Partially assembled vehicle that autonomously completes its own assembly, and methods for producing same

A method for a partially assembled vehicle to autonomously transporting itself through a process to complete its own assembly, the method comprising:

• constructing the partially assembled vehicle comprising a chassis and wheels that are rotationally coupled to the chassis, a drive system mounted on the chassis and in operational communication with the wheels, and, on-board the partially assembled vehicle, and in operable communication with each other:
• a navigation system, a central platform controller, and a position determining system;
• mounting a safety sensor guidance system to the chassis, the safety sensor guidance system comprising a sensor, a transceiver, and an emergency stop (estop) device;
• providing at least one external fleet controller that is external to the partially assembled vehicle and that is configured to communicate with a fleet of the partially assembled vehicles;
• and
• a controller circuit operationally coupled to the central platform controller and the safety sensor guidance system, performing the steps of:
• receiving a begin data package from an the external fleet control source, wherein the begin data package identifies a model and configuration information for the partially assembled vehicle;
• beginning a temporary takeover of the central platform controller, responsive to receiving the begin data package, the temporary takeover including the steps of:
• activating the transceiver to communicate with the external fleet control source;
• identifying a plurality of assembly stations that the partially assembled vehicle must visit to complete its own assembly;
• constructing a sequence in which to visit each of the plurality of assembly stations as a function of the model and configuration information;
• commanding the drive system to propel and steer the partially assembled vehicle through the sequence of the plurality of assembly stations, responsive to sensor data from the safety sensor guidance system;
• determining, when the partially assembled vehicle is at each assembly station in the sequence, that an assembly associated with the assembly station was completed upon passing a respective in-station diagnostic test;
• wherein, commanding the drive system is further a function of determining, for a current assembly station, that the assembly associated with the current assembly station was completed;
• modifying the sequence, responsive to receiving a repair data package from the at least one external fleet controller;
• preventing operation of the drive system responsive to detecting an activation of the estop device;
• and
• ending the temporary takeover upon determining that the partially assembled vehicle has autonomously completed its own assembly;
• and
• alert the external fleet control source upon determining that the partially assembled vehicle has autonomously completed its own assembly;
• wherein the in-station diagnostic test is initiated based on instructions from the external fleet controller that controls the partially assembled vehicle system along with additional partially assembled vehicle systems belong to the same fleet, and wherein the partially assembled vehicle system is instructed by the external fleet controller to proceed to a designated repair station instead of the next assembly station in sequence when it is determined that the partially assembled vehicle system has failed the in-station diagnostic test, and wherein the repair station is configured to swap out non-current versions of one or more vehicle components for the partially assembled vehicle system.

A safety sensor guidance system for temporary use on a partially assembled vehicle that autonomously transports itself through a process and completes its own assembly, the safety sensor guidance system comprising:

• an auxiliary navigation sensor;
• a sensor configured to detect intrusion into a predetermined range;
• an estop device;
• and
• a communication fabric in operational communication with the auxiliary navigation sensor, the sensor, and the estop device, the communication fabric configured to receive a begin data package from an external source and, responsive thereto, begin a temporary takeover of a central platform controller, wherein the external source is external to the partially assembled vehicle and is configured to communicate with a fleet of partially assembled vehicles,
• wherein the temporary takeover includes the steps of:
• commanding the drive system to propel and steer the partially assembled vehicle through a sequence of a plurality of assembly stations, wherein the sequence is determined as a function of a model and configuration information received as a part of the begin data package;
• receiving, from the central platform controller, a determination, when the partially assembled vehicle is at each assembly station in the sequence, that an assembly associated with the assembly station was completed upon passing a respective in-station diagnostic test;
• further commanding the drive system as a function of the determination, for a current assembly station, that the assembly associated with the current assembly station was completed;
• modifying the sequence to include a repair station, responsive to receiving a repair data package from the external source;
• preventing operation of the drive system responsive to detecting an activation of the estop device;
• determining that the partially assembled vehicle has autonomously completed its own assembly upon determining that the partially assembled vehicle has completed the sequence;
• and
• ending the temporary takeover upon determining that the partially assembled vehicle has autonomously completed its own assembly;
• wherein the in-station diagnostic test is initiated based on instructions from the external fleet controller that controls the partially assembled vehicle system along with additional partially assembled vehicle systems belong to the same fleet, and wherein the partially assembled vehicle system is instructed by the external fleet controller to proceed to the repair station instead of the next assembly station in sequence when it is determined that the partially assembled vehicle system has failed the in-station diagnostic test, and wherein the repair station is configured to swap out non-current versions of one or more vehicle components for the partially assembled vehicle system.