US 2017/0322556 A9 · AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE OPERATION

Abstract

A method for an autonomous vehicle to follow a target is provided. The method may include obtaining a position and a velocity of a target and obtaining a position of an autonomous vehicle. The method may also include obtaining a path that encloses the position of the target and determining a path rate for the autonomous vehicle to move along the path based on the velocity of the target. The method may also include determining a path position along the path based on the position of the autonomous vehicle and determining a change in the position of the autonomous vehicle based on the path position, the path rate, and the velocity of the target. The method may also include adjusting a velocity and a direction of the autonomous vehicle to achieve the change in the position of the autonomous vehicle.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method for an autonomous vehicle to follow a target, the method comprising:

obtaining a position and a velocity of a target;
obtaining a position of an autonomous vehicle;
obtaining a path that encloses the position of the target;
determining a path rate for the autonomous vehicle to move along the path based on the velocity of the target;
determining a path position along the path based on the position of the autonomous vehicle;
determining a change in the position of the autonomous vehicle based on the path position, the path rate, and the velocity of the target;
and
adjusting a velocity and a direction of the autonomous vehicle to achieve the change in the position of the autonomous vehicle.

5 more elements

A system for following a target, the system comprising:

a motion tracking device associated with a target, the motion tracking device configured to determine a position and a velocity of the target;
and
an autonomous vehicle configured to follow the target, the autonomous vehicle configured to follow the target by:
obtain the position and the velocity of the target from the motion tracking device;
obtain a position of the autonomous vehicle;
obtain a path that encloses the position of the target;
determine a path rate for the autonomous vehicle to move along the path based on the velocity of the target;
determining a path position along the path based on the position of the autonomous vehicle;
determining a change in the position of the autonomous vehicle based on the path position, the path rate, and the velocity of the target;
and
adjusting a velocity and a direction of the autonomous vehicle to achieve the change in the position of the autonomous vehicle.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application

14/839,174Filed 28 Aug 2015

Priority

20 Jul 2014

Published

9 Nov 2017

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification4 codes

G05D 1/0094
Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots: involving pointing a…
G05D 1/00
Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or
G05D 1/08
Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots: control of attitude, i.e.…
G05D
Systems for controlling or regulating non-electric variables

Family

Application62/026,700Us provisional application · filed 20 Jul 2014

Application62/026,692Us provisional application · filed 20 Jul 2014

Application14/839,174Continuation in part

US 2016/0018822 A1Published application

US 9,690,294 B2Related patent

US 9,798,324 B2Related patent

US 2017/0322556 A9This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

Autonomous vehicle operation

Life of this patent

Autonomous vehicle operation

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20