Open terrain navigation systems and methods

• US 10,712,158 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2016
• Issued: 07/14/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elbit Systems Land and C4I - Tadiran Limited (Elbit Systems Limited)
• Original Assignee: Elbit Systems Land and C4I - Tadiran Limited (Elbit Systems Limited)
• Inventors: Zaphir, David, Ariav, Ido, Goldman, Benny
• Primary Examiner(s): Schneider, Paula L
• Application Number:
  US15/758,039
• Publication Number:
  US 20180245922A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,402 Days
• Field of Search: 701428
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/005 with correlation of navigation data from several sources, e.g. map or contour matching G01C21/30 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/04 by terrestrial means G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3461 Preferred or disfavoured areas, e.g. dangerous zones, toll or emission zones, intersections, manoeuvre types, segments such as motorways, toll roads, ferries
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/367 Details, e.g. road map scale, orientation, zooming, illumination, level of detail, scrolling of road map or positioning of current position marker
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/24 Classification techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/05 Geographic models
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30181 Earth observation

Abstract

Navigation systems and methods are provided. A classifier is configured to transform a received image of a terrain into a classified image in which patches of pixels from the received image are represented as being in one of a specified number of material classes, each associated with respective terrain parameters. A physical traversability module is configured to determine, for the material parameters, a terrain topography and given vehicle parameters, a degree of traversability of the vehicle through the terrain as represented by the received image, to yield a traversability map. A routing module is configured to derive traversability measure(s) for route(s) through the classified image and with respect to the traversability map, between a given origin and a given destination or within a region with respect to a user-defined mission. A graphical user interface is configured to display the route(s) according to the traversability measure(s).

Claims

1. A navigation system through a terrain, the system comprising:

at least one sensor mounted on a vehicle and configured to capture terrain-related data,

a classifier configured to receive a terrain-related data comprising at least one image of a terrain and to determine, based on the at least one image of the terrain, at least one classified image of the terrain comprising multiple patches of classified pixels, wherein each patch of classified pixels of the multiple patches of classified pixels is represented as a specific class of a specified number of classes associated with predetermined physical parameters of the respective class;

a physical traversability module configured to

generate, based on the at least one classified image of the terrain, a terrain topography, given vehicle dynamic parameters, and, using a predetermined vehicle physical dynamic model comprising vehicle behavior patterns associated with the physical parameters, a vectorial dynamic physical traversability map of the terrain comprising physical traversability measures of the vehicle at specific points or regions in the terrain in a plurality of directions that include at least two opposite directions and further comprising possible movement directions and possible directions of approach and departure of the vehicle at the specific points or regions and along the specific regions thereof,

a routing module configured to derive, based on the vectorial dynamic physical traversability map of the terrain, at least one route through the terrain, and

a graphical user interface configured to display, upon the at least one image of the terrain, the at least one route according to the movement directions thereof;

wherein the physical traversability module is further configured to determine the physical traversability measures, further based on the captured terrain-related data; and

wherein the physical traversability module is further arranged to apply a full physical simulation of a vehicle'"'"'s motion through the whole at least one route using the predetermined vehicle physical dynamic model and based on the at least one classified image of the terrain, the terrain topography and the given vehicle dynamic parameters, to thereby determine a route information concerning the physicality of the vehicle'"'"'s motion along the at least one route.

2. The navigation system of claim 1, wherein the terrain-related data further comprises at least one of:

a received image, three dimensional reconstruction data, a heights map, infrared data, hyperspectral data, radar data, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data and vector data relating to the terrain.

3. The navigation system of claim 1, further configured to define terrain types by applying machine learning procedures.

4. The navigation system of claim 1, further comprising a movement planner, configured to receive a user movement intention through the terrain and suggest a movement plan comprising a plurality of routes derived by the routing module with respect to specified vehicle parameters and specified constraints.

5. The navigation system of claim 1, wherein the at least one route is a single user-specified route.

6. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the physical traversability module is further configured to update the vectorial dynamic physical traversability map in real-time, based on at least one of:

real-time updates of the terrain topography, and real time user interactions.

7. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the terrain-related data provided to the classifier is the terrain-related data captured by the sensor.

8. The navigation system of claim 1, wherein the routing module is configured to derive the at least one route through the terrain further based on user definitions comprising groups of vehicles of different types for which the corresponding at least one route is planned.

9. A navigation method through a terrain, the method comprising:

receiving a terrain-related data comprising at least one image of a terrain;

determining, based on the at least one image of the terrain, at least one classified image of the terrain comprising multiple patches of classified pixels, wherein each patch of classified pixels of the multiple patches of classified pixels is represented as a specific class of a specified number of classes associated with predetermined physical parameters of the respective class;

generating, based on the at least one classified image of the terrain, a terrain topography and given vehicle dynamic parameters, and using a predetermined vehicle physical dynamic model comprising vehicle behavior patterns associated with the physical parameters, a vectorial dynamic physical traversability map of the terrain comprising physical traversability measures of specific points or regions in the terrain in a plurality of directions that include at least two opposite directions and further comprising possible movement directions and possible directions of approach and departure of the vehicle at the specific points or regions and along the specific regions thereof;

deriving, based on the vectorial dynamic physical traversability map of the terrain, at least one route through the terrain comprising movement directions at specific points or regions in the terrain, and

utilizing a full physical simulation of a vehicle'"'"'s motion to the whole at least one route, using the predetermined vehicle physical dynamic model and based on at least one classified image of the terrain, the terrain topography and the given vehicle dynamic parameters, to thereby determine a route information concerning the physicality of the vehicle'"'"'s motion along the at least one route,

capturing terrain-related data via a vehicle-mounted sensor, and

determining the physical traversability measures further based on the captured terrain-related data.

10. The navigation method of claim 9, wherein the terrain-related data comprises at least one of:

a received image, three dimensional reconstruction data, a heights map, infrared data, hyperspectral data, radar data, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data and vector data relating to the terrain.

11. The navigation method of claim 9, wherein the classification of pixels is carried out pixel-patch-wise.

12. The navigation method of claim 9, further comprising receiving image data from a plurality of sources and incorporating the received image data into the received image.

13. The navigation method of claim 9, further comprising defining terrain types by applying machine learning procedures to the terrain-related data.

14. The navigation method of claim 9, wherein the vectorial dynamic physical traversability map is further carried out with respect to a local height map and a level of moisture.

15. The navigation method of claim 9, further comprising displaying, upon at least one image of the terrain, the at least one route according toll the flat least one physical traversability measure.

16. The navigation method of claim 9, further comprising calculating a movement plan with the derived routes according to a received user movement intention through the terrain, specified vehicle parameters and specified constraints.