Beginning at NYU in Jan 2013 within the context of a Patents Translation course delivered online, this blog seeks to uncover the patents that rock our daily lives....
Before concluding this chapter on the French Softbank Robotics humanoid robots with their many patented inventions for breakthrough body parts, expressive body language, and impressive skills at relating, here is Pepper's US Design patent. Pepper is one of the three humanoids embodying the Softbank Robotics patented inventions, previously presented.
Pepper's US design patent USD719620, titled Robot, was filed by Aldebaran Robotics (the former Softbank Robotics company) on Oct. 18, 2013, and awarded on Dec.16, 2014, to Vincent Clerc.
As a reminder a US design patent is different from a US utility patent in that:
“a “utility patent” protects the way an article is used and works (35 U.S.C. 101), while a "design patent" protects the way an article looks (35 U.S.C. 171)". (USPTO)
The USD719620patent figure drawing No. 1 is included above, and the video below, posted on YouTube by Softbank Robotics Europe on June 10, 2014, shows Pepper awaking
The definition of a humanoid robot according to many of the Softbank Robotics patents is the following:
A robot can be qualified as humanoid from the moment … it has certain human appearance attributes: a head, a trunk, two arms, two hands, etc. A humanoid robot may, however, be more or less sophisticated. Its limbs may have a greater or lesser number of articulations. It may control its own balance statically and dynamically and walk on two limbs, possibly in three dimensions, or simply roll over a base. It may pick up signals from the environment (“hear”, “see”, “touch”, “sense”, etc.) and react according to more or less sophisticated behaviors, and interact with other robots or humans, either by speech or by gesture. [Extracted from US20170197311A1]
Thus, it probably comes as no surprise that Nao is also part of humanoid family that includes a couple of humanoid siblings. Pepper is Nao’s first humanoid sibling. This Softbank Robotics humanoid robot measures 4 ft in height. Pepper’s trunk is humanoid, with two arms, two hands and a head. The lower half of her body is designed as a skirt comprising wheels to ensure mobility. Pepper is equipped with a 3D camera to detect people and their emotions, as well as her own surroundings. The little robot interacts via a tablet and voice. Her hands, fingers and forearms together display 20 degrees of freedom for gestures, specifically designed to enhance communication.
Pepper was designed as a business companion, in particular for retail and services. She is the ideal host, fielding reception of clients in hotel lobbies, at airports, and in buildings. She might also be found in stores, where customers might query her about goods or inventory. Pepper is also connected, using apps that can be downloaded to increase, or customize, functionalities. She was also designed with a community of developers in mind, who would provide her with endless new possibilities of use and functionality.
The following video pitches Pepper to developers:
Pepper embodies numerous patented inventions, some of which are found in all the humanoid robots manufactured by Softbank Robotics. For example, see posts referring to the inventions covering Nao's hands and Nao's skull. However, the following two patent families are each respectively specific to Pepper’s mobility, and her ability to dock independently into a recharging base:
Patent Family I (Pepper’s mobility)
US20170144299A1 - Omnidirectional wheeled humanoid robot based on a linear predictive position and velocity controller
AU2015248711 (A1) ― 2016-11-03 - Omnidirectional wheeled humanoid robot based on a linear predictive position and velocity controller
EP2933069 (A1) ― 2015-10-21 - Omnidirectional wheeled humanoid robot based on a linear predictive position and velocity controller
CA2946049 (A1) ― 2015-10-22 - Omnidirectional wheeled humanoid robot based on a linear predictive position and velocity controller
HK1216406 (A1) ― 2016-11-11 - Omnidirectional wheeled humanoid robot based on a linear predictive position and velocity controller
JP2017513726 (A) ― 2017-06-01 - Omnidirectional wheeled humanoid robot based on a linear predictive position and velocity controller
KR20170030078 (A) ― 2017-03-16 - Omnidirectional wheeled humanoid robot based on a linear predictive position and velocity controller
SG11201608204Q (A) ― 2016-10-28 - Omnidirectional wheeled humanoid robot based on a linear predictive position and velocity controller
WO2015158885 (A2) ― 2015-10-22 - Omnidirectional wheeled humanoid robot based on a linear predictive position and velocity controller
Patent family II (Pepper’s ability to dock herself into her recharging base)
US20170080816A1- Battery charging base and recharging method implementing such a base
AU2015270600 (A1) ― 2016-12-01 - Battery charging base and recharging method implementing such a base
CA2951060 (A1) ― 2015-12-10 - Battery charging base and recharging method implementing such a base
EP3152080 (A1) ― 2017-04-12 - Battery charging base and recharging method implementing such a base
FR3021914 (A1) ― 2015-12-11 - Battery charging base and recharging method implementing such a base
JP2017518195 (A) ― 2017-07-06 - Battery charging base and recharging method implementing such a base
KR20170026441 (A) ― 2017-03-08 - Battery charging base and recharging method implementing such a base
MX2016015828 (A) ― 2017-06-28 - Battery charging base and recharging method implementing such a base
SG11201609422X (A) ― 2016-12-29 - Battery charging base and recharging method implementing such a base
WO2015185525 (A1) ― 2015-12-10 - Battery charging base and recharging method implementing such a base
Pepper's US design patent USD719620, titled Robot, was filed by Aldebaran Robotics (the former Softbank Robotics company) on Oct. 18, 2013, and awarded on Dec.16, 2014, to Vincent Clerc.
