avoidance driving control is performed as follows: In other words, as shown in Figure 23, if the tracking vehicle detects an obstacle at a distance Lx by the proximity sensor while tracking along the trajectory of a stored position, and is unable to reach the target path (Xp(tx), Yp(tx)), it will stop at that position until the obstacle is removed using the method described above. However, if the obstacles remain unremoved for a certain period, this is achieved by generating a new target value (as shown in Figure 23) that changes the route to create a path free of obstacles and continues tracking”, paragraph [0116], “Here, if there is an obstacle as shown in Figure 23, a new target value (Xpo(tx), Ypo(tx)) is calculated by adding the offset (Xop, Yop) to the target value (Xp(tx), Yp(tx)) as shown in Figure 23. (Xpo(tx), Ypo(tx)) = (Xp(tx), Yp(tx)) +(Xop, Yop) Equation 36”, and paragraph [0117], “If there are no obstacles, the vehicle will use this as the new target value and continue driving. Furthermore, if an obstacle is detected even with the new target value, the target value is changed to a position where there is no obstacle by adding an offset according to equation 36 above. In this way, once the new target value (Xpo(tx), Ypo(tx)) is reached after avoiding the obstacle, the stored orbital position for the next time (Xp(tx+Δt), Yp(tx+Δt)) is read, and the system returns to its original orbit to continue tracking.”).
With respect to claim 15, please see the rejection above with respect to claim 5, which is commensurate in scope to claim 15, with claim 5 being drawn to a mobile device and claim 15 being drawn to a corresponding method.
Regarding Claim 6, ISHII and TANG teach The mobile device according to claim 1, as set in the obviousness rejection above. ISHII does not explicitly disclose, however, TANG, in the same field of endeavor, teaches wherein the movement path circuitry is further configured to generate an obstacle map that identifies one or more obstacles in a predetermined area (See at least paragraph [0074], “For example, the obstacle map is generated based on the obstacle information and a pre-set geographic map” and paragraph [0080], “There may be multiple obstacles around the mobile device. The mobile device can draw an obstacle map based on the obstacle information of the multiple obstacles, and mark its own location and the target location on the map. The target location can be determined based on the location of the target object. By combining obstacle information, current location, and target location, a movement path is planned on the obstacle map. Moving along this path, the mobile device can avoid obstacles and successfully reach the target location.”).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the invention of ISHII with the teachings of TANG such that the tracking system of ISHII is further configured to utilize an information processing apparatus comprising target recognition circuitry configured to receive image data of the image captured by the camera and identify the target as well as a position of the target and the movement path circuitry is further configured to generate an obstacle map that identifies one or more obstacles in a predetermined area, as taught by TANG (See paragraph [0036], [0074], [0080], [0084].), with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation for doing so would be to enable the mobile device to autonomously follow and avoid obstacles while tracking the target, as taught by TANG (See paragraph [0004].).
With respect to claim 16, please see the rejection above with respect to claim 6, which is commensurate in scope to claim 16, with claim 6 being drawn to a mobile device and claim 16 being drawn to a corresponding method.
Regarding Claim 8, ISHII and TANG teach The mobile device according to claim 1, as set in the obviousness rejection above. ISHII teaches wherein movement path circuitry is further configured to change the following path under a condition of a sudden change of direction of the target (See at least paragraph [0021], “According to the tracking device of the present invention as described in claim 13, in claim 11, by performing tracking using the position of the object to be tracked a predetermined time ago, stored in the storage means, as the target position, good tracking can be achieved even when the object to be tracked turns a corner”, paragraph [0111], “Subsequently, the vehicle is driven using the same principle as in (1) above, with the target values being the position of the person's trajectory (Xp(tx), Yp(tx), Zp(tx)) at time tx at regular time intervals. When driving according to these target values, the tracking vehicle will stop at the same time as the person stops, and the route will also change over time”, paragraph [0112], “Furthermore, if the target value for travel is not the position at time tx, but rather the position at time tx when a certain distance change occurs, then the target value (Xp(tx), Yp(tx), Zp(tx)) can be used to continuously track a person's trajectory regardless of the travel time. Furthermore, when Mref1 = -Mref2 and Mref1 is given as positive, the vehicle moves forward (in the positive direction of the Xm axis). Furthermore, when Mref1 = Mref2 and Mref1 is positive, the vehicle rotates clockwise in place (yaw axis θmy positive direction)”, and paragraph [0113], “Therefore, regarding the method of driving control that tracks a person's trajectory stored in a memory device, the tracking vehicle control system shown in Figure 22 above operates on the same principle as shown in Figure 19. To track a person's trajectory stored in memory, when the vehicle moves to the target trajectory at time tx and the errors EXref and EYref approach zero, the trajectory position at the next time (tx + Δt) is recalled, and the vehicle is controlled in the same manner using the new target values (Xp(tx + Δt), Yp(tx + Δt), Zp(tx + Δt)).”).
With respect to claim 18, please see the rejection above with respect to claim 8, which is commensurate in scope to claim 18, with claim 8 being drawn to a mobile device and claim 18 being drawn to a corresponding method.
Regarding Claim 9, ISHII and TANG teach The mobile device according to claim 1, as set in the obviousness rejection above. ISHII teaches wherein movement path circuitry is further configured to generate the following path so the following path is not always a same path as a path followed by the target (See at least paragraph [0115], “Furthermore, obstacle avoidance driving control is performed as follows: In other words, as shown in Figure 23, if the tracking vehicle detects an obstacle at a distance Lx by the proximity sensor while tracking along the trajectory of a stored position, and is unable to reach the target path (Xp(tx), Yp(tx)), it will stop at that position until the obstacle is removed using the method described above. However, if the obstacles remain unremoved for a certain period, this is achieved by generating a new target value (as shown in Figure 23) that changes the route to create a path free of obstacles and continues tracking”, paragraph [0116], “Here, if there is an obstacle as shown in Figure 23, a new target value (Xpo(tx), Ypo(tx)) is calculated by adding the offset (Xop, Yop) to the target value (Xp(tx), Yp(tx)) as shown in Figure 23. (Xpo(tx), Ypo(tx)) = (Xp(tx), Yp(tx)) +(Xop, Yop) Equation 36”, and paragraph [0120], “By repeating the above operations, a new path that avoids obstacles is generated, as shown in Figure 23. Then, the next target value stored in the memory is read, and the vehicle travels along the original target path being tracked. Furthermore, Figure 24 shows the configuration of a control device for avoiding obstacles.”).
With respect to claim 19, please see the rejection above with respect to claim 9, which is commensurate in scope to claim 19, with claim 9 being drawn to a mobile device and claim 19 being drawn to a corresponding method.
Claim(s) 3, 7, 10, 13, 17, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ISHII (JP 2006155349 A) in view of TANG (WO 2019128070 A1) and Farlow (US 20150158182 A1).
Regarding Claim 3, ISHII and TANG teach The mobile device according to claim 2, as set in the obviousness rejection above. ISHII and TANG do not explicitly disclose, however, Farlow, in the same field of endeavor, teaches wherein the user input interface is configured to receive the user request via a transmission from a user terminal (See at least paragraph [0092], “Interactive applications executable on the controller 500 and/or in communication with the controller 500 may require more than one display on the robot 100. Multiple web pads 310 associated with the robot 100 can provide different combinations of "FaceTime", Telestration, HD look at this-cam (e.g., for web pads 310 having built in cameras), can act as a remote operator control unit (OCU) for controlling the robot 100 remotely, and/or provide a local user interface pad” and paragraph [0154], “The computing device 310 may be a tablet computer, portable electronic device, such as phone or personal digital assistant, or a dumb tablet or display (e.g., a tablet that acts as a monitor for an atom-scale PC in the robot body 110). In some examples, the tablet computer can have a touch screen for displaying a user interface and receiving user inputs. The computing device 310 may execute one or more robot applications 1610, which may include software applications (e.g., stored in memory and executable on a processor) for security, medicine compliance, telepresence, behavioral coaching, social networking, active alarm, home management, etc. The computing device 310 may provide communication capabilities (e.g., secure wireless connectivity and/or cellular communication), refined application development tools, speech recognition, and person or object recognition capabilities. The computing device 310, in some examples utilizes an interaction/COMS featured operating system, such as Android provided by Google, Inc., iPad OS provided by Apple, Inc., other smart phone operating systems, or government systems, such as RSS A2.”).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the invention of ISHII with the teachings of TANG and Farlow such that the tracking system of ISHII is further configured to utilize an information processing apparatus comprising target recognition circuitry configured to receive image data of the image captured by the camera and identify the target as well as a position of the target, as taught by TANG (See paragraph [0036], [0084].), and to utilize the user input interface configured to receive the user request via a transmission from a user terminal, as taught by Farlow (See paragraph [0092], [0154].), with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation for doing so would be to enable the mobile device to autonomously follow and avoid obstacles while tracking the target, as taught by TANG (See paragraph [0004].), and to provide remote teleoperation of the mobile device, including remote control of driving the mobile device, as taught by Farlow (See paragraph [0006].).
With respect to claim 13, please see the rejection above with respect to claim 3, which is commensurate in scope to claim 13, with claim 3 being drawn to a mobile device and claim 13 being drawn to a corresponding method.
Regarding Claim 7, ISHII and TANG teach The mobile device according to claim 6, as set in the obviousness rejection above. ISHII and TANG do not explicitly disclose, however, Farlow, in the same field of endeavor, teaches wherein the obstacle map divides the predetermined area into cells and identifies a presence or obstacles in respective of the cells (See at least paragraph [0182], “An object detection obstacle avoidance (ODOA) navigation strategy for the control system 510 may include either accepting or rejecting potential robot positions that would result from commands. Potential robot paths 2110 can be generated many levels deep with different commands and resulting robot positions at each level. FIG. 21B provides an exemplary schematic view of the local perceptual space of the robot 100 while moving. An ODOA behavior 600d (FIG. 15) can evaluate each predicted robot path 2110. These evaluations can be used by the action selection engine 580 to determine a preferred outcome and a corresponding robot command. For example, for each robot position 2120 in the robot path 2110, the ODOA behavior 600d can execute a method for object detection and obstacle avoidance that includes identifying each cell in the grid 2100 that is in a bounding box around a corresponding position of the robot 100, receiving a classification of each cell. For each cell classified as an obstacle or unknown, retrieving a grid point corresponding to the cell and executing a collision check by determining if the grid point is within a collision circle about a location of the robot 100. If the grid point is within the collision circle, the method further includes executing a triangle test of whether the grid point is within a collision triangle (e.g., the robot 100 can be modeled as triangle). If the grid point is within the collision triangle, the method includes rejecting the grid point. If the robot position is inside of a sensor system field of view of parent grid points on the robot path 2110, then the "unknown" grid points are ignored because it is assumed that by the time the robot 100 reaches those grid points, it will be known.”).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the invention of ISHII with the teachings of TANG and Farlow such that the tracking system of ISHII is further configured to utilize an information processing apparatus comprising target recognition circuitry configured to receive image data of the image captured by the camera and identify the target as well as a position of the target and the movement path circuitry is further configured to generate an obstacle map that identifies one or more obstacles in a predetermined area, as taught by TANG (See paragraph [0036], [0074], [0080], [0084].), and utilize an obstacle map dividing the predetermined area into cells and identifying a presence or obstacles in respective of the cells, as taught by Farlow (See paragraph [0182].), with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation for doing so would be to enable the mobile device to autonomously follow and avoid obstacles while tracking the target, as taught by TANG (See paragraph [0004].), and to provide remote teleoperation of the mobile device, including remote control of driving the mobile device, as taught by Farlow (See paragraph [0006].).
With respect to claim 17, please see the rejection above with respect to claim 7, which is commensurate in scope to claim 17, with claim 7 being drawn to a mobile device and claim 17 being drawn to a corresponding method.
Regarding Claim 10, ISHII and TANG teach The mobile device according to claim 1, as set in the obviousness rejection above. ISHII and TANG do not explicitly disclose, however, Farlow, in the same field of endeavor, teaches wherein the target recognition circuitry is configured to compare a saved image of the target with the received image data in order to identify the target (See at least paragraph [0110], “A forward facing 3-D image sensor 450 disposed on the neck 150 and/or the head 160 can be used for person, face, and/or gesture recognition of people about the robot 100. For example, using signal inputs from the 3-D image sensor 450 on the head 160, the controller 500 may recognize a user by creating a three-dimensional map of the viewed/captured user's face and comparing the created three-dimensional map with known 3-D images of people's faces and determining a match with one of the known 3-D facial images. Facial recognition may be used for validating users as allowable users of the robot 100. Moreover, one or more of the 3-D image sensors 450 can be used for determining gestures of person viewed by the robot 100, and optionally reacting based on the determined gesture(s) (e.g., hand pointing, waving, and or hand signals). For example, the controller 500 may issue a drive command in response to a recognized hand point in a particular direction.”).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the invention of ISHII with the teachings of TANG and Farlow such that the tracking system of ISHII is further configured to utilize an information processing apparatus comprising target recognition circuitry configured to receive image data of the image captured by the camera and identify the target as well as a position of the target, as taught by TANG (See paragraph [0036], [0084].), and to utilize target recognition circuitry configured to compare a saved image of the target with the received image data in order to identify the target, as taught by Farlow (See paragraph [0110].), with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation for doing so would be to enable the mobile device to autonomously follow and avoid obstacles while tracking the target, as taught by TANG (See paragraph [0004].), and to provide remote teleoperation of the mobile device, including remote control of driving the mobile device, as taught by Farlow (See paragraph [0006].).
With respect to claim 20, please see the rejection above with respect to claim 10, which is commensurate in scope to claim 20, with claim 10 being drawn to a mobile device and claim 20 being drawn to a corresponding method.
Conclusion
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/JEWEL A KUNTZ/Examiner, Art Unit 3666
/ANNE MARIE ANTONUCCI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3666
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