Remote vehicle control system
First Claim
1. An apparatus for controlling the movements of a vehicle having on-board controls for independently controlling the course and heading of the vehicle in response to a remote operator'"'"'s control and an on-board camera/video transmitter for recording and transmitting a video stream of the camera'"'"'s view of the physical environment within which the vehicle is operating, comprising:
- a gamepad including a first joystick and a second joystick and having a plurality of outputs responsive to user-controlled movements of each joystick and user-controlled buttons;
a processor including a control mapping algorithm and a remote vehicle controller, wherein the control mapping algorithm maps the gamepad outputs to the remote-controlled vehicle course, heading, and displacement wherein the first joystick is mapped to provide an open loop directional control over steering of the vehicle and the second joystick is mapped to provide an open loop directional control over offset of the vehicle to thereby provide an open-loop control over the vehicle course and heading, and the remote vehicle controller sends commands to the on-board controls to direct the movement of the remote vehicle; and
a display for receiving the video stream and displaying the movement of the vehicle to the operator.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for remotely controlling the movements of a vehicle includes a user input means, such as a gamepad with a plurality of joystick-controlled and button-controlled outputs, a tracker, and optional sliding foot pedals; a processor for running a control mapping algorithm; and a remote vehicle controller. A control mapping algorithm maps the outputs to the remote-controlled vehicle'"'"'s course, heading, displacement, and camera view, with the joysticks mapped to provide open loop directional control over the vehicle'"'"'s course and heading, the tracker providing open loop control over the camera view, and the optional sliding foot pedals providing open loop control over the vehicle'"'"'s displacement. The remote vehicle controller sends commands to on-board controls to direct the vehicle'"'"'s movement. A video stream from an on-board camera is transmitted back to the operator station for viewing on a computer desktop display or a head mountable display.
154 Citations
39 Claims
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1. An apparatus for controlling the movements of a vehicle having on-board controls for independently controlling the course and heading of the vehicle in response to a remote operator'"'"'s control and an on-board camera/video transmitter for recording and transmitting a video stream of the camera'"'"'s view of the physical environment within which the vehicle is operating, comprising:
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a gamepad including a first joystick and a second joystick and having a plurality of outputs responsive to user-controlled movements of each joystick and user-controlled buttons;
a processor including a control mapping algorithm and a remote vehicle controller, wherein the control mapping algorithm maps the gamepad outputs to the remote-controlled vehicle course, heading, and displacement wherein the first joystick is mapped to provide an open loop directional control over steering of the vehicle and the second joystick is mapped to provide an open loop directional control over offset of the vehicle to thereby provide an open-loop control over the vehicle course and heading, and the remote vehicle controller sends commands to the on-board controls to direct the movement of the remote vehicle; and
a display for receiving the video stream and displaying the movement of the vehicle to the operator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A control mapping system for mapping a plurality of a user-controlled dual joystick gamepad outputs to a movement of a vehicle in a physical environment, comprising:
a control mapping algorithm for mapping the user-controlled movements of a first joystick and a second joystick to a vehicle course, heading, and displacement wherein the first joystick is mapped to provide an open loop directional control over steering of the vehicle and the second joystick is mapped to provide an open loop directional control over offset of the vehicle to thereby provide an open-loop control over the vehicle'"'"'s course and heading. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for controlling the movements of a vehicle using a gamepad including a first joystick and a second joystick and having a plurality of outputs responsive to user-controlled movements of each joystick and user-controlled buttons, comprising:
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recording and transmitting a video stream of the vehicle'"'"'s camera view of the physical environment within which the vehicle is operating to a processor;
programming the processor with a control mapping algorithm for mapping the user-controlled movements of each joystick to a vehicle course, heading, and displacement wherein the first joystick is mapped to provide a steering control of the vehicle and the second joystick is mapped to provide an offset control of the vehicle to thereby provide an open-loop control over the vehicle;
transmitting a vehicle control signal to on-board vehicle controls; and
displaying the movement of the vehicle in the physical environment. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. An apparatus for controlling the movements of a vehicle having on-board controls for independently controlling the course and heading of the vehicle in response to a remote operator'"'"'s control and an on-board camera/video transmitter for recording and transmitting a video stream of the camera'"'"'s view of the physical environment within which the vehicle is operating, comprising:
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a pair of dual-axis directional input control devices having a plurality of outputs responsive to user-controlled operations of the directional control axes and user-controlled buttons;
a processor for running a remote vehicle control software program which sends commands to the vehicle'"'"'s on-board controls to direct the movement of the remote vehicle;
a control mapping algorithm for mapping the outputs of the directional input control devices to the vehicle'"'"'s course and heading, wherein the directional control axes are mapped to provide open loop directional control of the vehicle'"'"'s course and heading; and
a display for receiving the video stream and displaying the view from the vehicle'"'"'s cameras to the operator. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification