| Entries |
| Document | Title | Date |
|---|
| 20080215202 | Method and System for Guiding a Person to a Location - Method and system for guiding a person to a location includes providing a processor, coupling an operator control such as a user interface to the processor to enable the person to enter a phone number which is provided to the processor, the processor being arranged to determine a physical location associated with the entered phone number, and guiding the person to the physical location associated with the entered phone number as determined by the processor. The method may be implemented in a vehicle context whereby the processor is arranged on a vehicle and the person is guided to the physical location by controlling a steering system, a throttle and/or brakes of the vehicle to automatically guide the vehicle to the physical location. Alternatively, the person may be guided to the physical location by providing audible and/or visual directions to the person operating the vehicle. | 09-04-2008 |
| 20080234886 | Method for Guiding a Vehicle Along a Predetermined Path as Well as Vehicle and System for Performing Crash-Tests - A method for guiding a driverless, multi-track vehicle along a predetermined path ( | 09-25-2008 |
| 20080275602 | Method and apparatus for automatic vehicle guidance using continuous 2-D poly-point path - A method for using an arbitrary shape 2-D poly-point path for an automatic vehicle guidance comprising the steps of: (A) determining a set of 2-D reference points; (B) selecting a set of 2-D interpolating curves to fit the set of 2-D reference points, wherein each 2-D interpolation curve connects a pair of 2-D reference points, and wherein each set of 2-D interpolation curves comprises a continuous 2-D poly-point path; and (C) calculating a steering angle to guide the vehicle along the continuous 2-D poly-point path. | 11-06-2008 |
| 20080300745 | VEHICLE TRAJECTORY VISUALIZATION SYSTEM - A vehicle trajectory visualization system capable of displaying real-time (or recorded) vehicle orientation, position, velocity, and waypoint data using a 3D rendering system. The aforementioned data is transmitted from the vehicle to a base station that processes and manipulates the data prior to 3D rendering and insertion into a database. Due to the storing of the vehicle trajectory data, playback of past trajectories is possible, enabling enhanced visual After-Action Review. This system provides instant visual inspection of any virtual or real vehicle's planned trajectory and waypoints versus actual traveled trajectory. | 12-04-2008 |
| 20090018717 | Vehicle auto-guidance memory - Methods and apparatus are disclosed for on-board memories for use in vehicle auto-guidance. An on-board memory of a vehicle is capable of storing information used in auto-guidance specific to that particular vehicle and/or a class of vehicles and passing the information through a vehicle communication network. The information is then transferred to a removable master controller and/or removable satellite positioning receiver to aid in auto-guidance of the vehicle. In this way, the master controller and/or the GPS unit may be removed and/or re-installed on a vehicle without having to store the vehicle specific information. | 01-15-2009 |
| 20090030569 | ROBOTIC CART PULLING VEHICLE - A robotic cart pulling vehicle includes a positioning error reducing system for reducing accumulated error in the ded-reckoning navigational system. The positioning error reducing system including at least one of a low load transfer point of the cart attaching mechanism, a floor variation compliance structure whereby the drive wheels maintain a substantially even distribution of load over minor surface variations, a minimal wheel contact surface structure, a calibration structure using at least one proximity sensor mounted on the robot body, and a common electrical and mechanical connection between the cart and the robot vehicle formed by a cart attaching post. | 01-29-2009 |
| 20090043439 | Guidance, Navigation, and Control System for a Vehicle - The present invention provides a guidance, navigation, and control method and system for an underground mining vehicle that allow said vehicle to be taught a route by a human operator and then have it automatically drive the route with no human intervention. The method works in three steps: teaching, route profiling, and playback. In the teaching step the vehicle is manually driven by a operator (or using tele-operation whereby the operator views a screen displaying live views from vehicle-mounted cameras and using remote controls) along a route which can consist of an arbitrary sequence of maneuvers including tramming forwards, switching directions, tramming backwards, turning, or pausing movement. During this phase raw data from vehicle-mounted sensors including odometric sensors and rangefinders are logged to a file throughout teaching for later processing. During the (offline) route profiling step, the raw data in the log file are processed into a route profile including a vehicle path, a sequence of local metric submaps located along the path, and a profile of desired speed as a function of distance along the path. During the playback step, the vehicle automatically repeats the route that was taught during the teaching phase, as represented by the route profile. This is accomplished by first determining where the vehicle is on the route using a localization method which uses the odometric and laser rangefinder sensors and the local metric maps to determine the vehicle location. A steering control method adjusts the vehicle's steering to ensure it tracks the intended path. A drive control method adjusts the vehicle's speed accordingly and safety method ensures the vehicle stops in the event that an obstruction is on the vehicle's intended path. | 02-12-2009 |
| 20090043440 | AUTONOMOUS MOBILE DEVICE, AND CONTROL DEVICE AND PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR THE AUTONOMOUS MOBILE DEVICE - An autonomous mobile device has its movement controlled by a control device and includes a first sensing unit for sensing an obstacle. The control device includes a first storage unit for storing information as to a temporary positional fluctuation of the obstacle and sets as a virtual obstacle region a region where it is predicted that the obstacle sensed by the first sensing unit travels following a predetermined time passage based on the information as to the temporary positional fluctuation of the obstacle stored in the first storage unit. | 02-12-2009 |
| 20090062974 | Autonomous Mobile Robot System - An autonomous mobile robot system having plural mobile robots and integrative planning means to plan the moving zone of the plural mobile robots, wherein: the integrative planning means is installed on the plural mobile robots including a main mobile robot to travel autonomously and a subordinate mobile robot to travel on the basis of the instructions of the main mobile robot; and each of the plural mobile robots is provided with, at least, measurement means to measure the situation of ambient environment, communication means to communicate between the integrative planning means and the other mobile robot, main device position recognition means to recognize the position of the mobile robot, subordinate device position recognition means to recognize the position of the other mobile robot, travel planning means to plan travel routes of the mobile robot and the other mobile robot, and travel control means to control a drive mechanism in accordance with the travel planning means. A guided vehicle and a truck or the like can travel autonomously and cooperatively while obtaining information on ambient environment without mechanical connection and can automatically be separated from and merged with each other. | 03-05-2009 |
| 20090099716 | METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING ARTIFICIAL MARK FOR AUTONOMOUS DRIVING, APPARATUS AND METHOD OF DETERMINING POSITION OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEM USING ARTIFICAL MARK AND INTELLIGENT SYSTEM EMPLOYING THE SAME - A method for constructing an artificial mark for autonomous driving of an intelligent system, an apparatus and method for determining the location of an intelligent system using the artificial mark, and an intelligent system employing the same. The apparatus and method for determining the location of an intelligent system includes a projective invariant calculator which calculates a projective invariant of an artificial mark detected from an image taken for a driving place; a search unit which stores a database of indices according to a combination of colors of polygons included in the artificial mark, projective invariants of the artificial marks, and global location information of the artificial marks in the driving place, and searches the database by the calculated projective invariant for obtaining the global location information of the detected artificial mark; and a position information analyzer which analyzes the position of the intelligent system by using the global location information of the detected artificial mark and location information between the intelligent system and the detected artificial mark. | 04-16-2009 |
| 20090099717 | TRAJECTORY TRACKING CONTROL SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MOBILE UNIT - A trajectory tracking control system according to the invention controls a robot ( | 04-16-2009 |
| 20090182464 | Method and apparatus for planning path of mobile robot - The apparatus includes a coarse map creating unit creating a coarse map which includes path information of the mobile robot; and a virtual door extracting unit extracting virtual doors which divide the coarse map into a plurality of sub regions, where the mobile robot sequentially cleans the sub regions one by one. The method includes creating a coarse map which includes path information of the mobile robot; extracting virtual doors which divide the coarse map into a plurality of sub regions; and sequentially cleaning the sub regions one by one. | 07-16-2009 |
| 20090204281 | VISUAL, GNSS AND GYRO AUTOSTEERING CONTROL - A visual, GNSS and INSS (gyro) system for autosteering control uses crop row and furrow row edge visual detection in an agricultural application in order to closely track the actual crop rows. Alternatively, previous vehicle tracks can be visually detected and followed in a tramline following operating mode. GNSS and inertial (gyroscopic) input subsystems are also provided for supplementing the video input subsystem, for example when visual references are lost. Crop damage is avoided or at least minimized by avoiding overdriving the existing crops. Other applications include equipment control in logistics operations. | 08-13-2009 |
| 20090222160 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR COORDINATED VEHICLE CONTROL WITH WIRELESS COMMUNICATION - A control system controls a pair of vehicles in coordination to traverse a respective pair of trajectories. The control system is configured to specify a plurality of successive waypoints, a safe stopping interval and an intermediate interval greater than the safe stopping interval, and exchange waypoints between vehicles. The system controls each vehicle in coordination with the other, senses a rate of exchange of waypoint data between the vehicles, and determines the safe stopping interval. The control system updates positions with additional waypoints as the respective vehicles pass by waypoints of the forecasted trajectory, determines the length of the forecasted trajectory remaining and compares it with the intermediate interval and the safe stopping interval. The system generates a warning signal if distance is less than the intermediate interval, and if the distance is less than the safe stopping interval, stops within the safe stopping interval. | 09-03-2009 |
| 20090292412 | Vehicular Guidance System Having Compensation for Variations in Ground Elevation - A system and method of guiding a vehicle comprises establishing elevation data and corresponding location data for a work area. A particular location of a vehicle within the work area is determined. Roll data and pitch data are estimated corresponding to the particular location. The vehicle is guided based upon the estimated roll data and the pitch data such that the vehicle follows a desired path. | 11-26-2009 |
| 20090299562 | Guided control device for unmanned vehicle - Guiding speed is increased while an unmanned vehicle is prevented from straying from a travel passage width, to improve the work efficiency. Target speed of the unmanned vehicle increases as a distance between a current position of the unmanned vehicle and a guidable borderline increases, and the target speed of the unmanned vehicle decreases as the distance between the current position of the unmanned vehicle and a guidable borderline decreases. The unmanned vehicle travels, along a travel path having adjacent inbound/outbound lanes, in a direction opposite to a direction of a vehicle on an oncoming lane. If it is determined that the vehicle traveling along the oncoming lane is approaching the unmanned vehicle, then the target speed of the unmanned vehicle is reduced, whereby the unmanned vehicle is caused to travel at a low guiding speed. | 12-03-2009 |
| 20090299563 | METHOD OF MASS TRANSFORTATION OF PEOPLE OR CARGO, ESPECIALLY WITHIN CITY AREAS AND A TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS METHOD - The method of carrying persons or cargo in the individual vehicles ( | 12-03-2009 |
| 20090319112 | AUTOMATIC PLANNING AND REGULATION OF THE SPEED OF AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES - An autonomous vehicle comprises one or more sensors configured to obtain data regarding conditions which affect movement of the autonomous vehicle; a speed planner coupled to the one or more sensors and configured to calculate a desired speed based, at least in part, on the data obtained from the one or more sensors; and one or more actuators responsive to signals from the speed planner and configured to adjust the speed of the autonomous vehicle based on the desired speed calculated by the speed planner. | 12-24-2009 |
| 20090319113 | PATH GENERATION ALGORITHM FOR AUTOMATED LANE CENTERING AND LANE CHANGING CONTROL SYSTEM - A system for providing path generation for automated lane centering and/or lane changing purposes. The system includes a desired path generation processor that receives signals detecting the roadway on which the vehicle is traveling, a request for a lane change, vehicle state information and a steering angle of the vehicle. The system also includes a path prediction processor that predicts the vehicle path based on vehicle state information including vehicle longitudinal speed, vehicle lateral speed, vehicle yaw-rate and vehicle steering angle. The desired path information and the predicted path information are compared to generate an error signal that is sent to a lane change controller that provides a steering angle signal to turn the vehicle and reduce the error signal. The desired path generation processor can use a fifth order polynomial equation to determine the desired path of the vehicle based on the input signals. | 12-24-2009 |
| 20090326751 | DRIVING ASSIST APPARATUS - A driving assist apparatus | 12-31-2009 |
| 20100030417 | ENVIRONMENTAL SURVEY ROBOT - An environmental survey robot suitable for wireless communicating with a survey action management center having a geographic information system to scheme an advance route with multiple check points is provided. The environmental survey robot includes a moving vehicle, a controlling computer, a wireless communication network, a Global positioning system, an environment detector, a solar cell and a power controller. The wireless communication network receives the advance route from the detecting action management center, and the controlling computer autonomously controls the moving vehicle to move in accordance with the advance route. The environmental detector is suitable for detecting the environment information and sending the same to the controlling computer. When the electricity of the solar cell is less than a predetermined value, the power controller will send the signal to the controlling computer such that the action controller will stop the action of the moving vehicle. | 02-04-2010 |
| 20100042282 | TRAVEL CONTROL PLAN GENERATION SYSTEM AND COMPUTER PROGRAM - A travel control plan generating system | 02-18-2010 |
| 20100057286 | Solar crawling lawn mower - The device concerns an ultra lightweight, solar powered, self-propelled, programmable, low-speed crawling lawn mower, and an operating method for use of such invention. The unit consists of a cover housing/solar cell deck with watertight compartment(s) for circuitry; sitting atop an open slow-cutting head, with a pair of spoke wheels at either side. The front spoke wheels function as drive wheels, followed by freely turning back reference wheels equipped with incremental rotary encoders to measure their relative turn rates. The two drive wheels are connected to two variable speed drive motors and gearboxes (disconnectable during programming), which are in turn powered individually and independently by a processor. Such processor follows a memory pattern, matching this against real-time reference wheel data to determine relative power levels appropriate for the two front drive wheels. Intermittent stationary reference points may be derived by a sensor plate on the rear of the device. | 03-04-2010 |
| 20100070124 | Unmanned Vehicle Route Management System - According to one embodiment, a route management system for an unmanned vehicle includes a network node in communication with an unmanned vehicle control system and an unmanned vehicle. The network node is operable to transmit a number of initial waypoints to the unmanned vehicle, transmit one or more in-flight waypoints to the unmanned vehicle after the unmanned vehicle has arrived at a corresponding one or more of the initial waypoints, and replace the one or more of the initial waypoints with the one or more in-flight waypoints in the unmanned vehicle such that the total quantity waypoints stored in the unmanned vehicle does not exceed a specified quantity. | 03-18-2010 |
| 20100082194 | PATH PLANNING DEVICE AND METHOD, COST EVALUATION DEVICE, AND MOVING BODY - To generate an optimal path in a search space represented by a grid. A path search device includes: an edge generation section that generates edges extending to neighboring nodes located at least forward and diagonally forward right and left of a focus node, assuming that each grid point is a node and that a minimum cost node among end nodes each located at an end of the edges is the focus node, when a cost from a start point to a given node is a cost of the given node; an edge cost calculation/readout section that reads out a shortest distance from a reference node to the neighboring node (first distance) and a shortest distance from the reference node to the focus node (second distance) from a database, assuming that a node obtained by tracing back a predetermined number of nodes from the focus node in a direction toward the start point along the path is the reference node; a path cost calculation section that calculates a cost of a path from the start point to the neighboring node as a sum of costs of edges constituting the path; and a path determination section that selects a path having a minimum cost from the start point to the end point. | 04-01-2010 |
| 20100082195 | METHOD TO ADAPTIVELY CONTROL VEHICLE OPERATION USING AN AUTONOMIC VEHICLE CONTROL SYSTEM - A vehicle includes a vehicle monitoring system for estimating vehicle motion states, a spatial monitoring system, an adaptive cruise control system for vehicle speed and acceleration control, a steering controller for vehicle lateral motion control, a roadway estimator, and an autonomic control system. Commanded vehicle operation is adjusted to achieve a preferred travel path based upon a predicted travel path and an estimated roadway. The preferred travel path is adapted responsive to the estimated roadway. | 04-01-2010 |
| 20100100268 | ENHANCED CLEAR PATH DETECTION IN THE PRESENCE OF TRAFFIC INFRASTRUCTURE INDICATOR - A method for detecting a clear path of travel for a vehicle utilizing analysis of a plurality of images generated by a camera device located upon the vehicle includes monitoring the images. The images are analyzed including determining a clear path upon which a potential road surface can be estimated from other portions of the images that do not indicate a potential road surface, and determining an image of a traffic infrastructure indication. The method further includes determining the content of the traffic infrastructure indication, modifying the clear path based upon the content of the traffic infrastructure indication, and utilizing the modified clear path in navigation of the vehicle. | 04-22-2010 |
| 20100106356 | Control and systems for autonomously driven vehicles - A navigation and control system including one or more position sensors configured to generate position signals indicative of the location and heading of a vehicle. The system includes one or more operation control mechanisms having inputs and producing outputs which control an operation of the vehicle and includes a self-contained autonomous controller disposed remote from the operation control mechanisms. The autonomous controller includes a processor configured to receive the position signals from the position sensors and to generate operation control signals defining an updated travel path for the vehicle, and a programmable interface providing communication among the position sensors, the operation control mechanisms, and the processor. The programmable interface is configured to normalize inputs to the processor from the position sensors and to generate compatible operation control signals applied as the inputs to the operation control mechanisms, whereby the self-contained autonomous controller is configurable for operation with a variety of different sensors and different operation control mechanisms. | 04-29-2010 |
| 20100121517 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR GENERATING SAFE PATH OF MOBILE ROBOT - A method for generating a safe path of a mobile robot includes searching for a whole path from a starting point to a destination point within a map information entered in the robot; extracting information about an expected distance between the robot and a peripheral obstacle when the robot moves along the searched whole path; and correcting the whole path locally using the information about the expected distance from the peripheral obstacle. | 05-13-2010 |
| 20100138096 | Patrol Device And Patrol Path Planning Method For The Same - The present invention relates to a patrol device and a patrol path planning method. The patrol device includes an operating unit configured to establish a plurality of patrol paths, each of which has an Average Patrol Omission (APO) value and an Average Patrol Quality (APQ) value, and to determine an optimum patrol path from the plurality of patrol paths according to the APO value and the APQ value; and a moving unit configured to move along the optimum patrol path. The method includes providing a plurality of patrol paths, each of which has an Average Patrol Omission (APO) value and an Average Patrol Quality (APQ) value; and evaluating the plurality of patrol paths according to the respective APO values and the respective APQ values so as to select an optimum patrol path therefrom. | 06-03-2010 |
| 20100152942 | Slippage condition response system - A slippage condition response system for a first machine of a plurality of machines is disclosed. The response system may have a sensing system configured to sense a parameter indicative of a slippage condition of the first machine. Additionally, the response system may have a locator configured to sense a parameter indicative of a location of the first machine. The response system may also have a transmitter. In addition, the response system may have a controller, which may be in communication with the sensing system, the locator, and the transmitter. The controller may be configured to monitor the location of the first machine. The controller may also be configured to monitor the parameter indicative of a slippage condition of the first machine. Additionally, the controller may be configured to transmit to an offboard system at least one location where the first machine experienced a slippage condition. | 06-17-2010 |
| 20100152943 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR OPTIMIZING PERFORMANCE OF VEHICLE GUIDANCE SYSTEMS - A vehicle guidance system includes a location determining component for determining locations of the vehicle; a weight sensor for sensing a weight associated with the vehicle; a steering actuator for steering at least one wheel of the vehicle; and a computing device in communication with the location determining component, the weight sensor, and the steering actuator. The computing device receives cartographic data representative of a desired path for the vehicle, receives location information from the location determining component, controls operation of the steering actuator in order to guide the vehicle along the desired path, and adjusts a steering parameter at least partially based on the weight sensed by the weight sensor. | 06-17-2010 |
| 20100168950 | Path Planning Device, Path Planning Method, and Computer Program - A path planning device includes: an initial position and posture path acquiring unit which acquires an initial position and posture path including a plurality of nodes connecting present position and posture of a control target to target position and posture and which configures a rigid body corresponding to the control target in each node in the position and posture path; an interference detector which detects interference with the control target by an obstruction; an external force calculator which calculates an external force for each rigid body; and a multi rigid body system dynamics simulation unit which performs a multi rigid body system dynamics simulation on a plurality of equations of rigid body motion and which acquires positions and postures of the control target at times corresponding to the nodes in the position and posture path. | 07-01-2010 |
| 20100174435 | Path planning apparatus of robot and method thereof - Disclosed are a path planning apparatus of a robot, which generates a path plan to control movements of the robot, and a method thereof. An improved RRT algorithm is employed, when a tree is extended in a configuration space so as to satisfy a constraint, and thus steeply bent or roundabout portions of the tree are reduced. | 07-08-2010 |
| 20100179716 | Method for Creating Spiral Swath Patterns for Convex Polygon Shaped Field Boundaries - A computationally efficient method for generating a spiral swath pattern for a region of a field bounded by a convex polygon, the method automatically generating curved portions for the swath pattern having radii of curvature greater than a minimum turning radius based on the minimum turning radius and a definition of the field boundary. | 07-15-2010 |
| 20100198442 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATICALLY GUIDING AN UNMANNED VECHILE - An unmanned vehicle is guided by selecting locations along a predetermined mute defining adjacent first, second and third linear portions. If an imaginary circle can be constructed that is mutually tangential to all three linear portions or to projections thereof, the vehicle is guided according to the circle intercept method until it reaches an imaginary point of contact (M) between the circle and the second linear portion or passes its traverse. If an imaginary circle cannot be constructed that is mutually tangential to all three linear portions or to projections thereof, an imaginary circle is constructed that is mutually tangential to the first and second linear portions; and the vehicle is guided along according to the leg intercept method until it reaches an imaginary point of contact (M) between the circle and the first linear portion or passes its traverse. The process is repeated iteratively in respect of successive locations. | 08-05-2010 |
| 20100198443 | PATH PLANNING DEVICE, PATH PLANNING METHOD, AND MOVING BODY - To provide a path planning device and a path planning method capable of, when installed in a moving body such as a robot, exhibiting a natural moving action, and a moving body having such a path planning device installed therein. A path planning device includes a path guide area setting unit that sets a first movement prohibited area for assisting moving path generation on one or both sides of the robot, and a path decision unit that determines a path to a target position such that the robot does not move inside the path guide area. The path guide area setting unit sets the path guide area such that its perimeter passes through the center of that robot. | 08-05-2010 |
| 20100204866 | Path Planning for Autonomous Parking - A method is provided for determining a vehicle path for autonomously parallel parking a vehicle in a space between a first object and a second object. A distance is remotely sensed between the first object and the second object. A determination is made whether the distance is sufficient to parallel park the vehicle between. A first position to initiate a parallel parking maneuver is determined. A second position within the available parking space corresponding to an end position of the vehicle path is determined. A first arc shaped trajectory of travel is determined between the first position and an intermediate position, and a second arc shaped trajectory of travel is determined between the second position and the intermediate position. The first arc shaped trajectory is complementary to the second arc shaped trajectory for forming a clothoid which provides a smoothed rearward steering maneuver between the first position to the second position. | 08-12-2010 |
| 20100211244 | Apparatus and method for generating and using a grid map path - An apparatus and method for generating a path using a limited memory size are provided. An approximate path is generated based on a reduced grid map generated by reducing an original grid map. Then, an approximate path is mapped onto the original grid map, and the mapped path is enlarged and divided into a plurality of sections based on an available memory size used for path calculation. Based on a start point and a destination point set in each of the divided sections, a detailed path in each of the sections is generated. | 08-19-2010 |
| 20100228418 | SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR DISPLAYING VIDEO WITH IMPROVED SPATIAL AWARENESS - Methods and systems are provided for displaying a video data stream captured by a surveillance module associated with an aerial vehicle during execution of a flight plan. A method comprises displaying a timeline corresponding to the video data stream on a display device associated with the aerial vehicle and displaying a first indicator on the timeline. In accordance with one embodiment, the first indicator corresponds to a first waypoint of the flight plan, wherein the first indicator is positioned on the timeline such that the first indicator corresponds to a first segment of the video data stream at a first time. The first time is based at least in part on a position of the aerial vehicle. | 09-09-2010 |
| 20100228419 | METHOD TO ASSESS RISK ASSOCIATED WITH OPERATING AN AUTONOMIC VEHICLE CONTROL SYSTEM - A vehicle is configured to execute an autonomic lane change maneuver and is equipped with a spatial monitoring system. Each of a plurality of objects located proximate to the vehicle is monitored. Locations of each of the objects are predicted relative to a projected trajectory of the vehicle. A collision risk level between the vehicle and each of the objects is assessed. | 09-09-2010 |
| 20100235032 | UNMANNED TRANSPORT APPARATUS AND OPERATING METHOD THEREOF - An unmanned transport apparatus, includes: a call unit for providing destination information corresponding to a call location according to a call signal of a communication device; a navigation guide unit for recognizing a current location using an electronic map and searching an optimum route from the current location to a destination location of the destination information; and an image recognition unit for determining a travelling route and recognizing landmarks, stop lines, and intersections on the determined travelling route. Further, the unmanned transport apparatus includes an image capture unit for capturing input images to produce image; and a control unit for controlling a steering angle by determining a steering value from the current location to the destination location based on the travelling route and landmarks, and controlling velocity and brakes by determining velocity and brake values based on the stop lines and intersections. | 09-16-2010 |
| 20100274430 | DETECTION OF TOPOLOGICAL STRUCTURE FROM SENSOR DATA WITH APPLICATION TO AUTONOMOUS DRIVING IN SEMI-STRUCTURED ENVIRONMENTS - A method of creating an obstacle-free diagram using topological sensor data to form a graph corresponding to a driving path, transforming the graph using discrete heuristics, locally smoothing a plurality of edges of the graph after the transforming, and globally smoothing the graph after the locally smoothing. Transforming includes deleting an edge of the graph, merging two intersections of the graph into a single intersection, and collapsing a plurality of edges forming a loop into a single edge. Locally smoothing includes smoothing a lane segment of the graph by minimizing a sum of a function of smoothness and a function of distance. Globally smoothing includes defining an intersection potential and minimizing a sum of the function of smoothness, the function of distance, a function of intersections and a function of direction. | 10-28-2010 |
| 20100286859 | METHODS FOR GENERATING A FLIGHT PLAN FOR AN UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE BASED ON A PREDICTED CAMERA PATH - Methods are provided for generating a flight plan for an aerial vehicle equipped with a surveillance module by using a control unit having a display device. A method comprises graphically identifying, on a map displayed on the display device, a desired target for the surveillance module. A flight plan generated based on the desired target such that a predicted camera path for the surveillance module overlaps the desired target. | 11-11-2010 |
| 20100292883 | Control device for guided travel of unmanned vehicle - A control device for guided travel of an unmanned vehicle, in which the unmanned vehicle is guided to travel by receiving a signal sent from a GPS satellite by the unmanned vehicle, measuring its own vehicle position based on the signal, and controlling such that a positional shift between the vehicle position and a target point that is a passing point sequentially set on a target traveling course falls into an allowable range for controlling error, wherein a guidable range is set in advance such that a position measurement error is added to the allowable range for controlling error; the position measurement error is obtained based on position measurement accuracy information from the signal; the allowable range for controlling error is changed according to the obtained position measurement error; and control is performed such that the positional shift falls into the changed allowable range for controlling error. | 11-18-2010 |
| 20100292884 | Device for Influencing Navigation of an Autonomous Vehicle - A device for controlling the reflection of incident beams to influence navigation of an autonomous device having a navigation sensor comprising a beam emitter and a beam detector for detecting reflected emitted beams. The device comprises at least one surface having a geometry configured to direct a reflection from the emitted beam in a predetermined direction so that a suitable amount of the reflected beam can be detected by the detector. | 11-18-2010 |
| 20100299013 | USING TOPOLOGICAL STRUCTURE FOR PATH PLANNING IN SEMI-STRUCTURED ENVIRONMENTS - A method of creating a lane network of a semi-structured environment for a vehicle, assigning a corresponding cost function to each of a plurality of coordinates of the semi-structured environment using the lane network and a state of the vehicle, the state of the vehicle corresponding to a coordinate location of the vehicle and an angular orientation of the vehicle, and determining an obstacle-free path on the semi-structured environment using the cost function of each of the plurality of coordinates. | 11-25-2010 |
| 20100299014 | SYSTEM AND METHOD TO AUTOMATIC ASSIST POSITIONING OF SUBJECT IN MOBILE IMAGE ACQUISTION - A method of and system to perform image acquisition of a subject supported from a floor is provided. The system includes an imaging system and a table system having a tabletop in support of the subject from the floor. The table system also includes a mobile device having a drive to automatically transport the table system across the floor, identify a current position and to calculate a path relative to a reference to a pre-programmed target position for image acquisition. | 11-25-2010 |
| 20100318253 | GUIDANCE METHOD FOR AGRICULTURAL VEHICLE - An automated method and system includes an automatic guidance system (AGS) and swath pattern. The AGS steers a vehicle towing a rotary baler in an “S”, or oscillatory pattern around a predetermined approximate centerline of the swath path. The oscillatory pattern may be user defined. By steering the vehicle in an oscillatory pattern referenced to the A-B line, a windrow of crop material may be distributed into an even and optimal bale size and density by the baler. Bale chamber sensors detect an imbalance of crop density and in response, AGS adjusts an interval or amplitude of oscillatory pattern | 12-16-2010 |
| 20100324769 | ENVIRONMENT MAP GENERATING METHOD AND MOBILE ROBOT (AS AMENDED) - To reduce a calculation time required for generating an environment map in a mobile robot. A mobile robot ( | 12-23-2010 |
| 20100324770 | TRAILER HITCH ALIGNMENT DEVICE AND METHOD - A method of assisting a driver in aligning a vehicle hitch with a trailer hitch and electronic trailer alignment system includes providing a stereoscopic-imaging system and positioning the imaging system at one of the vehicle hitch or the trailer hitch. The imaging system includes at least two image sensors. At least two different images of a surface at the other of the vehicle hitch or the trailer hitch are captured with the at least two image sensors. Position data is captured from the at least two different images of the surface at the other of the vehicle hitch or the trailer hitch. The position data defines a position of the other of the vehicle hitch or the trailer hitch with respect to the one of the vehicle hitch or the trailer hitch. Steering data that will cause the vehicle hitch to approach the position of the trailer hitch is determined. | 12-23-2010 |
| 20100324771 | AUTONOMOUS MOVING BODY, ITS CONTROL METHOD, AND CONTROL SYSTEM - To provide an autonomous moving body capable of moving with efficiency along a path toward a travel end point while avoiding a collision with a moving obstacle, its control method, and its control system. An autonomous moving body in accordance with the present invention includes means to create a traveling path of the autonomous moving body that extends from a travel start point to a travel end point, means to calculate a point at which a moving obstacle located within the moving area crosses the created traveling path of the autonomous moving body as a collision prediction point, means to calculate a first passage time period during which the moving obstacle passes through the collision prediction point, and means to calculate a second passage time period during which the autonomous moving body passes through the collision prediction point. Further, if at least a part of the second passage time period overlaps the first passage time period, the traveling speed of the autonomous moving body is adjusted so that the second passage time period does not overlap the first passage time period. | 12-23-2010 |
| 20100324772 | Automatic Control of Passive, Towed Implements - An automatic control system for passive, towed implements is described. The system provides a strategy for optimal control of a towed implement using a nudge input to an autopilot-controlled tractor. Implement path-tracking error, as measured by a GNSS receiver, is consistently corrected to zero. | 12-23-2010 |
| 20110015817 | OPTICAL TRACKING VEHICLE CONTROL SYSTEM AND METHOD - An optical tracking vehicle control system includes a controller adapted for computing vehicle guidance signals and a guidance subsystem adapted for receiving the guidance signals from the controller and for guiding the vehicle. An optical movement sensor is mounted on the vehicle in optical contact with a travel surface being traversed by the vehicle. The optical movement sensor is connected to the controller and provides vehicle movement signals thereto for use by the controller in computing vehicle position. The optical movement sensor can be either mounted on a gimbal for movement independent of the vehicle, or, alternatively, multiple optical movement sensors can be provided for detecting yaw movements. GNSS and inertial vehicle position tracking subsystems are also provided. Still further, a method of tracking a vehicle with an optical movement sensor is provided. | 01-20-2011 |
| 20110035087 | Method and apparatus to plan motion path of robot - A suitable waypoint is selected using a goal score, a section from a start point to a goal point through the waypoint is divided into a plurality of sections based on the waypoint with a solution of inverse kinematics, and trees are simultaneously expanded in the sections using a Best First Search & Rapidly Random Tree (BF-RRT) algorithm so as to generate a path. By this configuration, a probability of local minima occurring is decreased compared with the case where the waypoint is randomly selected. In addition, since the trees are simultaneously expanded in the sections each having the waypoint with a solution of inverse kinematics, the solution may be rapidly obtained. A time consumed to search for an optimal motion path may be shortened and path plan performance may be improved. | 02-10-2011 |
| 20110046836 | MODULAR AND SCALABLE POSITIONING AND NAVIGATION SYSTEM - The different illustrative embodiments provide an apparatus that includes an autonomous vehicle, a modular navigation system, and a number of modular components. The modular navigation system is coupled to the autonomous vehicle. | 02-24-2011 |
| 20110066312 | NAVIGATION APPARATUS AND DRIVING ROUTE INFORMATION PROVIDING METHOD USING THE SAME AND AUTOMATIC DRIVING SYSTEM AND METHOD - An automatic driving system includes: a reference driving information database for storing reference driving information including reference driving lines, reference driving speeds, and lane change information; and a navigation apparatus for searching a driving route from a starting point to a destination by using a position value of a vehicle and generating driving route information by reflecting the reference driving information in the searched driving route. The automatic driving system further includes a vehicle controller for determining a driving line and a driving speed by using the generated driving route information and performing unmanned automatic driving along the determined driving line at the determined driving speed. | 03-17-2011 |
| 20110066313 | METHOD & ARRANGEMENT FOR CALCULATING A CONFORMITY BETWEEN A REPRESENTATION OF AN ENVIRONMENT AND SAID ENVIRONMENT - The present invention concerns a method for determining a conformity between a representation of an environment and said environment, wherein said representation of the environment constitutes a representation in at least two dimensions, where a distance between two points in the representation has a known relation to the corresponding distance in said environment, characterised in that said determination involves the step of determining a first set of parameter values for a first position in said representation of the environment, comparing said first determined set of expected parameter values with a second set of parameter values, where said second set of parameter values has been determined for a second position, where said second position constitutes a position in said environment that essentially corresponds to said first position, and using said comparison to determine a measure of conformity between said environment and said representation of the environment. The invention also concerns an arrangement and the mining and/or construction machine. | 03-17-2011 |
| 20110082613 | SEMIAUTOMATIC PARKING MACHINE - The invention relates to a device and a method for controlling the steering of a vehicle during a parking maneuver. To this end first the parking spot selected for parking the vehicle is surveyed. Based on said survey, an orientation field is prepared, which defines a target orientation for a plurality of positioning points inside the selected parking spot and in the surroundings of the parking spot, the vehicle being guided along these points from any arbitrary point inside the orientation field to the target point of the parking maneuver. The control of the vehicle occurs by comparing the respective current orientation thereof to the target orientation specified for the respective position in the orientation field and by an appropriate adjustment of the steering angle by the vehicle orientation to said target orientation. | 04-07-2011 |
| 20110112713 | CONTROL METHOD AND CLEANING ROBOT UTILIZING THE SAME - A control method for a cleaning robot's movement in a closed space is disclosed. The cleaning robot is activated to search a boundary of the closed space. The cleaning robot is activated to move along the boundary. When the cleaning robot moves along the boundary, the movement route of the cleaning robot is referred to as a first movement route. The first movement route is recorded. The cleaning robot is activated to move along a second movement route according to the recording result. The second movement route does not overlap the first movement route. | 05-12-2011 |
| 20110118926 | Method and system for augmenting a guidance system with a path sensor - In an automatic vehicle position control system, such as a satellite-based agricultural implement steering system, the satellite-based steering information is adjusted with information obtained from one or more path sensors to facilitate the automatic nudging of the vehicle to take account of inaccurate tracking of the agricultural implement relative to its tractor, terrain variations, and inaccuracies in the satellite-based steering system. | 05-19-2011 |
| 20110125358 | CONTROL METHOD FOR A ROBOT VEHICLE, AND ROBOT VEHICLE - The invention relates to a method for controlling driving means which are designed to steer and move a robot vehicle ( | 05-26-2011 |
| 20110153136 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AREA COVERAGE USING SECTOR DECOMPOSITION - The different illustrative embodiments provide a method for generating an area coverage path plan using sector decomposition. A starting point is identified on a worksite map having a number of landmarks. A first landmark in the number of landmarks is identified. A path is generated around the first landmark until an obstacle is detected. In response to detecting the obstacle, the path is made linear to a next landmark. The path is generated around the next landmark. | 06-23-2011 |
| 20110153137 | METHOD OF GENERATING SPATIAL MAP USING FREELY TRAVELLING ROBOT, METHOD OF CALCULATING OPTIMAL TRAVELLING PATH USING SPATIAL MAP, AND ROBOT CONTROL DEVICE PERFORMING THE SAME - Provided is a method of generating a spatial map using a freely travelling robot. The method of generating the spatial map includes calculating a global coordinate of the robot based on a local coordinate of the robot that is outputted from each of a plurality of location coordinate systems arranged in a space, and estimating a location of each of the plurality of location coordinate systems in the space based on the calculated global coordinate of the robot to generate a spatial map based on the estimated location of each of the plurality of location coordinate systems. | 06-23-2011 |
| 20110166737 | ROUTE PLANNING METHOD, ROUTE PLANNING DEVICE AND AUTONOMOUS MOBILE DEVICE - A route planning device that is capable of comprehending, in advance, a route clearance at a pass-through point on a planned travel route, includes a global map acquisition unit arranged to generate a global map showing an obstacle area in which an obstacle exists, an extended area generation unit arranged to generate an extended obstacle area and three extended area by extending stepwise an outline of the obstacle area contained in the global map, an integrated map generation unit arranged to generate an integrated map by superposing for integration of the extended obstacle area with the three extended areas; a movable area extraction unit arranged to extract a movable area from the integrated map and thinning the same, and a route planning unit arranged to acquire a route clearance at a sub goal according to the extended areas on the integrated map to which the sub goal on the travel route belongs, upon planning the travel route from the thinned movable area. | 07-07-2011 |
| 20110178668 | ENVIRONMENTAL MAP CORRECTION DEVICE AND AUTONOMOUS MOBILE DEVICE - An environmental map correction device that acquires an environmental map that matches an actual ambient environment includes a conversion unit arranged to convert object existence probability information of respective grids configuring a global map into image information (shading information of a black and white image, a display unit arranged to display a global map image based on the converted image information, an operation input unit arranged to receive a correcting operation from a user, a correction unit arranged to correct the global map image displayed by the display unit according to the correcting operation by the user, and an inversion unit arranged to acquire a corrected global map by inverting the corrected global map image (shading information) into the object existence probability information. | 07-21-2011 |
| 20110178669 | AUTONOMOUS MOBILE DEVICE - An electronic controller defining an autonomous mobile device a self-location estimation unit to estimate a self-location based on a local map that is created according to distance/angle information relative to an object in the vicinity and the travel distance of an omni wheel, an environmental map creation unit to create an environmental map of a mobile area based on the self-location and the local map during the guided travel with using a joystick, a registration switch to register the self-location of the autonomous mobile device as the position coordinate of the setting point when the autonomous mobile device reaches a predetermined setting point during the guided travel, a storage unit to store the environmental map and the setting point, a route planning unit to plan the travel route by using the setting point on the environmental map stored in the storage unit, and a travel control unit to control the autonomous mobile device to autonomously travel along the travel route. | 07-21-2011 |
| 20110184605 | Driverless vehicle - Each respective vehicle of a plurality of vehicles transports a vehicle navigation system. A position determining system determines a position and a velocity of the respective vehicle and an information acquisition system is operable to determine a displacement and velocity between the respective vehicle and a vehicle adjacent to the respective vehicle. An information communication system of a respective vehicle is operable to transmit first information (that vehicle's velocity and position) to other vehicles and to receive information from other vehicles regarding their velocities and positions. A vehicle routing system can determine a target routing and target velocity for moving the respective vehicle over a path including the roadway. Based on the received or determined information, the velocity of the respective vehicle can be controlled. | 07-28-2011 |
| 20110196563 | AUTONOMOUS NAVIGATION AND INK RECOGNITION SYSTEM - A mobile robot is disclosed. The mobile robot includes a housing. The mobile robot includes a memory module coupled to the housing. The memory module is configured to store an image file of at least one ink mark that is arbitrarily shaped and is human-imperceptible and that forms a landmark on a navigable route. The mobile robot includes a detector mounted to the housing. The detector is configured to detect ink marks marked on a surface. The mobile robot includes a confidence matching system coupled to the memory module and the detector. The confidence matching system is configured to determine whether a detected ink mark is a landmark based on a comparison of the detected ink mark with the stored image file of the at least one ink mark. The mobile robot includes a navigation system coupled to the confidence matching system configured to navigate the robot through an area including the navigable route based on recognition of the landmark. | 08-11-2011 |
| 20110224860 | APPARATUS FOR CLEANING LINES ON A PLAYING SURFACE AND ASSOCIATED METHODS, HANDLE ENHANCEMENTS - An apparatus and method for clearing a playing surface are provided. The apparatus preferably includes a chassis or frame, a sensor connected to the chassis to sense a location of a line on a playing surface that needs to be cleaned, a drive connected to the chassis to drive the chassis in a selected direction of travel, and a handle to facilitate handling by a user. The apparatus also preferably includes a controller connected to the chassis, in communication with the drive, and responsive to the sensor to control the drive to thereby direct the chassis to move along the line that needs to be cleaned in the selected direction of travel and a cleaning device connected to the chassis to clean the line with the chassis is being driven along the line. Associated software is provided as well. | 09-15-2011 |
| 20110301800 | AUTOMATIC GUIDED VEHICLE AND METHOD FOR DRIVE CONTROL OF THE SAME - An automatic guided vehicle and a method for drive control enable driving of the vehicle with a coordinate system, while using designation of a movement position by address. The automatic guided vehicle measures a surrounding state by a laser, performs matching between map data and measurement data obtained by the measuring to obtain the current position, and runs, following preset route data, based on the obtained current position. The vehicle includes a data memory that stores correspondence information between addresses of certain positions in a drive area where the vehicle runs and coordinates that are set in the drive area, and a processing section that, when a movement target position is designated by address from a host computer, transforms the designated address into coordinates, based on the correspondence information between addresses and coordinates, and drives the vehicle, following the route data to the coordinates corresponding to the address. | 12-08-2011 |
| 20110301801 | Horizontal order-picker - A horizontal order picker with an operating platform and a load section which is provided for accommodating at least one order-picking container, wherein an operational control is provided in the operating platform, upon actuation of which the horizontal order picker moves for a predetermined distance (D) automatically, the length of the distance (D) corresponding to the offset between the operating platform and one of the order-picking containers | 12-08-2011 |
| 20120035798 | GUIDANCE, NAVIGATION, AND CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE - The present invention provides a guidance, navigation, and control method and system for an underground mining vehicle that allow said vehicle to be taught a route by a human operator and then have it automatically drive the route with no human intervention. The method works in three steps: teaching, route profiling, and playback. In the teaching step the vehicle is manually driven by a operator (or using tele-operation whereby the operator views a screen displaying live views from vehicle-mounted cameras and using remote controls) along a route which can consist of an arbitrary sequence of maneuvers including tramming forwards, switching directions, tramming backwards, turning, or pausing movement. During this phase raw data from vehicle-mounted sensors including odometric sensors and rangefinders are logged to a file throughout teaching for later processing. During the (offline) route profiling step, the raw data in the log file are processed into a route profile including a vehicle path, a sequence of local metric submaps located along the path, and a profile of desired speed as a function of distance along the path. During the playback step, the vehicle automatically repeats the route that was taught during the teaching phase, as represented by the route profile. This is accomplished by first determining where the vehicle is on the route using a localization method which uses the odometric and laser rangefinder sensors and the local metric maps to determine the vehicle location. A steering control method adjusts the vehicle's steering to ensure it tracks the intended path. A drive control method adjusts the vehicle's speed accordingly and safety method ensures the vehicle stops in the event that an obstruction is on the vehicle's intended path. | 02-09-2012 |
| 20120046819 | SYSTEM FOR INTEGRATING DYNAMICALLY OBSERVED AND STATIC INFORMATION FOR ROUTE PLANNING IN A GRAPH BASED PLANNER - Methods and systems of controlling an autonomous vehicle are provided. A method comprises controlling operations of the vehicle based at least in part on edge costs. An edge is a representation of a path the vehicle can traverse. Edge costs are determined by an estimation system and are based on at least one of an estimated travel time for an edge and a traverse-ability of the edge. The method further comprises sensing conditions of edges the vehicle is traversing and based on the sensed conditions, dynamically updating the edge costs. | 02-23-2012 |
| 20120046820 | Systems and Methods for Obstacle Avoidance - Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for obstacle avoidance. In some embodiments, a robotically controlled vehicle capable of operating in one or more modes may be provided. Examples of such modes include teleoperation, waypoint navigation, follow, and manual mode. The vehicle may include an obstacle detection and avoidance system capable of being implemented with one or more of the vehicle modes. A control system may be provided to operate and control the vehicle in the one or more modes. The control system may include a robotic control unit and a vehicle control unit. | 02-23-2012 |
| 20120046821 | STEERING AND CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE FOR THE DISABLED - The present invention relates to a control system comprising at least one unit for operating the steering or navigation of a mobile assistive device for disabled persons, wherein said control system is adapted to be connectable to an existing assistive device for disabled persons. | 02-23-2012 |
| 20120072067 | METHOD FOR EXECUTING AN AT LEAST SEMI-AUTONOMOUS PARKING PROCESS OF A VEHICLE AND PARKING ASSISTANCE SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE - The invention relates to a method for executing an at least semi-autonomous parking process of a vehicle ( | 03-22-2012 |
| 20120083961 | CONTROL APPARATUS FOR AUTONOMOUS OPERATING VEHICLE - In an apparatus for controlling an autonomous operating vehicle having an operating machine and a magnetic sensor adapted to detect a border of a travel-scheduled area, the vehicle is controlled to travel around the area from a start point along the border to sequentially record traveling directions and traveled distances on a bitmap. The generated travel trajectory is transformed to map information. A position of the vehicle is detected using bits of the bitmap of the transformed map information, and the vehicle is controlled to, as traveling straight in the north-south directions, while perform the operation with the operating machine based on the calculated traveling direction, the calculated traveled distance and the determined position, utilizing a primary reference direction obtained from a geomagnetic sensor as a reference. | 04-05-2012 |
| 20120083962 | CONTROL APPARATUS FOR AUTONOMOUS OPERATING VEHICLE - In an apparatus for controlling an autonomous operating vehicle having a prime mover and operating machine, it is configured to have a geomagnetic sensor responsive to magnets embedded in the area, detect angular velocity generated about z-axis in center of gravity of the vehicle, detect a wheel speed of the driven wheel, store map information including magnet embedded positions, detect a primary reference direction, detect a vehicle position relative to the magnet, and detect a vehicle position in the area, calculate a traveling direction and traveled distance of the vehicle, and control the operation performed through the operating machine in the area in accordance with a preset operation program based on the detected primary reference direction, the detected position of the vehicle in the area, the calculated traveling direction and the calculated traveled distance. | 04-05-2012 |
| 20120083963 | CONTROL APPARATUS FOR AUTONOMOUS OPERATING VEHICLE - In an apparatus for controlling an autonomous operating vehicle, a traveling direction and traveled distance are calculated based on outputs of wheel speed sensor and angular velocity sensor, and the vehicle is controlled to, as traveling straight, perform the operation using an operating machine in accordance with a predetermined travel pattern in a travel-scheduled area based on the calculated traveling direction and traveled distance. It is determined whether a difference between a scheduled-travel distance scheduled in the predetermined travel pattern and an actual traveled distance exceeds a permissible value when the vehicle is traveled straight and a center value of the outputs of the angular velocity sensor is corrected when the difference is determined to exceed the permissible value. | 04-05-2012 |
| 20120089294 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR SUPPORTING A DRIVER OF A MOTOR VEHICLE DURING A DRIVING MANEUVER - A method and device for supporting a driver of a motor vehicle during a driving maneuver during which longitudinal guidance and/or lateral guidance is/are performed in an automated manner. A trajectory for performing the driving maneuver being determined and the vehicle being guided with automatic control along the trajectory, while the surroundings of the vehicle is being monitored during the driving maneuver. If the driver intervenes in the steering while lateral guidance is being performed or if the driver operates the accelerator while longitudinal guidance is being performed or if the driver intervenes in the steering or operates the accelerator while longitudinal guidance and lateral guidance are being performed, the control of the vehicle is returned to the driver. In the case of an imminent endangerment to the surroundings, control is not transferred to the driver. | 04-12-2012 |
| 20120095639 | Determination of Routes for Arranging Automatic Control of Mobile Mining Machine - The present invention relates to a method of determining routes for arranging automatic control of a mobile mining machine. A return route is determined computer-aidedly for the mining machine on the basis of data concerning a route taught by driving by executing, by a data processing device configured for generating return routes, at least the following steps: determining a route identifier for the return route, determining as route points of the return route at least some of the route points of the drive route in a reverse order, wherein when determining route point data of the return route on the basis of the route point data of the drive route, deleting additional control data associated with one or more route points of the drive route, and storing the data determining the return route to be used for automatically controlling the mining machine. | 04-19-2012 |
| 20120095640 | Definition of control data for automatic control of mobile mining machine - The present invention relates to a method for arranging automatic control of a mobile mining machine equipped with a bucket. The method comprises generating a general purpose bucket emptying model that defines at least the path of the bucket of the mining machine for emptying it. The bucket emptying model is stored on a memory means. The bucket emptying model is fetched from the memory means in response to a need to define emptying the bucket for the route. At least data defining the path of the bucket in the fetched bucket emptying model are appended to the path data for use in the automatic control of the mining machine. | 04-19-2012 |
| 20120130582 | MACHINE CONTROL SYSTEM IMPLEMENTING INTENTION MAPPING - A control system for a first machine operating at a worksite is disclosed. The control system may have at least a first module configured to generate a signal indicative of a current position and a characteristic of a second machine at the worksite in a vicinity of the first machine, and a controller in communication with the at least a first module. The controller may be configured to determine a probability value, based on the characteristic of the second machine, of one of a plurality of known locations at the worksite being a current destination for the second machine. The controller may also be configured to make a prediction of an intended travel path for the second machine based on the current position of the second machine and the probability value. The controller may further be configured to determine a travel response for the first machine based on the prediction and a current travel path of the first machine. | 05-24-2012 |
| 20120143429 | Distributed Robotic Guidance - The different illustrative embodiments provide an apparatus that includes a computer system, a number of structured light generators, and a number of mobile robotic devices. The computer system is configured to generate a path plan. The number of structured light generators is configured to project the path plan. The number of mobile robotic devices is configured to detect and follow the path plan. | 06-07-2012 |
| 20120150379 | PATH DETERMINATION - A system for controlling a vehicle to follow at least one person includes a detection device for detecting a location of at least one person. The system further includes a storage device for recording locations of at least one person at a plurality of points in time, and a path determination device for determining a driveable path for a vehicle based on the recorded locations. The system further includes a control device for operating vehicle to follow one or more persons over the driveable path. | 06-14-2012 |
| 20120158235 | METHODS, APPARATUSES AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCTS FOR UTILIZING NEAR FIELD COMMUNICATION TO GUIDE ROBOTS - An apparatus is provided for determining a path or route in which a robot may be guided to perform a task(s) and avoiding one or more obstacles or obstructions. The apparatus includes at least one memory and at least one processor configured to receive origin location information via a Near Field Communication (NFC) tag associated with a key in an instance in which the key is positioned in an origin location. The processor is also configured to receive target location information via the NFC tag associated with the key in an instance in which the key is positioned in a target location, at which a task is performed by a robot and may generate a route for the robot to traverse in order to complete the task based in part on the origin location information and the target location information. Corresponding computer program products and methods are also provided. | 06-21-2012 |
| 20120158236 | LAWN MOWER FOR FORMING IMAGES - Provided is a lawn mower for forming images. The lawn mower includes: an image input unit receiving an image to be formed in a lawn area; a position detection unit detecting position information of the lawn mower on a movement path of the lawn mower; a lawn mowing unit processing a lawn according to any one of a plurality of lawn processing patterns which corresponds to each position on the movement path while the lawn mower moves along the movement path; and a control unit analyzing the image received from the image input unit, determining a lawn processing pattern, which corresponds to the position information detected by the position detection unit, to express the image in the lawn area and controlling the lawn mowing unit according to the determined lawn processing pattern and independently of the movement path. | 06-21-2012 |
| 20120166034 | SAFETY SYSTEM - A safety system is disclosed in, for example, an autonomous ground vehicle. A safety mechanism as disclosed can avoid an autonomous ground vehicle operating at too high a speed in the proximity of human operators. Vehicle position data and personnel position data can be provided to the safety system; and if the vehicle position data and personnel position data are determined by the safety system to indicate that the vehicle is in close proximity to personnel, the safety system applies a speed profile to the vehicle control system causing the vehicle to reduce speed or stop. | 06-28-2012 |
| 20120173069 | VEHICLE OPERATION AND CONTROL SYSTEM FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES ON FULL WINDSHIELD DISPLAY - A method to navigate a vehicle utilizing a graphic projection display, includes monitoring a navigation status graphic representing a navigation intent displayed upon the graphic projection display, monitoring a user input indicated to a portion of the graphic projection display, initiating a user-defined navigation command based on the monitored navigation status graphic and the monitored user input, and operating the vehicle in accordance with the user-defined navigation command. | 07-05-2012 |
| 20120179321 | Self-Steering Vehicle - A self-controlling vehicle, designed for the autonomous movement in an area, is disclosed. The self-controlling vehicle includes driving means for movement and navigation means, wherein the navigation means are designed for the position determination along a closed path surrounding an operating space of the area. The navigation means are designed for creating successive path sectional data, the path sectional data for route sections of the path has assigned orientation information, in particular angle information, and the navigation means are assigned with autocorrelation means, which are designed such that they determine from a sequence of path sectional data corresponding to a movement along the path by determining auto correlation data whether and/or that the vehicle has driven completely along the surrounding path and/or a sequence of route sections already driven is driven again. | 07-12-2012 |
| 20120179322 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTONOMOUS NAVIGATION OF A TRACKED OR SKID-STEER VEHICLE - An autonomous navigation system for a tracked or skid-steer vehicle is described. The system includes a path planner ( | 07-12-2012 |
| 20120185123 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR VEHICLE PATH DETERMINATION - A method for determining a path for the autonomous operation a vehicle with a task space is provided. The method comprises detecting multiple temperature sources located at the boundaries of the task space; recording the one or more positional coordinates associated with the temperature sources; storing the one or more positional coordinates; and retrieving the one or more positional coordinates and navigating the vehicle based on the one or more positional coordinates. | 07-19-2012 |
| 20120191285 | TRAILER HITCH ALIGNMENT SYSTEMS AND METHODS - Systems and methods for aligning a towing vehicle trailer hitch with the tongue of a trailer/towed vehicle are provided that enable a driver to know when the towing vehicle trailer hitch is close enough to the trailer tongue such that the two can be coupled. A trailer hitch includes a tow bar having a free end configured to be coupled to a trailer tongue. An alignment system includes at least one energy emitter secured to the vehicle that emits energy in the direction of the trailer tongue, and at least two sensors secured to the vehicle in spaced-apart relationship. The energy emitter(s) and sensors may be secured to the trailer or trailer hitch. | 07-26-2012 |
| 20120191286 | STEERING ARRANGEMENT FOR A VEHICLE WHICH IS MOVABLE ALONG A PREDEFINED PATH IN USE, BEING AUTOMATICALLY STEERED VIA AT LEAST ONE FIRST AXLE, AS WELL AS A VEHICLE PROVIDED WITH SUCH A STEERING ARRANGEMENT - A steering arrangement for a vehicle which is movable along a predefined path in use, being automatically steered via at least one first axle. Also disclosed is a vehicle provided with such a steering arrangement. The steering arrangement is for use in an automatically guided and steered vehicle, i.e. without a driver, wherein the steering arrangement can continue to influence the steerage of the vehicle for a minimum period of time in case of a malfunction, such that the risk of dangerous situations or accidents is minimized. | 07-26-2012 |
| 20120197477 | SENSOR SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USE WITH AN AUTOMATED GUIDED VEHICLE (AGV) - A sensor system for use with an automated guided vehicle (AGV) includes a plurality of sensor units electronically coupled to a sensor control module via parallel communications. Each sensor unit may include a sensor array having a plurality of sensor elements, a conditioning circuit having one or more filter/amplifiers, and a conversion circuit. The sensor control module may be configured to communicate with other AGV components via serial communications. The sensor system is capable of obtaining and storing sensor readings with or without associated offset values and can use the sensor readings to determine the center of a magnetic field using methods that require relatively little processing power. A method of calibrating the sensor system may include determining and storing offset values for a plurality of sensor elements and may be performed with the sensor system installed or uninstalled to the AGV. | 08-02-2012 |
| 20120197478 | Method and Controller for Calibrating an Automatically-Steering Parking Aid - A method for calibrating a parking aid, which is configured to actively control a steering angle of a vehicle, by: automatically detecting a parking space with the aid of sensors and calculating a target course in light of the detected parking space. The steering angle is controlled based on the calculated target course, with a controllable actuator. The method accounts for an error by the actuator by: determining an actual course, which results from controlling according to the target course; comparing the actual course to the target course and ascertaining the error resulting from the comparison; and generating a correction parameter, which is linked to the error by a monotonic function. The correction parameter allows the actuator's behavior to be considered. Controlling the steering angle is done based on a combination of the set angle with the correction parameter. A related controller for implementing the method is also described. | 08-02-2012 |
| 20120197479 | STEERING ARRANGEMENT FOR A VEHICLE WHICH IS MOVABLE ALONG A PREDEFINED PATH IN USE, BEING AUTOMATICALLY STEERED VIA AT LEAST ONE FIRST AXLE, AS WELL AS A VEHICLE PROVIDED WITH SUCH A STEERING ARRANGEMENT - A steering arrangement for a vehicle which is movable along a predefined path in use, being automatically steered via at least one first axle. Also disclosed is a steered vehicle provided with such a steering arrangement. The steering arrangement is for use in a guided and steered vehicle, i.e. with a driver, wherein the steering arrangement can continue to influence the steerage of the vehicle for a minimum period of time in case of a malfunction, such that the risk of dangerous situations or accidents is minimized. | 08-02-2012 |
| 20120203420 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PATH PLANNING AND CONTROLLING - A path planning system for bringing state of an object into a target state includes a search tree production unit for producing in advance, in a state space with said target state defined as a root, a search tree having a branch at each one of a plurality of sections of the state space, said state space being divided into the plurality of sections in advance. The system also includes a search tree memory unit for storing the search tree, and a path generation unit for determining, a route on the search tree from the branch corresponding to the current state to the root. The path planning/control system further includes a path control unit for controlling the path of the object to bring the state of the object into the target state in accordance with the route on the search tree determined by the path planning system. | 08-09-2012 |
| 20120215395 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATIC GUIDANCE CONTROL OF A VEHICLE - A system and method is provided for adaptive control of at least one parameter of an auto guidance control algorithm for a vehicle. The parameters may be varied according to a previously established look up table, or automatically adapted through the use of control logic, such as a “fuzzy logic” algorithm. The control parameters that can be adaptively controlled include steered wheel turn rate, proportional valve current gain, line acquisition rate and/or auto guidance control valve current limits. The control algorithm responds to the vehicle's operating parameters such as vehicle speed, tracking error, predicted heading, and hydraulic oil temperature to make adjustments to the auto guidance control parameters. | 08-23-2012 |
| 20120226407 | AUTONOMOUSLY MOVABLE AGRICULTURAL VEHICLE - An autonomously movable agricultural vehicle for agricultural applications, a method for controlling the autonomously movable agricultural vehicle, and software for managing the autonomously movable agricultural vehicle. The autonomously movable agricultural vehicle includes a motor to drive the vehicle and a battery to supply energy to the motor. The autonomously movable agricultural vehicle also includes a control circuit to control the motor to adjust the speed of the vehicle, wherein the control circuit is configured to set the speed of the vehicle, wherein energy drawn from the battery over a predefined distance is minimal. | 09-06-2012 |
| 20120232738 | ROBOT CLEANER AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME - Disclosed are a robot cleaner and a method for controlling the same. The robot cleaner and method of the present invention involve dividing the whole area to be cleaned into sub-areas, and easily calculating a full path using travel paths in the sub-areas and connection points between sub-areas, and in the event the whole area to be cleaned is extended or an area which has not been cleaned is found, do not involve regenerating the whole map for cleaning, but rather easily updating the full path using the pre-stored travel path in the sub-areas and the connection points between sub-areas. | 09-13-2012 |
| 20120232739 | AUTONOMOUS MOBILE BODY AND CONTROL METHOD OF SAME - An autonomous mobile body is configured to smoothly avoid obstacles. The mobile body has a movement mechanism configured to translate in a horizontal plane and rotate around a vertical axis, and the distance to an obstacle is derived for each directional angle using an obstacle sensor. Using a model having two arcs, one at each end in a major axis direction, connected by line segments that lie in the major axis direction and containing the autonomous mobile body, the movement mechanism is driven with a combination of translation and rotation, without interference between the obstacle and the model. | 09-13-2012 |
| 20120239238 | COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE BY WHICH AN AUTONOMOUS GUIDANCE SYSTEM CONTROLS AN INDUSTRIAL VEHICLE - A propulsion drive system is operated by a controller to propel an industrial vehicle along a path in an unmanned mode. An autonomous processor module sends commands to the vehicle controller in response to messages received via a communication network from a guidance and navigation system. The guidance and navigation system transmits a message over the communication network, wherein that message contains a first numerical value specifying the velocity and a second numerical value specifying an amount that the propulsion drive system is to turn a wheel of the industrial vehicle. The message also specifies a maximum speed limit and indicators commanding that a load carried by the industrial vehicle be raised and lowered. The autonomous processor module transmits a feedback message indicate actual vehicle operating parameters to the guidance and navigation system. | 09-20-2012 |
| 20120239239 | VEHICLE - A vehicle automatically drives along a driving course having objects located around the vehicle. The vehicle includes a vehicle main body, a distance measurement sensor, a map data recording unit, an approximate line calculation unit, and a position and attitude calculating unit. The distance measurement sensor is provided in the vehicle main body, and measures distances to objects located around the vehicle. The map data recording unit stores map data recording objects located around the vehicle in the driving course. The approximate line calculation unit calculates approximate lines, based on a set of position data obtained with a one-time scanning of the distance measurement sensor. The position and attitude calculating unit performs a matching check between the approximate lines and the map data, thereby calculating the position and attitude of the vehicle main body. | 09-20-2012 |
| 20120239240 | AUTONOMOUS MOBILE DEVICE - Provided is an autonomous mobile device capable of taking action that is suitable for executing a task in accordance with the situation. | 09-20-2012 |
| 20120265391 | METHOD FOR ESTABLISHING A DESIRED AREA OF CONFINEMENT FOR AN AUTONOMOUS ROBOT AND AUTONOMOUS ROBOT IMPLEMENTING A CONTROL SYSTEM FOR EXECUTING THE SAME - A method of establishing an area of confinement and an autonomous robot for performing a task within the area of confinement. In one aspect, the invention can be a method of defining an area of confinement for an autonomous robot comprising: a) positioning the autonomous robot at a first location point P | 10-18-2012 |
| 20120265392 | Guidance Method for Agricultural Vehicle - An automated method and system includes an automatic guidance system (AGS) and swath pattern. The AGS steers a vehicle towing a rotary baler in an “S”, or oscillatory pattern around a predetermined approximate centerline of the swath path. The oscillatory pattern may be user defined. By steering the vehicle in an oscillatory pattern referenced to the A-B line, a windrow of crop material may be distributed into an even and optimal bale size and density by the baler. Bale chamber sensors detect an imbalance of crop density and in response, AGS adjusts an interval or amplitude of oscillatory pattern | 10-18-2012 |
| 20120271501 | UNDERGROUND UTILITY VAULT INSPECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD - An underground utility vault inspection system and method includes a pre-defined railway installed in an underground utility vault, and an inspection vehicle adapted to traverse the railway to provide inspection results to inspection personnel. The inspection vehicle includes inspection tools for inspecting underground power lines and equipment, recording inspection results, and transmitting the inspection results to the inspection personnel. | 10-25-2012 |
| 20120283905 | AUTONOMOUS MOBILE DEVICE - An autonomous mobile device that moves while autonomously avoiding zones into which entry should be avoided even if no obstacle exists therein includes a laser range finder that acquires peripheral obstacle information, a storage unit that stores an environment map that shows an obstacle zone where an obstacle exists, and a no-entry zone map which shows a no-entry zone into which entry is prohibited, a self-location estimation unit that estimates the self-location of a host device by using the obstacle information acquired by the laser range finder and the environment map, and a travel control unit that controls the host device to autonomously travel to the destination by avoiding the obstacle zone and the no-entry zone based on the estimated self-location, the environment map, and the no-entry zone map. | 11-08-2012 |
| 20120283906 | System and Method for Area Coverage Using Sector Decomposition - The different illustrative embodiments provide a method for generating an area coverage path plan using sector decomposition. A starting point is identified on a worksite map having a number of landmarks. A first landmark in the number of landmarks is identified. A path is generated around the first landmark until an obstacle is detected. In response to detecting the obstacle, the path is made linear to a next landmark. The path is generated around the next landmark. | 11-08-2012 |
| 20120290165 | Flexible Robotic Mower - The flexible robotic lawn mower utilizes the ultrasonic sensor nodes installing on the border, inside the lawn yard, and outside the lawn yard, to define the lawn yard region, to detect the position of the robotic lawn mower base, and to program the mowing route and grass cutting depth. The system allows the users to freely vary the mowing regions and locations, and therefore provide the maximum flexibility. | 11-15-2012 |
| 20120310465 | VEHICLE NAGIVATION SYSTEM - A navigation system may include a positioning device for generating a position data signal, a geographical data storage device for generating a digital map data signal, a processing device for generating navigation information based on the position data signal and the digital map data signal, and a turn control device for generating output signals to activate and/or deactivate turn signals of the vehicle and/or to enable an autonomous vehicle control system to perform a driving maneuver. The turn control device may analyze the navigation information to detect when the distance to an approaching turn fails to exceed a predetermined limit or when the turn has been completed or bypassed. The turn control device may analyze the navigation information and a velocity data signal generated by a velocity sensing device to detect when the time to the approaching turn fails to exceed a predetermined limit. | 12-06-2012 |
| 20120316724 | NAVIGATION SYSTEM FOR AN AIRCRAFT AND METHOD OF OPERATING SUCH A NAVIGATION SYSTEM - The invention relates to an onboard navigation system for an aircraft ( | 12-13-2012 |
| 20120323431 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SHARING MAP DATA ASSOCIATED WITH AUTOMATED INDUSTRIAL VEHICLES - A method and apparatus for sharing map data between industrial vehicles in a physical environment is described. In one embodiments, the method includes processing local map data associated with a plurality of industrial vehicles, wherein the local map data comprises feature information generated by the plurality of industrial vehicles regarding features observed by industrial vehicles in the plurality of vehicles; combining the feature information associated with local map data to generate global map data for the physical environment; and navigating an industrial vehicle of the plurality of industrial vehicles using at least a portion of the global map data. | 12-20-2012 |
| 20120323432 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING MAP DATA PROCESSING FOR INDUSTRIAL VEHICLE NAVIGATION - A method and apparatus for facilitating map data processing for industrial vehicle navigation is described. In one embodiment, the method of partitioning map data for industrial vehicle navigation includes segmenting map data associated with a physical environment into a plurality of sub area maps, identifying a sub-area map that corresponds with a current vehicle location and navigating an industrial vehicle using the identified sub area map. | 12-20-2012 |
| 20130006464 | ROUTING TO REDUCE CONGESTION - This disclosure describes embodiments that include systems and methods for integrating various efficient and beneficial transportation and network technologies into an energy-efficient, time-efficient, highly-scalable, semi-public transportation system. Specifically, the disclosed embodiments include methods and systems provide a distributed transportation computing system for routing clean-powered, semi-independent system vehicles within adapted existing metropolitan freeway systems. The embodiments reduce traffic congestion by synchronizing the movements of system vehicles within system roadways. System vehicles may be designed to incorporate clean-power, energy-efficiency, and both on- and off-system operational control. As system vehicles allow for both system and independent use, individuals desiring independence may be incentivized to participate in this semi-public, mass-transportation system. High scalability is possible because modifications to existing freeway infrastructures require minimal retrofitting and simplified expansion in comparison with the construction of presently available mass-transportation systems, such as light rail and subway systems. | 01-03-2013 |
| 20130035821 | DRIVING ASSISTANCE APPARATUS FOR ASSISTANCE WITH DRIVING ALONG NARROW ROADWAYS - A driving assistance apparatus for a motor vehicle for assistance with driving along narrow roadways is provided. The apparatus includes a data acquisition unit for acquiring route data on the route to be obtained from wheel and steering angle sensors, a trajectory storage unit for recording the route data of the data acquisition unit, and a triggering unit for triggering the motor vehicle on a basis of the data recorded route data recorded by the trajectory storage unit. A satellite navigation unit determines an absolute position of the motor vehicle and digital map data with position attribute data for checking whether the motor vehicle is located in a vicinity of road areas with restricted scope for navigation and in such a case suggests recording of a trajectory to a driver of the motor vehicle or executes the recording of the trajectory in an automated manner. | 02-07-2013 |
| 20130041548 | DRIVER ASSISTANCE SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DRIVER ASSISTANCE - A driver assistance system for a vehicle having a device for detecting the surroundings and a device for detecting an instantaneous driving situation is described, the driver assistance system having a user interface, a device for detecting an upcoming driving route, and a device for assessing and evaluating a complexity of a driving task on the detected upcoming driving route. | 02-14-2013 |
| 20130046431 | METHOD FOR ASSISTING A DRIVER OF A MOTOR VEHICLE - In a method for assisting a driver of a motor vehicle during a driving maneuver, the surroundings of the motor vehicle are initially detected, at least one suitable trajectory for carrying out the driving maneuver is computed based on the detected surroundings, and the motor vehicle is automatically steered in order to carry out the driving maneuver. If there is a malfunction, the driver is informed, the automatic steering operation is terminated, and the driver receives information on the basis of which the driver may continue the driving maneuver. | 02-21-2013 |
| 20130054075 | Location Control System for Feature Placement - A system is provided for use in work machines that determines the location of the work machine is able to autonomously traverse between work locations. The system further provides the ability to identify corner post positions of a desired fence and have interstitial post locations automatically generated. | 02-28-2013 |
| 20130054076 | VEHICULAR NAVIGATION CONTROL INTERFACE - Included are systems and methods for providing a vehicular navigation control interface. Some embodiments include a navigation system and a vehicle with a vehicle control module (VCM), a navigation control module (NCM), and a navigation control interface, where the VCM receives a manual command from an operator to implement a manual control function. In some embodiments the NCM receives an automatic command from the navigation system to implement an automatic control function via the VCM and the navigation control interface directly connects the VCM and the NCM to facilitate communication between the VCM and NCM for implementing automatic mode and for reporting implementation of a manual mode. | 02-28-2013 |
| 20130054077 | VEHICLE CONTROL LIMITS - Included are embodiments for providing vehicle control limits. One embodiment of a system includes a navigation system and a vehicle that includes a memory component that stores a program. Embodiments of the system are configured to receive an indication for automatic control of the vehicle, receive a route for the vehicle to reach a destination for completing a work order from the navigation system, and determine a vehicle limit, wherein the vehicle limit is based on a current state of the vehicle. Some embodiments are configured to communicate the vehicle limit from a vehicle control module (VCM) to a navigation control module (NCM), determine, via the NCM, an automatic command based on the destination and the vehicle limit and send the automatic command to a motor of the vehicle. | 02-28-2013 |
| 20130060416 | VEHICLE CONTROL DEVICE - Disclosed is a vehicle control device capable of reducing calculation time while securing precision of a traveling plan in an arbitrary section. The vehicle control device controls a vehicle along a traveling plan calculated in accordance with a traveling path to a destination of the vehicle. The vehicle control device includes a traveling path setting unit which sets the traveling path from the current position of the vehicle to the destination, a traveling path division unit which divides the traveling path into a first section and a second section, and a traveling plan calculation unit which calculates a first traveling plan according to the first section and a second traveling plan according to the second section. The traveling plan calculation unit coarsens calculation granularity in the second traveling plan compared to calculation granularity in the first traveling plan. | 03-07-2013 |
| 20130085636 | METHOD, APPARATUS, AND SYSTEM FOR PARKING CONTROL - Disclosed is an a method, an apparatus, and a system for getting a peripheral situation to automatically determine a parking mode, and helping recognize an obstacle more accurately by using a camera in addition to an ultrasonic sensor, thereby allowing a safe and accurate parking control. | 04-04-2013 |
| 20130085637 | METHOD FOR ASSISTING A DRIVER OF A MOTOR VEHICLE WHEN PARKING IN A PARKING SPACE, DRIVER ASSISTANCE DEVICE AND A MOTOR VEHICLE - The invention relates to a method for assisting a driver of a motor vehicle ( | 04-04-2013 |
| 20130090802 | WAYPOINT SPLINING FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE FOLLOWING - A method for defining a following path for a following vehicle to autonomously follow a leader, the method including acquiring waypoints associated with a path that the leader traverses; filtering the acquired waypoints, wherein the filtering removes waypoints located outside an area of interest; generating intermediate waypoints by interpolating between adjacent pairs of the filtered waypoints if the adjacent pairs of the filtered waypoints are separated by a distance that exceeds a threshold distance; and defining a following path through the filtered waypoints and the intermediate waypoints using a least-squares spline fit to calculate the following path. | 04-11-2013 |
| 20130103249 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DYNAMICALLY POSITIONING A VEHICLE RELATIVE TO ANOTHER VEHICLE IN MOTION - A computer-implemented method is provided for automatically guiding a first vehicle to maintain a position relative to a second vehicle traveling in a given area. The method includes the steps of: (a) receiving location data on the first and second vehicles; (b) determining a legal travel path in the given area from the first vehicle toward an expected position of the second vehicle; (c) automatically controlling the first vehicle to travel along the legal travel path; and (d) repeating steps (a) through (c) to automatically move the first vehicle to a relative position from the second vehicle and then to automatically maintain the relative position as the first and second vehicles travel through the given area. | 04-25-2013 |
| 20130116880 | AUTONOMOUS MOBILE BODY - An autonomous mobile body includes a storage unit arranged to store a size D | 05-09-2013 |
| 20130151060 | SYSTEM AND METHOD OF DERIVING PARKING TRAJECTORY FOR VEHICLE - Disclosed herein is a technique of deriving a parking trajectory for a vehicle. In the technique, a first extension straight line, which includes a linear travel path of the vehicle when the vehicle initially goes in reverse from a neutral position of a steering angle, is calculated upon the vehicle being to go in reverse. A final parking location is obtained based on a calculated length of a parking space and a parking target location in the parking space, and a second extension straight line which includes the final parking location is calculated therefrom. When the vehicle going in reverse along the first extension straight line turns and goes in reverse towards the second extension straight line, an intermediate extension straight line connecting the first extension straight line and the second extension straight line is calculated so that the vehicle is aligned with the second extension straight line. | 06-13-2013 |
| 20130151061 | CLEANING ROBOT AND UNDERWATER SEDIMENT CLEANING APPARATUS AND METHOD - A cleaning robot capable of cleaning a water tank in an unmanned manner and an underwater sediment cleaning apparatus and method are provided. The cleaning robot includes a body put into a water tank, a driver supporting the body and moving the body, a suction part arranged in front of the body and sucking contaminated water containing sediment in the water tank, and a tilting part supported by the body to support the suction part and rotating the suction part on an axis corresponding to the direction across the moving direction of the body. | 06-13-2013 |
| 20130158772 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SWITCHING DISPLAY MODES IN AGRICULTURAL VEHICLES - A display system for an agricultural vehicle includes a display for displaying a representation of the vehicle's location in a field in which the vehicle is operating and a control device for receiving an indication of an operating state of the vehicle and for controlling a viewing mode of the display according to the operating state. | 06-20-2013 |
| 20130158773 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GUIDING AUTOMATED GUIDED VEHICLE - A system for guiding an automated guided vehicle (AGV) is provided. The system includes a guidance path, an AGV, an image capturing apparatus and an operation unit. The guidance path guides the AGV. The AGV moves on the guidance path and is guided by the guidance path. The AGV moves in a vision guidance region after departing from the guidance path. The image capturing apparatus captures a vision guidance region associated image. The vision guidance region associated image at least includes an image of the vision guidance region. The operation unit determines whether the AGV departs from the guidance path, and calculates position information of the AGV in the vision guidance region. When the AGV departs from the guidance path, the operation unit guides the AGV according to the vision guidance region associated image. | 06-20-2013 |
| 20130158774 | PARKING CONTROL DEVICE - A device for the controlled parking of a motor vehicle on the basis of a stored path trajectory is provided. The device includes at least one road marking sensor for detecting road markings on the roadway of the path trajectory. The device records the position of the road markings relative to the path trajectory and when retracing the path trajectory finds the recorded road markings by means of the road marking sensor and corrects the driving path as necessary on this basis. This results in more accurately controlled parking during the parking operation. | 06-20-2013 |
| 20130179026 | RASTER-BASED CONTOUR SWATHING FOR GUIDANCE AND VARIABLE-RAGE CHEMICAL APPLICATION - A raster-based system for GNSS guidance includes a vehicle-mounted GNSS antenna and receiver. A processor provides guidance and/or autosteering commands based on GNSS-defined pixels forming a grid representing an area to be treated, such as a field. Specific guidance and chemical application methods are provided based on the pixel-defined treatment areas and preprogrammed chemical application prescription maps, which can include variable chemical application rates and dynamic control of the individual nozzles of a sprayer. | 07-11-2013 |
| 20130184925 | Method for Assisting a Driver of a Motor Vehicle - A method for assisting a driver of a vehicle in a driving maneuver in which the vehicle is guided automatically along a previously calculated trajectory, or the lateral guidance for travel along the trajectory is carried out automatically, and after the driving maneuver is completed, the steering of the vehicle is returned to the driver, information being provided to the driver concerning the vehicle's surroundings and suitable steering settings before and/or during the transfer of the steering to the driver. Also described is a device for carrying out the method, including a steering arrangement for steering the vehicle along a previously calculated trajectory as well as an output arrangement for outputting information concerning the vehicle's surroundings and suitable steering settings to the driver before and/or during the transfer of the steering to the driver. | 07-18-2013 |
| 20130190964 | INTELLIGENT NAVIGATION SYSTEM - An intelligent navigation system navigates a motor vehicle according to real-time road conditions and maneuverability conditions. The intelligent navigation system predicts and corrects potential route deviations before they actually occur. The intelligent navigation system interacts with the maneuverability of a motor vehicle, such that it can navigate the motor vehicle with very little to no human intervention. The intelligent navigation system may embody a method comprising the steps of receiving, from an input device, destination information related to a destination to be reached by the motor vehicle; receiving, from a positioning device, initial location information related to an initial location of the motor vehicle; determining, using a processor, a task for maneuvering the motor vehicle from the initial location to the destination; and instructing, using the processor, a vehicle maneuver controller to implement the task. | 07-25-2013 |
| 20130204480 | System and Method for Coordinating Movement of Mobile Drive Units - A method for moving one or more mobile drive units within a workspace includes receiving, from a first mobile drive unit, a reservation request requesting use of a first path segment to move in a first direction. The method further includes determining that a second mobile drive unit is currently located on the first path segment and determining whether the second mobile drive unit is moving in the first direction. Additionally, the method includes transmitting a reservation response indicating that the reservation request is denied, in response to determining that the second mobile drive unit is not moving in the first direction. The method also includes transmitting a reservation response indicating that the reservation request is granted, in response to determining that the second mobile drive unit is moving in the first direction. | 08-08-2013 |
| 20130204481 | ROBOT SYSTEM - A robot system includes a planar sign, a robot, a distance direction sensor, and a controller. The controller is configured to control the robot and includes a map data memory and a progress direction determining device. The map data memory is configured to store map data of a predetermined running path including a position of the planar sign. The progress direction determining device is configured to compare a detection result of the distance direction sensor and the stored map data so as to determine a progress direction of the robot. | 08-08-2013 |
| 20130211656 | AUTONOMOUS DRIVING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR VEHICLE - Disclosed herein are an autonomous driving apparatus and method for a vehicle. The autonomous driving apparatus includes an autonomous driving context data processing unit, a simulator unit, a section determination unit, a path planning unit, and a context determination main control unit. The autonomous driving context data processing unit gathers autonomous driving context data. The simulator unit simulates autonomous driving based on the gathered autonomous driving context data. The section determination unit determines a reliable section or an unreliable section based on results of the simulation. The path planning unit searches for at least one global path to a set destination based on results of the determination, and searches the at least one global path for a local path along which the autonomous driving is possible. The context determination main control unit controls the autonomous driving of the vehicle along the local path. | 08-15-2013 |
| 20130218396 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ENHANCED VEHICLE CONTROL - A method and system may determine, in a vehicle, a desired path around an object based on a location of the object relative to the vehicle, relative speed, road parameters and one or more vehicle parameters. The method and system may calculate one or more vehicle control parameter values which minimize a predicted deviation from the desired vehicle path. The method and system may determine whether the one or more vehicle control parameter values would cause the vehicle to exceed one or more vehicle stability constraints. If the one or more vehicle control parameter values would cause the vehicle to exceed one or more vehicle stability constraints, the one or more vehicle control parameter values may be reduced to one or more vehicle control parameter values not causing the vehicle to exceed the one or more vehicle stability constraints. The method and system may output the one or more vehicle control parameter values to a vehicle automated control device. | 08-22-2013 |
| 20130226390 | HITCH ALIGNMENT ASSISTANCE - A system for assisting a driver in aligning a trailer hitch of a vehicle with a trailer coupling of a trailer. The system includes a camera system with a field of view behind the vehicle. A controller analyzes image data from the camera system and detects a first target affixed to the trailer coupling. The first target is of a known size and dimensions. The controller determines the location of the trailer coupling relative to the trailer hitch based on the image data and the known size and dimensions of the trailer coupling marker. The controller then determines a path of travel from the current position of the vehicle to a second position where the trailer hitch will be positioned within a predetermined threshold distance from the trailer coupling. | 08-29-2013 |
| 20130253752 | CONTINUOUS-MOVE IRRIGATION CONTROL SYSTEM - A control system of an irrigation system to continuously drive a plurality of towers supporting an elevated pipeline along a path while maintaining the pipeline in an aligned configuration. The system includes an antenna, a receiver, a controller, and a variable-speed drive motor. The antenna receives signals from at least one external positional information source. The receiver is in communication with the antenna and operable to process the signals to produce positional data corresponding to an alignment of the elevated pipeline. The controller is in communication with the receiver and programmed to adjust a speed of the motor based on the alignment data. | 09-26-2013 |
| 20130261870 | System And Method For Controlling Autonomous Machine Within Lane Boundaries During Position Uncertainty - An autonomous machine control system includes a positioning unit measuring position and orientation, and a navigation unit storing a route plan including an intended travel path along a lane. The lane has a width defined by a left-hand boundary and a right-hand boundary. The navigation unit receives an uncertainty value associated with the position or orientation, and creates a virtual two-dimensional footprint based on an actual machine footprint and the uncertainty value. The navigation unit also simulates movement of the virtual footprint along the intended travel path, calculates a left-hand margin value defined by the virtual footprint and the left-hand boundary, and calculates a right-hand margin value defined by the virtual footprint and the right-hand boundary. The margin values are compared to a predetermined value, and speed or travel direction of the machine is controlled if either of the margin values is below the predetermined value. | 10-03-2013 |
| 20130289817 | VEHICLE GUIDANCE SYSTEM AND METHOD - A guidance method and system is provided for automatically steers a guided vehicle which moves along a planned path between adjacent crop rows. The vehicle has a frame and steerable wheels. The method includes generating a left crop position signal with a left crop sensor on a left side of the vehicle, generating a right crop position signal with a right crop sensor on a right side of the vehicle, and generating a vehicle position signal with a vehicle position sensor unit. The method also includes generating a difference position signal by subtracting one of the left and right crop position signals from the other of the left and right crop position signals, and converting the difference position signal into a time-varying lateral offset signal. The method also includes offsetting the planned path by the time-varying lateral offset signal, and guiding the vehicle as a function of the offset planned path. | 10-31-2013 |
| 20130289818 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATICALLY GUIDING AN UNMANNED VEHICLE - An unmanned vehicle is guided by selecting locations along a predetermined mute defining adjacent first, second and third linear portions. If an imaginary circle can be constructed that is mutually tangential to all three linear portions or to projections thereof, the vehicle is guided according to the circle intercept method until it reaches an imaginary point of contact (M) between the circle and the second linear portion or passes its traverse. If an imaginary circle cannot be constructed that is mutually tangential to all three linear portions or to projections thereof, an imaginary circle is constructed that is mutually tangential to the first and second linear portions; and the vehicle is guided along according to the leg intercept method until it reaches an imaginary point of contact (M) between the circle and the first linear portion or passes its traverse. The process is repeated iteratively in respect of successive locations | 10-31-2013 |
| 20130297140 | ZONE DRIVING - A roadgraph may include a graph network of information such as roads, lanes, intersections, and the connections between these features. The roadgraph may also include one or more zones associated with particular rules. The zones may include locations where driving is typically challenging such as merges, construction zones, or other obstacles. In one example, the rules may require an autonomous vehicle to alert a driver that the vehicle is approaching a zone. The vehicle may thus require a driver to take control of steering, acceleration, deceleration, etc. In another example, the zones may be designated by a driver and may be broadcast to other nearby vehicles, for example using a radio link or other network such that other vehicles may be able to observer the same rule at the same location or at least notify the other vehicle's drivers that another driver felt the location was unsafe for autonomous driving. | 11-07-2013 |
| 20130304301 | AUTOMATED CLEANING IN A SENSOR NETWORK - A system, method and computer program product for attending to an environmental condition by an electronic cleaning device. A computer receives one or more data signals from one or more sensors through a network, with each of the one or more sensors associated with a physical location. The computer determines that due to an environmental condition a signal strength of the one or more data signals received from the one or more sensors is out of a threshold value range. The computer determines an optimal route from a current location of the electronic cleaning device to the one or more physical locations of the one or more sensors associated with the one or more data signals experiencing signal strength out of the threshold value range. | 11-14-2013 |
| 20130325242 | ROBOTIC PLATFORM AND METHOD FOR PERFORMING MULTIPLE FUNCTIONS IN AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS - An autonomous vehicle platform system and method configured to perform various in-season management tasks, including selectively applying fertilizer, mapping growth zones and seeding cover crop within an agricultural field, while self-navigating between rows of planted crops and beneath the canopy of the planted crops on the uneven terrain of an agricultural field, allowing for an ideal in-season application of fertilizer to occur once the planted crop is well established and growing rapidly, in an effort to limit the loss of fertilizer. | 12-05-2013 |
| 20130325243 | METHOD FOR THE AUTONOMOUS LOCALIZATION OF A DRIVERLESS, MOTORIZED VEHICLE - A range-measuring sensor is arranged on a vehicle. The direction of measurement or plane of measurement of the sensor can be altered by driving a sensor motor. A map of the environment is produced by using natural landmarks. A predetermined route along which the vehicle is intended to move is stipulated. Landmarks which can serve as a localization aid along the predetermined route are determined. The environment is scanned at different times by using the sensor in order to detect the previously determined landmarks while the vehicle is moving along the predetermined route. The vehicle is localized by comparing the detected landmarks with the landmarks recorded on the map. The sensor motor is actively controlled, at least in areas of the environment with only a few previously determined landmarks, such that the sensor is oriented to these landmarks in order to ensure that they are detected. | 12-05-2013 |
| 20130332021 | CONTROLLING AND MANAGING A PLURALITY OF UNMANNED GROUND VEHICLES - A system for monitoring and protecting an area. The system includes a plurality of fully autonomous and collaborating Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs), each of which carries a plurality of sensors; a monitoring module; an operating module; and a GUI adapted to include threat characteristics analysis. The monitoring module actuates the plurality of UGVs to extract data from a plurality of UGV sensors; and analyzes the extracted data pertaining to the area of interest, to yield a threat analysis. The operating module is configured to: (i) determine a plurality of patrolling routes and specified strategies addressing the threat analysis; (ii) apply the determined patrolling routes to the UGVs to detect real-time threats; and (iii) operate, in response to monitored real-time threats presented over the GUI and upon a detected real-time threat, the UGVs in accordance with the specified strategies. | 12-12-2013 |
| 20130345922 | Method for Processing a Surface by Means of a Robotic Vehicle - The disclosure relates to a method for processing a surface by means of a robotic vehicle, wherein the robotic vehicle has a control system in which data concerning the outline of the surface to be processed are stored, wherein locating means are present, which determine the position of the robotic vehicle, in particular in relation to the surface to be processed, and wherein the method comprises the following steps: dividing the surface to be processed into individual segments; classifying each individual segment into a property class; and moving to and processing each individual segment in succession, each individual segment being processed with a processing strategy corresponding to its property class. | 12-26-2013 |
| 20140012455 | DRIVERLESS VEHICLE - Each respective vehicle of a plurality of vehicles transports a vehicle navigation system. A position determining system determines a position and a velocity of the respective vehicle and an information acquisition system is operable to determine a displacement and velocity between the respective vehicle and a vehicle adjacent to the respective vehicle. An information communication system of a respective vehicle is operable to transmit first information (that vehicle's velocity and position) to other vehicles and to receive information from other vehicles regarding their velocities and positions. A vehicle routing system can determine a target routing and target velocity for moving the respective vehicle over a path including the roadway. Based on the received or determined information, the velocity of the respective vehicle can be controlled. | 01-09-2014 |
| 20140018994 | Drive-Control Systems for Vehicles Such as Personal-Transportation Vehicles - Drive-control systems for personal-transportation vehicles can function as active driving aids that enable autonomous and semi-autonomous cooperative navigation of electric-powered wheelchairs (EPWs) and other vehicles both indoors, and in dynamic, outdoor environments. The systems can help to compensate for the loss of cognitive, perceptive, or motor function in the driver by interpreting the driver's intent and seeing out into the environment on the driver's behalf. The systems can incorporate intelligent sensing and drive-control means that work in concert with the driver to aid in negotiating changing terrain, avoiding obstacles/collisions, maintaining a straight trajectory, etc. In addition, the systems can be configured to facilitate higher-level path planning, and execution of non-linear routes of travel in a safe and efficient manner. | 01-16-2014 |
| 20140018995 | Safely Navigating on Roads Through Maintaining Safe Distance from Other Vehicles - Methods and devices for controlling a vehicle in an autonomous mode are disclosed. In one aspect, an example method is disclosed that includes obtaining lane information that provides an estimated location of a lane of a road on which a vehicle is traveling. The example method further includes determining that the lane information has become unavailable or unreliable and, in response, using a sensor to monitor a first distance and a second distance between the vehicle and a neighboring vehicle, determining first and second relative positions of the neighboring vehicle based on the first and second distances, respectively, and, based on the first and second relative positions, determining an estimated path of the neighboring vehicle. The example method further includes, based on the estimated path, determining an updated estimated location of the lane, and controlling the vehicle based on the updated estimated location of the lane. | 01-16-2014 |
| 20140032034 | TRANSPORTATION USING NETWORK OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES - Embodiments described herein include a delivery system having unmanned aerial delivery vehicles and a logistics network for control and monitoring. In certain embodiments, a ground station provides a location for interfacing between the delivery vehicles, packages carried by the vehicles and users. In certain embodiments, the delivery vehicles autonomously navigate from one ground station to another. In certain embodiments, the ground stations provide navigational aids that help the delivery vehicles locate the position of the ground station with increased accuracy. | 01-30-2014 |
| 20140032035 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EFFICIENT SCHEDULING FOR MULTIPLE AUTOMATED NON-HOLONOMIC VEHICLES USING A COORDINATED PATH PLANNER - A method for coordinating path planning for one or more automated vehicles is described, including querying an online path planner for possible solutions for at least one executable task for each of the one or more automated vehicles, examining the results of the query, deciding a coordinated path plan for each vehicle, and communicating the coordinated path plan to a traffic manager, wherein the traffic manager ensures that the one or more automated vehicles perform each executable task according to the coordinated path plan. | 01-30-2014 |
| 20140058612 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR USING UNIQUE LANDMARKS TO LOCATE INDUSTRIAL VEHICLES AT START-UP - A method and apparatus for using unique landmarks to position industrial vehicles during start-up. In one embodiment, a method of using pre-positioned objects as landmarks to operate an industrial vehicle is provided. The method comprises identifying a start-up scenario from sensor data, wherein the start-up scenario comprises a unique marker start-up or a pre-positioned object start-up. in response to the identified start-up scenario, either a unique marker or pre-positioned object is identified within a physical environment, wherein the pre-positioned object or unique marker corresponds with a sub-area of the physical environment. The industrial vehicle pose is determined in response to the identity of the pre-positioned object or unique marker and the industrial vehicle is operated based on the determined industrial vehicle pose. | 02-27-2014 |
| 20140074340 | Agricultural autopilot steering compensation - Agricultural autopilot steering compensation provides improved steering control when steerable wheels lose traction and/or in tight turns. | 03-13-2014 |
| 20140074341 | AUTO-NAVIGATING VEHICLE WITH FIELD-OF-VIEW ENHANCING SENSOR POSITIONING AND METHOD OF ACCOMPLISHING SAME - In accordance with the invention, provides is a auto-navigating vehicle, that include a payload portion configured to hold or pull a payload, a drive system configured to cause the vehicle to drive, stop, and steer, the drive system including drive controls that enable a non-remote operator to drive the vehicle from an operator area proximate to the drive controls, a sensor head configured to detect information indicating the absence and presence of objects in an environment, a navigation system operatively coupled to the drive system and sensor head and configured to auto-navigate the vehicle through the environment without operator drive control. The sensor head is oriented above the drive controls and between the drive controls and payload portion, such that the sensor head is substantially out of a field of view of an operator when in the operator area. | 03-13-2014 |
| 20140081505 | AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE AND METHOD FOR COORDINATING THE PATHS OF MULTIPLE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES - A non-transitory processor-readable medium storing code causes a processor at a first vehicle (e.g., a first autonomous vehicle) to generate a first planned path based on a current position of the first vehicle and a mission requirement assigned to the first vehicle. A first planned path associated with a second vehicle (e.g., a second autonomous vehicle), which is based on a current position of the second vehicle and a mission requirement assigned to the second vehicle, is received at the first vehicle. After the first planned path associated with the second vehicle is received, a second planned path is generated based on the first planned path associated with the second vehicle and at least one of the mission requirement assigned to the first vehicle or the first planned path of the first vehicle. The second planned path of the first vehicle is transmitted to the second vehicle. | 03-20-2014 |
| 20140100735 | Guided Vehicle System and Guided Vehicle Travel Schedule Generation Method - A traveling schedule of a guided vehicle is generated for use in a guided vehicle system for transporting articles between load ports by a plurality of guided vehicles traveling with articles carried thereon along a predetermined traveling route. A traveling schedule is created separately for each guided vehicle, disregarding interferences with other guided vehicles, the traveling schedules including a string of velocity control points representing positions and times at which guided vehicles accelerate or decelerate on the traveling route. For both newly created traveling schedules and traveling schedules from which interferences have been eliminated, interferences between the guided vehicles are detected from relative positions between the guided vehicles at the velocity control points. The traveling schedules of following guided vehicles are modified to eliminate the detected interferences, and the schedules are stored. | 04-10-2014 |
| 20140107883 | Self-Propelled Civil Engineering Machine System With Field Rover - A civil engineering machine has a machine control unit configured to determine data which defines the position and/or orientation of a reference point on the civil engineering machine in relation to a reference system independent of the position and orientation of the civil engineering machine. A geometrical shape to be produced on the ground is preset in either a machine control unit or a field rover control unit. The field rover is used to determine a position of at least one identifiable point of the preset geometrical shape in the independent reference system. Curve data defining a desired curve in the independent reference system, corresponding to the preset shape, is determined at least partially on the basis of the position of the at least one identifiable point of the preset geometrical shape in the independent reference system. | 04-17-2014 |
| 20140107884 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SWITCHING DISPLAY MODES IN AGRICULTURAL VEHICLES - A display system for an agricultural vehicle includes a display for displaying a representation of the vehicle's location in a field in which the vehicle is operating and a control device for receiving an indication of an operating state of the vehicle and for controlling a viewing mode of the display according to the operating state. | 04-17-2014 |
| 20140121882 | System for Coordinating the Relative Movements of an Agricultural Harvester and a Cart - A system for coordinating the relative movements of an agricultural harvester ( | 05-01-2014 |
| 20140129074 | Method Of Managing Loading, Unloading, And Routing Of Trackless Vehicles And System Using The Same - Method and system of determining if a predetermined amount of time has passed since dispatch of a first one of the plurality of trackless vehicles onto one of a predefined plurality of intersecting paths. If the predetermined amount of time has passed, determining if a second one of the plurality of trackless vehicles was available for dispatch onto the predefined path or another predefined path. If the second trackless vehicle was available for dispatch, dispatching the second trackless vehicle, and if the second trackless vehicle was not available for dispatch, dispatching a third one of the trackless vehicles onto the predefined path or another predefined path. The predetermined amount of time may be calculated based on a time interval on which the trackless vehicles are dispatched onto the predefined plurality of paths. | 05-08-2014 |
| 20140136046 | VEHICLE NAVIGATION - A method and apparatus for establishing a route for an autonomous vehicle, the method including: determining localisation information for the vehicle with respect to a first frame of reference that is fixed with respect to a current state of the vehicle; determining localisation information for the vehicle with respect to a second frame of reference that is fixed with respect to an entity (e.g. Earth), the vehicle being moveable with respect to the entity; establishing a route for the vehicle with respect to the second frame using the localisation information for the vehicle with respect to the second frame; transforming the route from the second frame to the first frame; and determining a route for the vehicle with respect to the first frame using the localisation information for the vehicle with respect to the first frame and the transformed route. | 05-15-2014 |
| 20140163806 | System and method for automatic guidance control of a vehicle - A system and method is provided for adaptive control of at least one parameter of an auto guidance control algorithm for a vehicle. The parameters may be varied according to a previously established look up table, or automatically adapted through the use of control logic, such as a “fuzzy logic” algorithm. The control parameters that can be adaptively controlled include steered wheel turn rate, proportional valve current gain, line acquisition rate and/or auto guidance control valve current limits. The control algorithm responds to the vehicle's operating parameters such as vehicle speed, tracking error, predicted heading, and hydraulic oil temperature to make adjustments to the auto guidance control parameters. | 06-12-2014 |
| 20140172223 | METHOD OF MATERIAL HANDLING WITH AUTOMATIC GUIDED VEHICLES - A system and method of automatic guided vehicles that are capable of providing synchronized travel along a line or path such that regular manufacturing operations may be performed to material or workpieces on the vehicle without the need for a traditional conveyor systems. | 06-19-2014 |
| 20140172224 | SPEED CONTROL IN AGRICULTURAL VEHICLE GUIDANCE SYSTEMS - Speed control in agricultural vehicle guidance systems may be provided. First, an auto-guidance processor may be loaded with a wayline. A drive component coupled to the auto-guidance processor may be engaged to cause the agricultural vehicle to traverse the wayline. The wayline may define a path for the agricultural vehicle to travel within an area. The auto-guidance processor may receive inclination data. The agricultural vehicle's speed may be altered as the agricultural machine traverses the wayline based upon the inclination data. | 06-19-2014 |
| 20140172225 | SPEED CONTROL IN AGRICULTURAL VEHICLE GUIDANCE SYSTEMS - Speed control in agricultural vehicle guidance systems may be provided. First, an auto-guidance processor may be loaded with a wayline and topographical data of an area where an agricultural vehicle may be located. A drive component coupled to the auto-guidance processor may be engaged to cause the agricultural vehicle to traverse the wayline. The wayline may define a path for the agricultural vehicle to travel within the area. The agricultural vehicle's speed may be altered as the agricultural machine traverses the wayline based upon the topographical data. | 06-19-2014 |
| 20140180526 | Autonomous Navigation Through Obstacles - A system and method for navigating a mobile automated system through obstacles is disclosed. The system includes a communication module, an estimation module, a density module, a vector module, a navigating module and a command module. The communication module receives image sensor data from one or more sensors. The estimation module estimates one or more obstacle parameters. The density module determines a left obstacle image density and a right obstacle image density for a path from a start point to a navigating destination based on the one or more obstacle parameters. The vector module generates a vector model to determine a navigating direction based on the left obstacle image density and the right obstacle image density. The navigating module determines a navigating velocity for navigating the mobile automated system to the navigating destination. The command module generates one or more navigating commands based on the navigating velocity. | 06-26-2014 |
| 20140188324 | VEHICULAR NAVIGATION CONTROL INTERFACE - Included are systems and methods for providing a vehicular navigation control interface. Some embodiments include a navigation system and a vehicle with a vehicle control module (VCM), a navigation control module (NCM), and a navigation control interface, where the VCM receives a manual command from an operator to implement a manual control function. In some embodiments the NCM receives an automatic command from the navigation system to implement an automatic control function via the VCM and the navigation control interface directly connects the VCM and the NCM to facilitate communication between the VCM and NCM for implementing automatic mode and for reporting implementation of a manual mode. | 07-03-2014 |
| 20140195094 | Microcrawler and Conveyor Robots, Controllers, Systems, and Methods - Robots, controllers, systems, and methods for microcrawler robots (e.g., with stick-slip gaited locomotion and/or with power multiplexing between actuators). | 07-10-2014 |
| 20140195095 | AUTONOMOUS NAVIGATION SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR A MANEUVERABLE PLATFORM - An autonomous navigation system and method for a maneuverable platform are provided herein. The method may include: obtaining a plurality of objectives relating to a maneuverable platform; determining a plurality of options of direction and speed for the platform; autonomously selecting, one option of the plurality of options, in order to achieve said objectives, by calculating a weighted grade of each option based on the weights of the objectives and said grading scheme; and periodically repeating: the receiving with updated platform and obstacles data and the autonomously selecting with the updated platform and obstacles data, wherein the autonomously selecting is executed by a computer processor and includes, for each obstacle, calculating projected positions of the platform and of that obstacle to determine the distance between the platform and the obstacle at the closest point of approach and estimated time to arrive to the closest point of approach. | 07-10-2014 |
| 20140214257 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR REAL-TIME QUANTUM COMPUTER-BASED CONTROL OF MOBILE SYSTEMS - Systems and methods for integrating quantum computing systems into mobile systems for the purpose of providing real-time, quantum computer-based control of the mobile systems are described. A mobile system includes a data extraction subsystem that extracts data from an external environment of the mobile system and a quantum computing subsystem that receives data from the data extraction subsystem and performs a quantum computing operation in real-time using the data from the data extraction subsystem. A result of the quantum computing operation influences a behavior of the mobile system, such as the navigation of the mobile system or an action performed by the mobile system. The on-board quantum computing subsystem includes on-board quantum computing infrastructure that is adapted to suit the needs and spatial constraints of the mobile system. | 07-31-2014 |
| 20140214258 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR USING UNIQUE LANDMARKS TO LOCATE INDUSTRIAL VEHICLES AT START-UP - A method and apparatus for using unique landmarks to position industrial vehicles during start-up. In one embodiment, a method of using pre-positioned objects as landmarks to operate an industrial vehicle is provided. The method comprises identifying a start-up scenario from sensor data, wherein the start-up scenario comprises a unique marker start-up or a pre-positioned object start-up. in response to the identified start-up scenario, either a unique marker or pre-positioned object is identified within a physical environment, wherein the pre-positioned object or unique marker corresponds with a sub-area of the physical environment. The industrial vehicle pose is determined in response to the identity of the pre-positioned object or unique marker and the industrial vehicle is operated based on the determined industrial vehicle pose. | 07-31-2014 |
| 20140222278 | AUTONOMOUS DRIVING CONTROL SYSTEM FOR VEHICLE - Information regarding a vehicle is acquired by a vehicle information acquisition unit provided in the vehicle, and an object to be avoided is detected by an avoidance-target object detection unit. On the basis of the vehicle information and the distance and angle of the object to be avoided, the location and amount of movement of the object to be avoided are calculated by a peripheral information recognition unit, and the calculation accuracy of the location and amount of movement of the object to be avoided are determined by a driving maneuver determination unit. On the basis of the calculation accuracy of the location and amount of movement of the object to be avoided, a driving maneuver for avoiding the object to be avoided is determined, and autonomous driving control is implemented in accordance with the driving maneuver that is determined. | 08-07-2014 |
| 20140222279 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF A SURFACE BY AN AUTONOMOUS ROBOT - A robot configured to navigate a surface, the robot comprising a movement mechanism; a logical map representing data about the surface and associating locations with one or more properties observed during navigation; an initialization module configured to establish an initial pose comprising an initial location and an initial orientation; a region covering module configured to cause the robot to move so as to cover a region; an edge-following module configured to cause the robot to follow unfollowed edges; a control module configured to invoke region covering on a first region defined at least in part based at least part of the initial pose, to invoke region covering on least one additional region, to invoke edge-following, and to invoke region covering cause the mapping module to mark followed edges as followed, and cause a third region covering on regions discovered during edge-following. | 08-07-2014 |
| 20140236413 | System and Method for Coordinating Movement of Mobile Drive Units - A method for moving one or more mobile drive units within a workspace includes receiving, from a first mobile drive unit, a reservation request requesting use of a first path segment to move in a first direction. The method further includes determining that a second mobile drive unit is currently located on the first path segment and determining whether the second mobile drive unit is moving in the first direction. Additionally, the method includes transmitting a reservation response indicating that the reservation request is denied, in response to determining that the second mobile drive unit is not moving in the first direction. The method also includes transmitting a reservation response indicating that the reservation request is granted, in response to determining that the second mobile drive unit is moving in the first direction. | 08-21-2014 |
| 20140244095 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR GUIDING PARKING - A parking guidance method and apparatus that includes a controller that is configured to recognize and determine a user selected area as a target parking area when a vehicle parking mode is operated. In addition, the controller is configured to calculate a parking starting point based on the determined target parking area and calculate a parking trajectory from the parking starting point. The controller is configured to generate operation guidance information that induces the vehicle to the parking starting point based on the selected parking starting point and a location of the vehicle and for guiding parking from the parking starting point to the target parking area. Further, the controller is configured to set up a guidance screen that includes generated information when the vehicle is operated in the parking mode. | 08-28-2014 |
| 20140244096 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR COOPERATIVE AUTONOMOUS DRIVING BETWEEN VEHICLE AND DRIVER - The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for performing cooperative autonomous driving between a vehicle and a driver. For this, a cooperative autonomous driving apparatus according to the present invention includes a driver state determination unit for determining a state of a driver and calculating the state of the driver as a risk index. An autonomous driving control unit classifies section characteristics of respective sections included in a path to a destination corresponding to the driver based on section data stored in a database (DB), and controls autonomous driving of a vehicle in which the driver is riding, based on a driving environment recognized for the path to the destination corresponding to the driver. A driving control determination unit determines driving modes of the respective sections included in the path based on the state of the driver and the section characteristics. | 08-28-2014 |
| 20140244097 | SENSOR SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USE WITH AN AUTOMATED GUIDED VEHICLE (AGV) - A sensor system for use with an automated guided vehicle (AGV) includes a plurality of sensor units electronically coupled to a sensor control module via parallel communications. Each sensor unit may include a sensor array having a plurality of sensor elements, a conditioning circuit having one or more filter/amplifiers, and a conversion circuit. The sensor control module may be configured to communicate with other AGV components via serial communications. The sensor system is capable of obtaining and storing sensor readings with or without associated offset values and can use the sensor readings to determine the center of a magnetic field using methods that require relatively little processing power. A method of calibrating the sensor system may include determining and storing offset values for a plurality of sensor elements and may be performed with the sensor system installed or uninstalled to the AGV. | 08-28-2014 |
| 20140257621 | TERRAIN CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE - A terrain classification system for a vehicle includes a sensor positioned to scan a surrounding terrain, the sensor providing a sensor signal representative of returns from scanning the surrounding terrain. The terrain classification system also includes a processing circuit configured to receive the sensor signal, classify the surrounding terrain using the sensor signal, evaluate a library of acoustic data to determine an expected acoustic signature that corresponds to the classified surrounding terrain, and create an acoustic cost map with the expected acoustic signature. | 09-11-2014 |
| 20140277898 | VEHICLE GUIDANCE BASED ON TRACTOR POSITION - Guiding a leading vehicle according to a desired trailing vehicle path includes generating one or more proceeding paths for one or more intermediate locations along an implement train between a trailing vehicle first location and a leading vehicle second location. The proceeding paths generated with a propagation and transformation algorithm that propagates a preceding path of one of the first location, such as the desired trailing vehicle path, or one of one or more intermediate locations to an immediately proceeding location, and transforms the preceding path according to dimensional characteristics of the implement train. A second guiding path is generated for the leading vehicle second location with the algorithm based on the immediately preceding path of the intermediate location closest to the second location. The method facilitates guidance of the trailing vehicle along the desired trailing vehicle path without navigation markers on the implement train except for the leading vehicle. | 09-18-2014 |
| 20140277899 | Work Vehicle Coordinating System - Disclosed is a work vehicle coordinating system configured to carry out a ground work by a main work vehicle and an un-manned controlled sub work vehicle that follows up the main work vehicle. This system includes a main-vehicle position detection module, a sub-vehicle position detection module, a main-vehicle traveling path calculation section, a turning detection unit, a work traveling target calculation section, a turn traveling target calculation section, and a steering control section. | 09-18-2014 |
| 20140277900 | MAPPING SEARCH ENGINE OFFERING SIDEWALK MAPS - Disclosed are a method and a system of a mapping search engine offering sidewalk maps, according to one embodiment. In one embodiment, a method of a sidewalk mapping server includes calculating a slope angle of a sidewalk transitioning into a street in at least one of a start location and an end location of the sidewalk in a neighborhood area and determining a transition characteristic of the sidewalk transitioning into the street. The transition characteristic is at least one of a grade-down transition, a grade-up transition, and a gradual transition in at least one of the start location and the end location of the sidewalk in the neighborhood area. A sidewalk map of a neighborhood is generated based on a calculation of the slope angle of the sidewalk transitioning into the street and a determination of the transition characteristic of the sidewalk transitioning into the street. | 09-18-2014 |
| 20140288759 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONTROLLING POSITIONS AND ORIENTATIONS OF AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES - A method for controlling an autonomous vehicle includes: Receiving data relating to a plurality of proposed vehicle locations; generating a simulated vehicle path based on the received data; determining a simulated vehicle orientation for at least one point on the simulated vehicle path; presenting at least the simulated vehicle orientation in a user-discernable form; receiving a user verification of the simulated vehicle orientation for at least one point on the simulated vehicle path; and producing approved vehicle control commands from the simulated vehicle path and simulated vehicle orientation, the approved vehicle control commands controlling the autonomous vehicle to follow the simulated vehicle path and the simulated vehicle orientation. | 09-25-2014 |
| 20140297092 | INTENSITY MAP-BASED LOCALIZATION WITH ADAPTIVE THRESHOLDING - A system, device, and methods for autonomous navigation using intensity-based localization. One example computer-implemented method includes receiving data including a plurality of intensity values from one or more sensors disposed on a vehicle as the vehicle traverses a route and generating a first group of intensity values wherein the first group includes at least some of the plurality of intensity values received. The method further includes removing the intensity values below an adaptive threshold from the first group of intensity values to generate a second group of intensity values, comparing the second group of intensity values to an intensity map, and generating a localized vehicle position based on the comparison between the second group of intensity values and the intensity map. | 10-02-2014 |
| 20140309835 | PATH FINDING DEVICE, SELF-PROPELLED WORKING APPARATUS, AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM - A path finding device includes a search unit, a calculation unit, and a selection unit. The search unit finds paths to reach a goal point from a start point while detouring around a stationary obstacle. The calculation unit calculates, for each of the found paths, an encounter probability that is a probability of encountering a non-stationary obstacle using previously accumulated non-stationary obstacle information. The selection unit selects a path with a lowest encounter probability among the found paths. | 10-16-2014 |
| 20140309836 | Position Estimation and Vehicle Control in Autonomous Multi-Vehicle Convoys - Techniques are provided for providing position estimations in an autonomous multi-vehicle convoy. Those techniques include initializing a convoy state, selecting a next sensor reading; predicting a convoy state, updating the convoy state, and broadcasting the convoy state to vehicles in the multi-vehicle convoy. | 10-16-2014 |
| 20140309837 | AUTOMATIC DRIVING CONTROL SYSTEM - Disclosed is an automatic driving control system including a road curvature calculating unit that receives shape information of a road ahead from a navigation to calculate curvatures of the road ahead, an optimum speed calculating unit that calculates optimum speeds on the basis of the curvatures of the road calculated by the road curvature calculating unit and selects speed control points, and a target acceleration calculating unit that receives information from the optimum speed calculating unit and calculates a target acceleration on the basis of the calculated optimum speeds and a current speed of a vehicle. | 10-16-2014 |
| 20140309838 | SHARED NAVIGATIONAL INFORMATION BETWEEN VEHICLES - A system for vehicle to another party communications that includes a vehicle personality module adapted to create a vehicle personality and a communications system that utilizes the created vehicle personality for one or more communications instead of a user's profile. The one or more communications are associated with one or more of an identifier and an icon representing the vehicle personality, with this identifier and/or icon sent with at least one communication and displayable to the recipient of the communication. | 10-16-2014 |
| 20140309839 | Vehicle Registration to Enter Automated Control of Vehicular Traffic - Methods and systems for a traffic control system provide arrangements and processes for managing automated vehicles. The traffic control system can register vehicles and then control the operation of the vehicles through a section of roadway. The automated control includes the communication of directions and other messages that ensure the proper function of the vehicle while under the guidance of the traffic control system | 10-16-2014 |
| 20140309840 | Trailer Hitch Alignment Systems and Methods - Systems and methods for aligning a towing vehicle trailer hitch with the tongue of a trailer/towed vehicle are provided that enable a driver to know when the towing vehicle trailer hitch is close enough to the trailer tongue such that the two can be coupled. A trailer hitch includes a tow bar having a free end configured to be coupled to a trailer tongue. An alignment system includes at least one energy emitter secured to the vehicle that emits energy in the direction of the trailer tongue, and at least two sensors secured to the vehicle in spaced-apart relationship. The energy emitter(s) and sensors may be secured to the trailer or trailer hitch. | 10-16-2014 |
| 20140316635 | Autonomous Travel System - Provided is an autonomous travel system having an operation management unit including a map database with a combination of topological region maps, on which the range of travel of a vehicle is expressed as points and lines, and metric region maps, on which the travel range is expressed on planar maps; a vehicle position management unit for managing the position of the vehicle; and a vehicle travel planning unit for planning vehicle travel, which, if the vehicle is present near the boundary of a map, blocks the map boundary so that other vehicles will not advance into another map. The operation management unit is provided with a blockage setting unit for dividing a boundary section of a map into a plurality of regions and releasing the blockage of the boundary of a divided region in which no vehicles are present in front of the vehicle in the direction of travel. | 10-23-2014 |
| 20140324267 | Automated Guided Vehicle, System Having A Computer And An Automated Guided Vehicle, And Method For Operating An Automated Guided Vehicle - The invention relates to an automated guided vehicle, a system having a computer and an automated guided vehicle, and a method for operating an automated guided vehicle. The automated guided vehicle is to travel along track sections automatically from a start point to an end point. | 10-30-2014 |
| 20140324268 | ZONE DRIVING - A roadgraph may include a graph network of information such as roads, lanes, intersections, and the connections between these features. The roadgraph may also include one or more zones associated with particular rules. The zones may include locations where driving is typically challenging such as merges, construction zones, or other obstacles. In one example, the rules may require an autonomous vehicle to alert a driver that the vehicle is approaching a zone. The vehicle may thus require a driver to take control of steering, acceleration, deceleration, etc. In another example, the zones may be designated by a driver and may be broadcast to other nearby vehicles, for example using a radio link or other network such that other vehicles may be able to observer the same rule at the same location or at least notify the other vehicle's drivers that another driver felt the location was unsafe for autonomous driving. | 10-30-2014 |
| 20140343782 | METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A VEHICLE AND A VEHICLE GUIDANCE SYSTEM - A method or system for controlling a vehicle comprises entering a programming mode or a guidance mode based on user input to a switch. The user can enter a guidance program in accordance with a predetermined sequence of inputs of the switch by the user, where readiness for each successive input is indicated by a light source. A guidance mode is managed for guiding a vehicle in accordance with the entered guidance program. An encoder or sensor can sense a steering angle of a steering system. The steering angle is controlled in accordance with the guidance program if the system or the data processor is operating in a guidance mode. | 11-20-2014 |
| 20140343783 | MOBILE DEVICE - A mobile device moving in a specific area including a driving unit, an environment sensing unit, a control unit and a transmittal unit is disclosed. The driving unit moves according to a first driving signal. The environment sensing unit detects an outline of the specific area to generate detection information. The control unit processes the detection information to generate first map information and position information. The transmittal unit transmits the first map information to an electronic device. The electronic device generates second map information according to the first map information, and the control unit generates the first driving signal according to the first map information, the second map information and the position information. | 11-20-2014 |
| 20140350769 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TESTING PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD - A printed circuit board testing method includes determining a position of a robot at a predetermined time interval and determining whether the determined position of the robot is within a preset position range. The method determines whether one or more shielding boxes are open according to unique identifiers of the shielding boxes stored in a storage system when the determined position of the robot is within the preset position range. The method obtains a predetermined path of each determined open shielding box from the storage system when one or more shielding boxes are open. The method further determines a shortest predetermined path among the obtained predetermined paths, and transmits a control signal including the determined predetermined path to the robot. | 11-27-2014 |
| 20140350770 | Method for Operating a System, and Driver-Less Transport System - In a method for operating a system, the system includes at least one path, which includes path sections. Vehicles are able to travel along the path, and an electronic circuit is included for controlling at least the speed of the vehicle. Codes are situated along the path, and the vehicle includes at least one sensor, e.g., for detecting the codes, which is connected to the electronic circuit. A data exchange is implementable between one vehicle or a plurality of vehicles and at least one stationary unit. | 11-27-2014 |
| 20140358354 | WINDROWER AUTOGUIDANCE HYDRAULIC STEERING INTERFACE - An autoguidance interface for a hydraulic steering system for a differential steered self-propelled agricultural windrower, windrower speed and direction controlled by adjustment to a control input shaft to control the output of a pair of tandem-mounted hydraulic drive pumps and provide motive power for the windrower. The control input shaft is rotatable and axially moveable. A hydraulic steering motor is operably connected to the input shaft to effect control input shaft rotation. Rotation of the hydraulic steering motor is selectively managed by a steering control valve attached to a cab-mounted windrower steering wheel or a proportional steering valve managed by the autoguidance system. A selector valve controls the active steering input. An emergency disengagement positions the selector valve to restore manual control by the steering wheel. | 12-04-2014 |
| 20150019063 | POST-IMPACT PATH ASSIST FOR VEHICLES - An environment monitor has a plurality of sensors for detecting predetermined safety risks associated with a plurality of potential destination regions around a vehicle as the vehicle moves over a roadway. The environment monitor selects one of the potential destination regions having a substantially lowest safety risk as a target area. A path determination unit assembles a plurality of plausible paths between the vehicle and the target area, monitors predetermined safety risks associated with the plurality of plausible paths, and selects one of the plausible paths having a substantially lowest safety risk as a target path. An impact detector detects an impact between the vehicle and another object. A stability control is configured to autonomously steer the vehicle onto the target path when the impact is detected. | 01-15-2015 |
| 20150019064 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING DRIVING OF VEHICLE - An apparatus and a method for controlling driving of a vehicle are provided and the apparatus includes a sensor unit that has at least one sensor disposed at sides of a vehicle. In addition, a controller uses sensing information received from the sensor unit to confirm whether the vehicle enters a path and detects obstacles located in the path. The controller calculates a left and right width of the path based on the obstacles and then confirms whether the path is a narrow road. Further, the controller is configured to output a driving guidance to the confirmed narrow road. | 01-15-2015 |
| 20150046017 | Method And System For Remotely Controlling A Vehicle - A method for determining the physical location of a vehicle being guided with an onboard navigational positioning system capable of detecting and generating a positioning location vector for the vehicle. The method includes the steps of detecting and receiving a plurality of electromagnetic radiation signals. A plurality of ambient parameter measurements is also received. A confirming location position is calculated from the plurality of electromagnetic radiation signals and the plurality of ambient parameter measurements. The confirming location position is compared to the positioning location vector generated by the onboard system to create a differential vector. If the confirmation location position and the positioning location vector are greater than a predetermined value, the positioning location vector generated by the onboard navigational positioning system is prevented from being used in directing the movement of the vehicle until the position differential is below a predetermined error value. | 02-12-2015 |
| 20150051782 | Automatic Driverless Motor Vehicle Driving and Guidance System - An automatic motor vehicle driving and guidance system that does not require the intervention of a human driver while the vehicle is in motion along a roadway that is equipped with this invention of an Automatic Driverless Motor Vehicle Driving and Guidance System. This invention can reduce motor vehicle accidents that occur due to driver fatigue or distraction. The system can regulate the speed of the motor vehicle, maintain the moving vehicle within the travel lane, monitor and regulate the safe traveling distance to vehicles travelling of stopped ahead, give the real time location of the motor vehicle and can be used to preprogram trips or routes | 02-19-2015 |
| 20150051783 | PLANNING AND MONITORING OF AUTONOMOUS-MISSION - The presently disclosed subject matter includes a method and system of planning autonomous mission, the mission being executed by one or more autonomous agents. A generic mission template is obtained, the generic mission template being constructed from a plurality of mission-objects and defines logical connections between the plurality of mission-objects, wherein each mission-object is configured to logically represent a respective type of mission-element; one or more mission-object in the generic mission template are associated with a respective real world mission-element, thereby generating a specific mission plan; with the help of a processor an agent-specific mission plan is generated for the one or more agents, based on the generic mission template and the specific mission plan, wherein an agent specific mission plan comprises tasks assigned to a respective designated agent and is compatible with the technical requirement of the respective designated agent. | 02-19-2015 |
| 20150066283 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TRANSPORTING PERSONNEL WITHIN AN ACTIVE WORKSPACE - Disclosed herein is a human transport device and associated system to transport a user within an active workspace. The human transport device may include a platform to support a user, an enclosure coupled to the platform to surround the user, a drive subsystem to power the human transport device, and a control unit to control the movement of the human transport device in coordination with active mobile drive units moving within the workspace. A system implementing one or more human transport devices may include a management module to direct the movement of the one or more human transport devices and designate one or more areas within the workspace as protected areas. Unauthorized objects may be prohibited from entering the protected areas while the human transport device may be allowed within the protected areas. | 03-05-2015 |
| 20150100194 | TRAJECTORY GENERATION DEVICE, MOVING OBJECT, TRAJECTORY GENERATION METHOD - A trajectory generation device includes a storage unit that stores a plurality of trajectories; a trajectory acquisition unit that acquires a trajectory, corresponding to an environment similar to a current environment, from the plurality of trajectories stored in the storage unit; and a trajectory generation unit that calculates a longest trajectory part, which is present in a moving object moving area in the trajectory acquired by the trajectory acquisition unit, and generates a trajectory by connecting both ends of the calculated longest trajectory part to a predetermined start point and a predetermined end point respectively. | 04-09-2015 |
| 20150120125 | SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND INDUSTRIAL VEHICLES FOR DETERMINING THE VISIBILITY OF FEATURES - According to the embodiments described herein, an industrial vehicle can include an Environmental Based Localization (EBL) sensor communicatively coupled to one or more processors. The EBL sensor can detect objects within a field of view. The one or more processors execute machine readable instructions to access a feature set and an occlusion set that are associated with an industrial facility. An occlusion path that intersects a detectable occlusion of the occlusion set and the sensor origin of the EBL sensor can be determined. A feature intersection of the occlusion path can be determined. A detectable feature can be classified as an occluded detectable feature based at least in part upon location of the feature intersection. The industrial vehicle can be navigated through the industrial facility utilizing the feature set exclusive of the occluded detectable feature. | 04-30-2015 |
| 20150296707 | AUTONOMOUS TRAVEL WORK SYSTEM - An autonomous travel work system works, regarding a garden LD as a canvas and applying an arbitrary design to the garden LD, according the design. The autonomous travel work system includes an information terminal configured to be input means and transmit input information, a computer configured to receive the input information, and at least one electric lawn mower configured to work autonomously traveling in the garden LD. The information terminal includes a display, a work ground input, a design allocation input, and a work request device. The information terminal or the computer includes a work ground designation device, a design allocation device, a mapping route generator, and a work pattern generator. | 10-22-2015 |
| 20150298699 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR OPERATING A VEHICLE - A method is provided for operating a vehicle, wherein during coasting of the vehicle, in order to reach a route position of a driving route that is still to be travelled, at a desired speed that is less than a vehicle speed at the start of coasting, a vehicle actual speed is compared with a vehicle target speed and an action is performed in dependence on the comparison. This renders possible a continuous adaptation of the driving resistance, so the desired speed is reliably reached. Interfering variables such as wind or gradient may be compensated for. A device is provided for operating a vehicle, and to a computer program. | 10-22-2015 |
| 20150298808 | Cargo Loading System for Loading and Unloading a Cargo Item, Method for Creating and/or Updating a Loading Plan - A cargo loading system comprising at least one cargo reading device mounted in the entrance area of an aircraft, in particular an RFID reading device, for detecting at least one identifier of a cargo item, a plurality of freight conveying devices each having at least one roller for conveying the cargo item along a conveying route into an end position, and a control system which receives signals from sensors in order to detect a movement of the cargo item along the conveying route and which is communicatively connected to the cargo reading device. The control system is designed to detect the end position of the cargo item on the cargo deck based on the signals and to store data which indicate the end position in conjunction with the detected identifier of the cargo deck. | 10-22-2015 |
| 20150307089 | AUTOMATIC SLOT PARKING STRATEGY - The present invention relates to a method for assistance in the parking of a vehicle from a roadway into a free parking space, by one or more maneuvers of the slot parking type, comprising the following steps:
| 10-29-2015 |
| 20150307131 | Autonomous Driving in a Hazard Situation - What is described is a motor vehicle having a sensor unit and a control device that is set up to steer the motor vehicle along an intended trajectory on the basis of data captured by the sensor unit. The control device has an evaluation device that is set up to take captured and/or received data as a basis for identifying a vehicle with a special task and/or a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction of travel and to take account of captured and/or received data that can be associated with the identified vehicle for ascertaining and/or steering along the intended trajectory. In addition, a method for autonomously controlling a motor vehicle is described. The method involves captured and/or received data being taken as a basis for identifying a vehicle with a special task and/or a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction of travel, and captured and/or received data that can be associated with the identified vehicle are taken into account for ascertaining and steering along an intended trajectory. | 10-29-2015 |
| 20150331423 | PATH PLANNING METHOD FOR VEHICLE GUIDANCE - A method for defining a contoured path for an automatic guidance system comprises defining a plurality of reference path segments; for each segment, determining one or more intersection points respectively with other segments; and subsequently defining a contoured path as a sequence of intersecting segments. An automatic guidance system based on the method is also provided. | 11-19-2015 |
| 20150331425 | ENVIRONMENT RECOGNITION GUIDE SYSTEM FOR MOVABLE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT AND METHOD - An environment recognition guide system and method for guiding a movable medical equipment are disclosed. The environment recognition guide system includes a depth camera, an environment data storage device, and an object image recognition device. When the object image recognition device compares and determines an environment image pixel depth signal acquired by the depth camera matching predetermined object image pixel depth signals stored in the environment data storage device, the medical equipment is driven to move along a preset guide path. The movable medical equipment is further provided with collision protection function to prevent the medical equipment from collision with a front obstacle during the movement. | 11-19-2015 |
| 20150338849 | AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES - Aspects of the present disclosure relate to a vehicle for maneuvering a passenger to a destination autonomously. The vehicle includes one or more computing devices and a set of user input buttons for communicating requests to stop the vehicle and to initiate a trip to the destination with the one or more computing devices. The set of user input buttons consisting essentially of a dual-purpose button and an emergency stopping button different from the dual-purpose button configured to stop the vehicle. The dual-purpose button has a first purpose for communicating a request to initiate the trip to the destination and a second purpose for communicating a request to pull the vehicle over and stop the vehicle. The vehicle has no steering wheel and no user inputs for the steering, acceleration, and deceleration of the vehicle other than the set of user input buttons. | 11-26-2015 |
| 20150338851 | APPARATUS FOR CLEANING LINES ON A PLAYING SURFACE AND ASSOCIATED METHODS, OTHER HANDLE ENHANCEMENTS - An apparatus and method for clearing a playing surface are provided. The apparatus preferably includes a chassis or frame, a sensor connected to the chassis to sense a location of a line on a playing surface that needs to be cleaned, a drive connected to the chassis to drive the chassis in a selected direction of travel, and a handle to facilitate handling by a user. The apparatus also preferably includes a controller connected to the chassis, in communication with the drive, and responsive to the sensor to control the drive to thereby direct the chassis to move along the line that needs to be cleaned in the selected direction of travel and a cleaning device connected to the chassis to clean the line with the chassis is being driven along the line. Associated software is provided as well. | 11-26-2015 |
| 20150345961 | EVACUATION TRAVELLING ASSISTANCE APPARATUS - In an evacuation travelling assistance apparatus, a risk determining unit determines, when a driver is not in a state capable of appropriately performing driving operations, a risk involved in stopping at a location and a risk involved in passing through the location, for each of a plurality of locations that may serve as an advancing destination of the own vehicle, based on map information, own vehicle information, and peripheral environment information. An evacuation destination setting unit sets a location at which the risk involved in stopping at the location is lower than a predetermined reference as an evacuation destination, based on the determined risk. An evacuation route setting unit combines locations at which the risk involved in passing through the location is lower than a predetermined reference, based on the determined risk, and sets an evacuation route from the current position of the own vehicle to the evacuation destination. | 12-03-2015 |
| 20150345967 | PROBABILISTIC AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE ROUTING AND NAVIGATION - A method and apparatus for probabilistic autonomous vehicle routing and navigation are disclosed. Probabilistic autonomous vehicle routing and navigation may include an autonomous vehicle identifying transportation network information, identifying an origin, identifying a destination, generating a plurality of candidate routes from the origin to the destination based on the transportation network information, wherein each route from the plurality of routes indicates a distinct combination of road segments and lanes, generating an action cost probability distribution for each action in each candidate route, generating a route cost probability distribution based at least in part on the action cost probability distribution, identify an optimal route from the plurality of candidate routes based at least in part on the route cost probability distribution, and operate the autonomous vehicle to travel from the origin to the destination using the optimal route. | 12-03-2015 |
| 20150345971 | SYNCHRONOUSLY UPDATED VEHICLE TRANSPORTATION NETWORK INFORMATION FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE ROUTING AND NAVIGATION - A method and apparatus for synchronously updated vehicle transportation network information for autonomous vehicle routing and navigation are provided. Synchronously updated vehicle transportation network information for autonomous vehicle routing and navigation may include an autonomous vehicle identifying vehicle transportation network information, identifying an origin, identifying a destination, generating a plurality of candidate routes from the origin to the destination based on the vehicle transportation network information, receiving, from an off-vehicle sensor, current vehicle transportation network state information indicating a state of at least a portion of the vehicle transportation network, identifying an optimal route from the plurality of candidate routes based at least in part on the current vehicle transportation network state information, the optimal route having a minimal route cost, and operating the autonomous vehicle to travel from the origin to the destination using the optimal route. | 12-03-2015 |
| 20150346723 | VEHICLE TRAJECTORY PLANNING FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES - A method for controlling an autonomous vehicle includes obtaining, by one or more processors, information describing a current state of the autonomous vehicle and a goal state of the autonomous vehicle; determining, by the one or more processors, an initial vehicle trajectory from the current state of the autonomous vehicle to the goal state of the autonomous vehicle; and determining, by the one or more processors, an optimized vehicle trajectory based the initial trajectory and a velocity profile by applying numerical minimization to minimize a trajectory length value and a lateral acceleration value. | 12-03-2015 |
| 20150354961 | Method for planning an agricultural post-processing operation - A method for planning an agricultural post-processing operation along a post-processing route includes carrying out an agricultural pre-processing operation by a pre-processing machine along a pre-processing route, using a recording system to record the pre-processing route, determining the post-processing route to be worked by a post-processing machine on the basis of the recorded pre-processing route. The recording system records a processing setting of the pre-processing operation and the planning device determines the post-processing route on the basis of the processing setting. | 12-10-2015 |
| 20150366129 | Auto Mowing System - A robotic mowing system that includes a station and a robotic mower. The robotic mower has a controller and a memorizer, the memorizer stores a working procedure, and after receiving a start command input by a user, the controller executes the working procedure, so as to control the robotic mower to automatically and repeatedly mow and return to the station to be charged until the controller receives a stop command. In this way, the user does not need to input working parameters, and costs are relatively low. | 12-24-2015 |
| 20150367848 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND CONTROL METHOD - To achieve an accurate transfer of control from a system to a driver, a semiconductor device includes: a recognition unit that recognizes an object present in the periphery of a vehicle based on a result of observation of the periphery of the vehicle; a route calculation unit that calculates, based on the recognized object, a travel route for the vehicle in an automatic control mode for automatically controlling the vehicle; and a mode control unit that transfers the vehicle from the automatic control mode to a manual control mode for controlling the vehicle according to an operation by a driver, when a travel route to avoid the recognized object cannot be calculated. | 12-24-2015 |
| 20150375740 | PARKING SUPPORT DEVICE - A parking support device | 12-31-2015 |
| 20150379704 | LOST VEHICLE RECOVERY UTILIZING ASSOCIATED FEATURE PAIRS - According to the embodiments described herein, a method for lost vehicle recovery utilizing associated feature pairs may include, for a materials handling vehicle determined to be lost, creating a plurality of associated feature pairs by retrieving a subsequent set of camera data from a camera comprising two-dimensional UV space information, forming pairs from the UV space information, and associating each formed pair with pairs from each of a plurality of three-dimensional global feature points of an industrial facility map. The method may further include calculating a best estimate pose from calculated vehicle poses of the associated feature pairs based on a highest-rated pair of the plurality of associated feature pairs, using an accumulated odometry to update the best estimate pose to a current localized position, updating the seed position as the current localized position, and operating the materials handling vehicle utilizing the updated seed position. | 12-31-2015 |
| 20160001775 | Method for ascertaining an emergency trajectory and method for partially automated or automated driving of an ego-vehicle - A method for ascertaining at least one emergency trajectory of an ego-vehicle using an assistance system, in particular a driver assistance system of the ego-vehicle, and/or an automatic driving function, upon detection of an imminent collision of the ego-vehicle, at least one emergency trajectory of the ego-vehicle being ascertained by the assistance system or the automatic driving function under consideration of at least one other trajectory of at least one other object which is different from the ego-vehicle. Also described is a computer program or a computer program product, a computer unit or a processing unit, and a safety device, in particular having an assistance system and/or an automatic driving function for a vehicle, including a motor vehicle. | 01-07-2016 |
| 20160011597 | GNSS AND OPTICAL GUIDANCE AND MACHINE CONTROL | 01-14-2016 |
| 20160018224 | Symbiotic Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and Unmanned Surface Vehicle System - A system includes an unmanned aerial vehicle and an unmanned surface vehicle. The unmanned aerial vehicle has a memory storing a plurality of collection points and at least one sensor for collecting sensor data from each of the collection points. The unmanned surface vehicle is capable of moving to a plurality of locations. The unmanned aerial vehicle travels through the air between at least two collection points stored in the memory and the unmanned aerial vehicle is carried between at least two collection points stored in the memory by the unmanned surface vehicle. | 01-21-2016 |
| 20160039458 | AUTONOMOUS LANE CONTROL SYSTEM - An autonomous control system for a vehicle that controls the speed and steering system of the vehicle to operate in a lane-keeping mode or a lane-changing mode. Position sensors sense the location of surrounding vehicles. A lane determining system identifies a current lane where the vehicle is located. A source of oncoming lane course data provides information as to the course of the current lane. A controller provides instructions to the steering system and speed control system to maneuver the vehicle in either the lane-keeping mode or the lane-changing mode. The driver may override the control system by providing a manual input to the steering system or the speed control system. | 02-11-2016 |
| 20160039459 | AUTONOMOUS LANE CONTROL SYSTEM - An autonomous control system for a vehicle that controls the speed and steering system of the vehicle to operate in a lane-keeping mode or a lane-changing mode. Position sensors sense the location of surrounding vehicles. A lane determining system identifies a current lane where the vehicle is located. A source of oncoming lane course data provides information as to the course of the current lane. A controller provides instructions to the steering system and speed control system to maneuver the vehicle in either the lane-keeping mode or the lane-changing mode. The driver may override the control system by providing a manual input to the steering system or the speed control system. | 02-11-2016 |
| 20160041554 | DRIVING ASSISTANCE APPARATUS AND DRIVING ASSISTANCE METHOD - A driving assistance apparatus includes: a determination unit configured to determine, when a first junction and a second junction located ahead of the first junction exist on a travel road in an advancement direction of a vehicle, whether or not the first junction and the second junction satisfy a concurrent destination presentation condition on the basis of a distance between the first junction and the second junction; a presentation unit configured to present, when the first junction and the second junction are determined to satisfy the concurrent destination presentation condition, destination information ahead of the first junction and destination information ahead of the second junction to a driver of the vehicle; and a driving assistance unit configured to provide driving assistance to the vehicle in accordance with a destination selected by the driver on the basis of the presented destination information. | 02-11-2016 |
| 20160041557 | ROBOT DOLLY - A powered carrier adaptable to traverse varied programmable routes is provided. The powered carrier has a carrier platform with two independently-motorized drive wheels and a castor wheel for tripod support of the platform along a surface. Each drive wheel is coupled to a rotational sensor adapted to electronically store their respective rotational properties so as to retrievably store a plurality of programmable routes the powered carrier traverses from points A to points B. The power sources, the motors, the rotational sensors and other electronic components disposed on the powered carrier are electronically connected to a control circuitry adapted to execute a plurality of modes of operation, including modes incorporating the storage, execution and reverse-execution of the plurality of programmable routes, as well as an override mode. | 02-11-2016 |
| 20160047660 | AUTOMATIC DRIVING OF A ROUTE - A method for automatically driving a predetermined route includes the steps of scanning route data and environmental data while the route is being driven manually, determining an automatic driving strategy based on the scanned data, comparing the automatic driving strategy to the manual driving strategy and enabling the automatic driving of the route if the automatic driving strategy differs by less than a predetermined measure from the manual driving strategy. | 02-18-2016 |
| 20160052544 | VEHICLE CONTROL APPARATUS - A vehicle control apparatus includes a steering amount calculation unit which calculates a steering amount for decreasing a lateral deviation of a vehicle with respect to a target route, a vehicle position acquisition unit which acquires a position of the vehicle, and a past information acquisition unit which acquires the lateral deviation, which is related to the position of the vehicle acquired by the vehicle position acquisition unit or a position ahead of the position of the vehicle, from a storage section in which the lateral deviation is stored with the position of the vehicle being related to the lateral deviation. The steering amount calculation unit feeds back the lateral deviation acquired by the past information acquisition unit to calculate the steering amount. | 02-25-2016 |
| 20160062361 | AUTONOMOUS MOVING BODY - An autonomous moving body executes a mode in which an autonomous moving body: outputs a motor control amount from travel commands input by an operator; estimates the position of the autonomous moving body on an environment map, obtains position information of obstacles near the autonomous moving body, associates position information of the obstacles with times that the position information of the obstacles were obtained, stores the same in the storage unit as environment map restoration data, generates a travel schedule, and stores the same in the storage unit. In a replication mode, the autonomous moving body estimates the position of the autonomous moving body on the environment map, obtains position information of the obstacles near the autonomous moving body, reads the environment map restoration data that corresponds to the estimated position of the autonomous moving body, updates the environment map, creates a control amount for the motor, so as to travel on the updated environment map in accordance with the schedule, and inputs the same to the travel unit. | 03-03-2016 |
| 20160075333 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ROUTE PLANNING - Systems and methods are disclosed for determining a recommended route reference for a vehicle based on simulations of a model of the vehicle including load information, route information, and a cost strategy, and providing commands to an output device based on the recommended route reference to provide an operator of the vehicle with feedback on the recommended route reference and/or to control the vehicle. | 03-17-2016 |
| 20160076226 | System and Method for Monitoring a Machine - A system for monitoring a machine at a work site includes a prime mover, a ground-engaging drive mechanism to propel the machine, and a plurality of sensors. A controller generates propulsion commands to propel the machine about the work site in an autonomous or semi-autonomous manner and determines a plurality of performance characteristics of the machine. The controller further determines whether the plurality of performance characteristics meet a plurality of performance thresholds and generates an alert command if any of the plurality of performance characteristics do not meet the plurality of performance thresholds. | 03-17-2016 |
| 20160077525 | CONTROL SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD FOR VEHICLE - A control system for a vehicle includes an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to acquire first information indicating a situation of the vehicle at the time when the vehicle is traveling, and set a path for guiding the vehicle to a target position on the basis of the first information such that a variation in an inertial force in a lateral direction perpendicular to a traveling direction of the vehicle is smaller than or equal to a first threshold. | 03-17-2016 |
| 20160090099 | VEHICLE CONTROL DEVICE - A traveling history learning section circuitry stores learning information based on the traveling history of the vehicle in association with the position of a to-be-learned zone and with the traveling direction of the vehicle in the to-be-learned zone. A learning information obtaining section circuitry obtains learning information corresponding to the position of a host vehicle from the learning information storage section. A display control section circuitry displays a learning status display showing a learning status corresponding to a traveling direction of a host vehicle. | 03-31-2016 |
| 20160091897 | METHOD OF TRAJECTORY PLANNING FOR YIELDING MANEUVERS - The present disclosure relates to a method of trajectory planning for yielding maneuvers for an ego vehicle (E). The method may include determining a longitudinal safety corridor for the ego vehicle (E) that allows the ego vehicle (E) to longitudinally position itself between two or more surrounding objects, determining a longitudinal trajectory for the ego vehicle (E) respecting bounds given by the longitudinal safety corridor, determining a lateral safety corridor for the ego vehicle (E) using the longitudinal trajectory to determine upper and lower bounds on a lateral position of the ego vehicle (E), and determining a lateral trajectory for the ego vehicle (E) respecting bounds given by the lateral safety corridor. The present disclosure also relates to an Advanced Driver Assistance System arranged to perform the method and a vehicle (E) comprising such a system. | 03-31-2016 |
| 20160100522 | Robotic Lawn Mowing Boundary Determination - A method of mowing an area with an autonomous mowing robot comprises storing, in non-transient memory of the robot, a set of geospatially referenced perimeter data corresponding to positions of the mowing robot as the mowing robot is guided about a perimeter of an area to be mowed, removing from the set of perimeter data one or more data points thereby creating a redacted data set and controlling the mowing robot to autonomously mow an area bounded by a boundary corresponding to the redacted data set, including altering direction of the mowing robot at or near a position corresponding to data in the redacted data set so as to redirect the robot back into the bounded area. | 04-14-2016 |
| 20160101811 | TRAILER SENSOR MODULE AND ASSOCIATED METHOD OF WIRELESS TRAILER IDENTIFICATION AND MOTION ESTIMATION - A method of identifying a trailer with a vehicle includes a step of transmitting a unique identifier with a wireless transmitter attached to the trailer. The wireless transmitter may be housed as part of a sensor module with a sensor that senses a parameter of the trailer for operating a trailer backup assist system. The housing of the sensor module may be adapted to be removably attached to the trailer. The unique identifier emitted by the wireless transmitter is received with a wireless receiver on the vehicle. After the unique identifier is recognized by a controller on the vehicle, a parameter of the trailer may be accessed for autonomously guiding the trailer along a desired backing path. | 04-14-2016 |
| 20160113195 | ROBOTIC MOWER NAVIGATION SYSTEM - A robotic mower navigation system has a plurality of landmark tags sequentially spaced along or inside a boundary wire. Each landmark tag has a unique identifier. The robotic mower has a detector for detecting the landmark tags, and a vehicle control unit having memory storing data for each of the landmark tags including the unique identifiers, a departure angle and a distance from the landmark tag to another non-sequential landmark tag. The vehicle control unit determines the shortest route to a specified destination based on the stored landmark tag data. | 04-28-2016 |
| 20160131494 | AUTONOMOUS DRIVING VEHICLE, AUTONOMOUS DRIVING MANAGEMENT APPARATUS, AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME - An autonomous driving vehicle, an autonomous driving management apparatus, and a method of controlling the same. The autonomous driving vehicle includes: a wireless communication unit configured to receive position information about the vehicle; a storage unit configured to store an electronic map; an input unit configured to receive a destination; a driving unit configured to adjust a travelling speed and a travelling direction; and a controller configured to search for a path from a point corresponding to the position information to a point corresponding to the destination in the electronic map, and control the vehicle to travel the approved section through the driving unit when receiving an approval of an occupation right for one or more sections included in the path through the wireless communication unit. | 05-12-2016 |
| 20160138924 | VEHICLE AUTONOMOUS TRAVELING SYSTEM, AND VEHICLE TRAVELING METHOD USING THE SAME - Disclosed are a vehicle autonomous traveling system and a vehicle traveling method using the same. The vehicle autonomous traveling system includes a vehicle navigation device that plans a driver global path to a destination by acquiring a location of a vehicle, and guides a path in accordance with the planned driver global path, an autonomous traveling path providing unit that recognizes a road environment while planning a detailed global path by mapping a partial detailed path of a lane level based on the driver global path, determines a traveling condition based on the detailed global path and the recognized road environment, and outputs vehicle traveling information for controlling the vehicle, and an autonomous traveling operation unit that receives the vehicle traveling information, and performs autonomous traveling of the vehicle by following a path included in the vehicle traveling information. | 05-19-2016 |
| 20160139598 | AUTONOMOUS DRIVING VEHICLE SYSTEM - An autonomous driving vehicle system includes: a surrounding information detection unit that is configured to detect surrounding information on a vehicle; and at least one electronic control unit including: a travel plan generation unit configured to generate a travel plan along a pre-set target route based on the surrounding information and map information; a traveling control unit configured to autonomously control a traveling of the vehicle based on the travel plan; and a warning light control unit configured to turn on a warning light earlier than a start time of a braking of the vehicle in the travel plan, the warning light informing a following vehicle about the braking. | 05-19-2016 |
| 20160144859 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTONOMOUS NAVIGATION OF VEHICLE - A system and method for performing autonomous navigation of a vehicle are disclosed, which recognize a possibility of collision risk through path estimation of a target vehicle, and generate an autonomous navigation path. The autonomous navigation system for a vehicle includes: a target-vehicle information detection unit configured to detect traveling information of a target vehicle; and a path generation unit configured to estimate movement of the target vehicle on the basis of the information received from the target-vehicle information detection unit, calculate a collision risk value by recognizing a possibility of collision risk between an ego-vehicle and the target vehicle, and generate an autonomous navigation path of the ego-vehicle. | 05-26-2016 |
| 20160146618 | METHOD TO GAIN DRIVER'S ATTENTION FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE - A computer-implemented method for the automated driving of a vehicle. The method may include coordinating a planned vehicle path using a path planner application. The path planner application may receive information based on inputs to sensors disposed on the vehicle. The method may include sending a command to one or more vehicle systems to control the vehicle to follow the planned vehicle path. While the vehicle follows the planned vehicle path, the method may include receiving an indication that the path planner application is not meeting a threshold performance level. After receiving the indication that the path planner application is not meeting the threshold performance level, a command is sent to one or more vehicle systems to control the vehicle to follow a temporary and irregular full vehicle movement to alert a vehicle driver. The temporary and irregular full vehicle movement may be a full vehicle side-to-side wobbling movement. | 05-26-2016 |
| 20160153791 | PATH PLANNING | 06-02-2016 |
| 20160155339 | DISTRIBUTED COLLABORATIVE OPERATIONS PROCESSOR SYSTEMS AND METHODS | 06-02-2016 |
| 20160157414 | SCOUTING SYSTEMS - Embodiments include a ground scout having an ability to identify the location of rows of crops and the end of the rows so that it can navigate, but in other embodiments, the ground scout can also rely more on an aerial drone to navigate, to act as a communication relay system, and so on. A buddy system including a ground scout and an air scout (e.g. drone) communicate their findings with each other. | 06-09-2016 |
| 20160161266 | VEHICLE PASSENGER IDENTIFICATION - At least one first model represents a person. A request to pick up a passenger includes a first location and a personal identifier for the passenger. A vehicle is caused to navigate to the first location. The passenger is identified by comparing a second model generated from vehicle sensor data with the first model. | 06-09-2016 |
| 20160161267 | DRIVING ACTION DETERMINATION FOR TRAVEL ROUTE EXIT EVENT - Arrangements relate to determining a driving action for an autonomous vehicle. An exit event along a current road of a travel route of the autonomous vehicle can be identified. At least one forward vehicle between the autonomous vehicle and the exit event can be detected. A driving action to take relative to the at least one forward vehicle can be determined based on one or more inputs. Such inputs can include a determined availability or unavailability of passing the at least one forward vehicle and/or a determined sufficiency or insufficiency of distance between the at least one forward vehicle and the exit event. The autonomous vehicle can be caused to implement the determined driving action. The driving action can be, for example, remaining behind the at least one forward vehicle, passing the at least one forward vehicle or prompting an occupant of the autonomous vehicle to select a driving action. | 06-09-2016 |
| 20160161271 | AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE DETECTION OF AND RESPONSE TO INTERSECTION PRIORITY - An automated driving system and methods are disclosed. The automated driving system includes a perception system disposed on an autonomous vehicle. The automated driving system can detect, using the perception system, a neighboring vehicle proximate to an intersection, identify two or more potential paths through the intersection for the neighboring vehicle, determine a path priority for each of the two or more potential paths, and determine a path priority for a planned path through the intersection for the autonomous vehicle. If the path priority of at least one of the potential paths is higher than the path priority of the planned path, the automated driving system can send a command to one or more vehicle systems configured to allow the neighboring vehicle to proceed through the intersection before the autonomous vehicle. | 06-09-2016 |
| 20160165795 | ROBOT LAWNMOWER MAPPING | 06-16-2016 |
| 20160169694 | NAVIGATION APPARATUS, SIMULATION APPARATUS, MOVING DEVICE AND NAVIGATION METHOD | 06-16-2016 |
| 20160170411 | Real-time Route Terrain Validity Checker | 06-16-2016 |
| 20160174459 | Robotic Mowing of Separated Lawn Areas | 06-23-2016 |
| 20160176397 | RISK MITIGATION FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES RELATIVE TO ONCOMING OBJECTS | 06-23-2016 |
| 20160178382 | MARKER AIDED AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE LOCALIZATION | 06-23-2016 |
| 20160179095 | CLASSIFICATION OF ENVIRONMENT ELEMENTS | 06-23-2016 |
| 20160187140 | COORDINATED ROUTE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS AND METHODS - Techniques are disclosed for systems and methods to provide coordinated route distribution for one or more mobile structures. A coordinated route distribution system includes a route generator and/or distribution server and various route retrievers, each of which are used in conjunction with operation of corresponding coordinated mobile structures to retrieve routes from the route generator and/or distribution server. The route retriever includes and/or is configured to communicate with a logic device, a memory, one or more sensors, one or more actuators/controllers, and modules to interface with users, sensors, actuators, and/or other modules of a mobile structure. The logic device is adapted to receive the routes and/or directional data corresponding to the mobile structure and adjust a directional control signal provided to an actuator of the mobile structure accordingly. Portions of the routes and/or control signals are displayed or used to adjust steering actuators, propulsion system thrusts, and/or other operational systems. | 06-30-2016 |
| 20160193996 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR ASSISTING A MANEUVERING PROCESS OF A MOTOR VEHICLE | 07-07-2016 |
| 20160195876 | INTELLIGENT GROUNDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM INTEGRATING ROBOTIC ROVER | 07-07-2016 |
| 20160200317 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A MOTOR VEHICLE | 07-14-2016 |
| 20160252350 | NAVIGATIONAL ROUTE SELECTION TO MITIGATE PROBABILITY MOBILE TERMINAL LOSES COMMUNICATION CAPABILITY | 09-01-2016 |
| 20160375912 | ARRANGEMENT AND METHOD FOR FACILITATING HANDOVER TO AND FROM AN AUTOMATED AUTONOMOUS DRIVING AID SYSTEM - An arrangement for facilitating handover to and from an automated autonomous driving aid system of a vehicle comprises a lane marking detecting unit, a steering control driving aid system for performing steering in response to detected lane markings, a positioning system for determining a current position and a current heading direction, an alert signal arrangement for selectively providing an alert signal, and a communication arrangement for communicating with a database comprising data indicative of an incapability of performing automated steering at a portion of a road ahead. The communication arrangement is configured to receive the data from the database and configured to provide an alert signal in case the data indicates an incapability of performing an automated steering at an upcoming road portion. | 12-29-2016 |
| 20170234689 | Real Time Risk Assessment and Operational Changes with Semi-Autonomous Vehicles | 08-17-2017 |
| 20170235310 | AUTOMATED DRIVING VEHICLE CONTROL SYSTEM | 08-17-2017 |
| 20170235311 | VEHICLE TRAVELING CONTROL APPARATUS | 08-17-2017 |
| 20170235315 | TRAVEL INSTRUCTION INFORMATION GENERATION DEVICE, VEHICLE, AND TRAVEL INSTRUCTION INFORMATION GENERATION METHOD | 08-17-2017 |
| 20180024564 | TARGET PATH GENERATING DEVICE AND DRIVING CONTROL DEVICE | 01-25-2018 |
| 20190141879 | AUTOMATED DEPLOYMENT OF AUTONOMOUS DEVICES PERFORMING LOCALIZED ENVIRONMENT ALTERING ACTIONS | 05-16-2019 |
| 20190141888 | Robotic Mowing of Separated Lawn Areas | 05-16-2019 |
| 20190146496 | Systems and Methods for Providing a Vehicle Service Via a Transportation Network for Autonomous Vehicles | 05-16-2019 |
| 20190146500 | VEHICLE SELF-LOCALIZATION USING PARTICLE FILTERS AND VISUAL ODOMETRY | 05-16-2019 |
| 20190146509 | AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE ROUTING USING ANNOTATED MAPS | 05-16-2019 |
| 20220135068 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MOTION PLANNING FOR AN AUTONMOUS VEHICLE - The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for generating a channel for use as a spatio-temporal constraint for motion planning for an autonomous vehicle. The method generates a triangulation mesh for a space in an environment. The triangulation mesh includes a plurality of nodes, each represents a geographic location in the space. Some of the nodes correspond to dynamic objects. Based on the triangulation mesh, a candidate channel extending from a starting location to a target location of the autonomous vehicle is generated. Further, the method predicts a time and location of a future triangulation mesh topology event caused by at least one of the nodes that will impact the candidate channel. A valid channel segment for the channel is selected, which extends from the starting location to a channel segment end location preceding the predicted location of the future triangulation mesh topology event. The channel improves the validity of motion planning for a longer time period. | 05-05-2022 |
| 20220135073 | ADJUSTABLE AUTOMATIC WINDOW TINTING FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES - The present disclosure provides a method comprising receiving a rideshare request from a user, the rideshare request including a destination; transporting the passenger to the destination using an autonomous vehicle (AV) having a plurality of windows comprising electrically switchable smart glass; during the transporting, monitoring a metric related to arrival of the AV at the destination; and untinting the windows when the monitored metric has a prescribed relationship to a threshold value. | 05-05-2022 |
| 20220135078 | LABELING LANE SEGMENTS FOR BEHAVIOR PREDICTION FOR AGENTS IN AN ENVIRONMENT - Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for generating candidate future trajectories for agents. One of the methods includes obtaining scene data characterizing a scene in an environment at a current time point; for each of a plurality of lane segments, processing a model input comprising (i) features of the lane segment and (ii) features of the target agent using a machine learning model that is configured to process the model input to generate a respective score for the lane segment that represents a likelihood that the lane segment will be a first lane segment traversed by the target agent after the current time point; selecting, as a set of seed lane segments, a proper subset of the plurality of lane segments based on the respective scores; and generating a plurality of candidate future trajectories for the target agent. | 05-05-2022 |
| 20220135083 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING AUTOMATED GUIDED VEHICLE - A method performed by a computing device for controlling an automated guided vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes obtaining information on a movable area including nodes arranged in a grid pattern, obtaining information on a moving path connecting a source node and a destination node existing in the movable area, wherein the moving path includes a plurality of moving nodes, and reserving at least some of the moving nodes located between a current node and the destination node by using information on the current node occupied by an automated guided vehicle according to movement of the automated guided vehicle. | 05-05-2022 |
| 20220135085 | Holistic Wayfinding - The technology employs a holistic approach to passenger pickups and other wayfinding situations. This includes identifying where passengers are relative to the vehicle and/or the pickup location. Information synthesis from different sensors, agent behavior prediction models, and real-time situational awareness are employed to identify the likelihood that the passenger to be picked up is at a given location at a particular point in time, with sufficient confidence. The system can provide adaptive navigation by helping passengers understand their distance and direction to the vehicle, for instance using various cues via an app on the person's device. Rider support tools may be provided, which enable a remote agent to interact with a customer via that person's device, such as using the camera on the device to provide wayfinding support to enable the person to find their vehicle. Ride support may also use sensor information from the vehicle when providing wayfinding support. | 05-05-2022 |
| 20220137628 | LOCALIZATION SYSTEM FOR A DRIVERLESS VEHICLE - A localization system for a driverless vehicle configured to drive in a driverless manner from a starting point to a destination point includes a set of sensors configured to localize the vehicle indoors and at least one capture device configured to localize the vehicle outdoors. The localization system is configured to provide at least one orientation point at a transition area between outdoors and indoors or vice versa. The localization is also configured to switch from a localization method for localizing the vehicle indoors to a localization method for localizing the vehicle outdoors or vice versa in response to capturing, by the set of sensors and/or the capture device, the at least one orientation point. | 05-05-2022 |
| 20220137630 | Motion-Plan Validator for Autonomous Vehicle - The present disclosure is directed to validating motion plans for autonomous vehicles. In particular, the methods, devices, and systems of the present disclosure can: receive data indicating a motion plan of an autonomous vehicle through an environment of the autonomous vehicle; receive data indicating one or more inputs utilized in generating the motion plan; and determine, based at least in part on the data indicating the motion plan and the data indicating the input(s), whether execution of the motion plan by the autonomous vehicle would violate one or more predetermined constraints applicable to motion plans for the autonomous vehicle. | 05-05-2022 |
