Sensor fusion system for vehicle autonomy in a theme park

An autonomous navigation system for use in conjunction with a ride vehicle, said system comprising:

• an off-board sensor system for generating off-board sensor data of a surrounding of said ride vehicle, wherein said off-board sensor system is situated apart from said ride vehicle;
• a sensor data receiver module for receiving said off-board sensor data;
• an on-board sensor system for generating on-board sensor data of said surrounding, wherein said on-board sensor system is situated in said ride vehicle;
• a sensor data fusion module for performing a data fusion process on said off-board sensor data and said on-board sensor data to generate fused sensor data;
• a navigation module for determining a course of said ride vehicle based on said fused sensor data.

A method for use by a ride vehicle for enabling autonomous navigation, said method comprising:

• receiving off-board sensor data in a sensor data receiver module, wherein said off-board sensor data is generated from an off-board sensor system situated apart from said ride vehicle;
• providing on-board sensor data to said sensor data receiver module, wherein said on-board sensor data is generated from an on-board sensor system situated in said ride vehicle;
• fusing said off-board sensor data and said on-board sensor data to generate fused sensor data;
• and
• navigating said ride vehicle based on said fused sensor data.