Today the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially granted Apple a patent that relates to a technique to enable sensor data gathered by multiple electronic devices, such as smart home devices, to be fused into a single coordinate space to enable a higher sensor resolution at each device. One embodiment illustrates a sensor system that includes multiple devices having fused radar sensors.

Fusing Measurements From Sensors Of Multiple Devices Into A Single Coordinate Space

Patently Apple has recently covered a few Mark Gurman reports on future Home Appliances, Home Security and so forth (01 and 02). Today, The U.S. Patent Office granted Apple a patent that describes techniques that enable sensor data gathered by multiple electronic devices, such as smart home devices, to be fused into a single coordinate space to enable a higher sensor resolution at each device. Collision avoidance systems for autonomous robots may be required to have higher resolution sensors relative to sensors that are designed to simply detect motion or the simple existence of a nearby object.

Apple’s patent FIG. 1 below is a block diagram of a network operating environment 100 for an electronic device 102. The electronic device 102 can be a variety of electronic devices, such as a smart speaker device, television, or television set top box. Aspects of the electronic device 102 may also be found in other electronic devices, such as smart home appliances and electronic devices. Exemplary smart home appliances and electronic devices include thermostats, refrigerators, washers, dryers, lighting control systems, and the like.

The electronic device #102 can also include a sensor transceiver #106. In one embodiment the sensor transceiver is a low power radar sensor that enables the electronic device to determine the position of the appliance relative to surfaces and objects in the environment surrounding the smart home appliance.

Apple’s patent FIG. 8 above illustrates a sensor system #800 that includes multiple devices having fused radar sensors. The sensor system includes instances of electronic devices #102A-102B where the spatial sensors are radar sensors. 

The radar sensors of the electronic devices have respective sweep directions #802A-802B, such that a radar beam sweeps a 360 degree Field of view centered at each electronic devices.

Alternatively, the radar sensors of the electronic devices may be MIMO radars with multiple antennas and capable of sensing the fields of view 210A-210B without scanning or sweeping.

In either scenario, the angular resolution of the radar sensor may decrease with range. Thus, radar fields of view #210A-210B have a radius based on the effective range of the radar sensor. The effective range of the radar sensor is defined by the maximum range at which useful data may be resolved based on beam reflections.

For full details, review Apple’s granted patent 12146939.