Boston Dynamics Terrain aware step planning Patent (US112878
US11287826B2 · Boston Dynamics, Inc.
- Patent number
- US11287826B2
- Applicant
- Boston Dynamics, Inc.
- Filing date
- 2019-02-28
- CPC class
- B62D 57/032
- Pillar
- Brain
A planning stack that builds local terrain/obstacle maps and generates foothold sequences that prefer traversable cells while avoiding no-step regions for a legged robot.
Claims
Claims cover map generation from sensors, classifying cells as traversable vs obstacle, and producing a path of candidate footholds constrained by the robot’s kinematics and balance model.
Technical analysis
Pairs perception with foothold selection rather than treating vision as a bolt-on. The patent’s emphasis on regenerating plans when the map changes is what separates demo locomotion from facility inspection that survives pallet jack chaos.
Commercial impact
Strengthens Boston Dynamics’ moat in autonomous industrial inspection routes. New entrants must show equal map→plan coupling or stay in flat-lab demos.
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