Seegrid Corporation

Seegrid Robotic Industrial Truck Gains Patent for Multidimensional Evidence Grids

 

Pittsburgh, PA -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/12/2013 -- Seegrid is the only supplier of commercial vision-guided vehicles, and has developed core technologies that make this possible. The grant of this patent further solidifies Seegrid’s leadership position in the $38 billion dollar material handling forklift market.

The leading robotic material handling company, Seegrid Corp., announced the issuance of US Patent No. 8427472 for “Multidimensional Evidence Grids and System and Methods for Applying Same” on April 23, 2013. This patent was awarded to robotics pioneer Hans Moravec, co-founder and chief scientific officer of Seegrid Corporation, for his work on vision based navigation of autonomous vehicles. It describes the functionality of Seegrid’s navigation system which operates by processing range data captured using stereoscopic vision, building 3-D maps of the environment and subsequently navigating through the environment using the maps as a reference.

The 3-D system allows Seegrid robotic vehicles to navigate precisely through any environment, including those that change over time, without the need for any modifications to the facility or any offline programming or CAD efforts.

Moravec commented, “Seegrid’s 3-D navigation system provides more precise and reliable operation than any other system, especially those based on 2-D sensing. Our full 3-D system captures visible features on the floor, ceilings, walls, and equipment in the facility, giving us thousands of reference points every second. 2-D systems, such as laser scanners, only provide data from physical objects along the scan line. These are easily blocked (occluded) by obstructions or change when objects are moved. The small number of features used for navigating requires tuning of the maps by engineers, and is subject to failure when changes occur in the workplace. Seegrid’s system automatically compensates for changes in the environment.”

About Seegrid
Founded in 2003, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Seegrid Corporation (www.seegrid.com) brings robotic vision-guided technology to the material handling industry. With more than thirty years of innovation and research by leading robotic scientists, engineers, programmers and logistics practitioners worldwide, Seegrid’s exclusive Robotic Industrial Trucks are revolutionizing the movement of materials in manufacturing and distribution environments. Seegrid’s technology transforms industrial vehicles into unmanned, automated pallet trucks and tow tractors that operate without the need for wire, tape, laser, magnet or other costly automated guided vehicle (AGV) guidance systems. Seegrid offers solutions that optimize workflow processes by increasing productivity and reducing costs, creating economic and operational advantages. Fast Company named Seegrid as one of the Top 50 World’s Most Innovative Company in 2013 and among the Top 10 World’s Most Innovative Robotics Company in 2013. Follow Seegrid Corporation on Twitter at @Seegrid.

Seegrid Corporation
www.seegrid.com
Amanda Merrell, Marketing Director
amerrell@seegrid.com
412-379-4500