Systems and methods for unmanned vehicles having self-calibrating sensors and actuators

An unmanned vehicle comprising:

• a chassis;
• a processor for controlling a propulsion system of the unmanned vehicle and receiving sensor data from one or more sensors of the unmanned vehicle, the processor is configured told:
• enumerate one or more unmanned vehicle capabilities by querying one or more of the propulsion system and the one or more sensors of the unmanned vehicle;
• operate the propulsion system in an autonomous calibration mode by:
• automatically controlling the propulsion system to move the chassis;
• collecting the sensor data from the one or more sensors;
• selecting one or more uncertainty propagation models from a plurality of uncertainty propagation models based on at least one of i.) one or more unmanned vehicle capabilities and ii.) the sensor data;
• and
• processing the sensor data using the one or more uncertainty propagation models to determine at least one degree of certainty on a calibration of one or more of the sensor data and a position of the chassis;
• determine that the degree of certainty is above a threshold value;
• and
• subsequently switch operation of the propulsion system to an operational mode based on the determination that the degree of certainty is above the threshold value.

An unmanned vehicle comprising:

• a chassis;
• a communication interface;
• and
• a processor for controlling a propulsion system of the unmanned vehicle and receiving sensor data from one or more sensors of the unmanned vehicle, the processor is configured to:
• prior to entering an guided calibration mode, enumerate unmanned vehicle capabilities, by one or more of:
• receiving a weight of the unmanned vehicle;
• receiving one or more dimensions of the unmanned vehicle;
• autodetecting each of the one or more sensors;
• receiving a list of the one or more sensors;
• and using a scanner to scan one or more graphical identifiers of the one or more sensors;
• in the guided calibration mode, while controlling the propulsion system according to commands received via the communications interface from an external guided control system, select one or more uncertainty propagation models from a plurality of uncertainty propagation models based on at least one of i.) one or more unmanned vehicle capabilities and ii.) the sensor data and, process the sensor data using the one or more uncertainty propagation models to determine at least one degree of certainty on a calibration of one or more of the sensor data and a position of the chassis;
• determine that the degree of certainty is above a threshold value associated with a safe operation of the propulsion system in an autonomous calibration mode;
• and
• subsequently switch operation of the propulsion system to the autonomous calibration mode based on the determination that the degree of certainty is above the threshold value.

An unmanned vehicle comprising:

• a chassis;
• a communication interface;
• and
• a processor for controlling a propulsion system of the unmanned vehicle and receiving sensor data from one or more sensors of the unmanned vehicle, the processor is configured to:
• enumerate one or more unmanned vehicle capabilities by querying one or more of the propulsion system and the one or more sensors of the unmanned vehicle;
• in the guided calibration mode, while controlling the propulsion system according to commands received via the communications interface from an external guided control system, select one or more uncertainty propagation models from a plurality of uncertainty propagation models based on at least one of i.) one or more unmanned vehicle capabilities and ii.) the sensor data and, process the sensor data using the one or more uncertainty propagation models to determine at least one degree of certainty on a calibration of one or more of the sensor data and a position of the chassis;
• determine that the degree of certainty is above a threshold value associated with a safe operation of the propulsion system in an autonomous calibration mode;
• and
• subsequently switch operation of the propulsion system to the autonomous calibration mode based on the determination that the degree of certainty is above the threshold value.

An unmanned vehicle comprising:

• a chassis;
• a communication interface;
• and
• a processor for controlling a propulsion system of the unmanned vehicle and receiving sensor data from one or more sensors of the unmanned vehicle, the processor configured to:
• in a guided calibration mode, while controlling the propulsion system according to commands received via the communications interface from an external guided control system, select one or more uncertainty propagation models from a plurality of uncertainty propagation models based on at least one of i.) one or more unmanned vehicle capabilities and ii.) the sensor data and, process the sensor data using the one or more uncertainty propagation models to determine at least one degree of certainty on a calibration of one or more of the sensor data and a position of the chassis;
• automatically switch operation of the propulsion system to an autonomous calibration mode when the degree of certainty is above a first threshold value associated with a safe operation of the propulsion system in the autonomous calibration mode;
• in an autonomous calibration mode, while automatically controlling the propulsion system to move the chassis, collecting the sensor data from the one or more sensors;
• and further processing the sensor data using the one or more uncertainty propagation models to determine at least one further degree of certainty on the calibration;
• and
• automatically switch operation of the propulsion system to an operational mode when the further degree of certainty is above a second threshold value greater than the first threshold value.