AUTONOMOUS MOVING BODY, ITS CONTROL METHOD, AND CONTROL SYSTEM

• US 20100324771A1
• Filed: 01/19/2009
• Published: 12/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Mima, Kazuhiro, Yabushita, Hidenori, Asahara, Yoshiaki
• Granted Patent: US 9,182,762 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/25
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/00 Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots drive control systems specially adapted for autonomous road vehicles B60W60/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/024 in combination with a laser lasers per se H01S
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0246 using a video camera in combination with image processing means
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0261 using magnetic plots
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/027 comprising intertial navigation means, e.g. azimuth detector inertial navigation G01C21/16; inertial navigation combined with non-inertial navigation instruments G01C21/165
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0278 using satellite positioning signals, e.g. GPS

Abstract

To provide an autonomous moving body capable of moving with efficiency along a path toward a travel end point while avoiding a collision with a moving obstacle, its control method, and its control system. An autonomous moving body in accordance with the present invention includes means to create a traveling path of the autonomous moving body that extends from a travel start point to a travel end point, means to calculate a point at which a moving obstacle located within the moving area crosses the created traveling path of the autonomous moving body as a collision prediction point, means to calculate a first passage time period during which the moving obstacle passes through the collision prediction point, and means to calculate a second passage time period during which the autonomous moving body passes through the collision prediction point. Further, if at least a part of the second passage time period overlaps the first passage time period, the traveling speed of the autonomous moving body is adjusted so that the second passage time period does not overlap the first passage time period.

Claims

1. An autonomous moving body that starts traveling from a travel start point located within a moving area and arrives at a travel end point located within the moving area, comprising:

a device to create a traveling path of the autonomous moving body, the traveling path extending from the travel start point to the travel end point;

a device to calculate a point at which a moving obstacle located within the moving area crosses the traveling path of the autonomous moving body as a collision prediction point;

a device to define a time-space coordinate system in which an elapsed time from a current time is indicated on a horizontal axis and a distance from a current position of the autonomous moving body along the traveling path is indicated on a vertical axis;

a device to draw a movement track of the autonomous moving body on the time-space coordinate system;

a device to define, when the moving obstacle passes through the collision prediction point, a square-shaped area containing the moving obstacle for the moving obstacle, and draws an area surrounded by four times and positions as the obstacle occupation area on the time-space coordinate system, each of the four times and positions corresponding to a respective one of four vertices of the square-shaped area as the square-shaped area pass through the traveling path;

a device to determine whether or not the movement track overlaps the obstacle occupation area; and

a device to adjust, if the movement track overlaps the obstacle occupation area in a result of the determination, a traveling speed of the autonomous moving body by decreasing the traveling speed so that the movement track passes through a time and position at which the square-shaped area has completely passed the traveling path and whose value on the vertical axis is smaller than that of any other times and positions among the four times and positions, or increasing the traveling speed so that the movement track passes through a time and position at which the square-shaped area starts to pass the traveling path and whose value on the vertical axis is larger than that of any other times and positions.

7. The autonomous moving body according to claim 1, wherein, after the area having the predetermined shape has completely passed through the traveling path, the device to adjust a traveling speed of the autonomous moving body changes the traveling speed from the adjusted traveling speed to a predetermined traveling speed and performs traveling at the predetermined traveling speed.

8. The autonomous moving body according to claim 1, wherein the device to calculate a point at which the moving obstacle crosses the traveling path of the autonomous moving body comprises:

a device to calculate a movement prediction path of the moving obstacle based on current position information of the moving obstacle and movement direction information, and

a device to calculate an intersection point of the traveling path of the autonomous moving body and the calculated movement prediction path of the moving obstacle as a collision prediction point.

2-6. -6. (canceled)

9-10. -10. (canceled)

11. A control method of an autonomous moving body that starts traveling from a travel start point located within a moving area and arrives at a travel end point located within the moving area, the control method comprising:

creating a traveling path of the autonomous moving body, the traveling path extending from the travel start point to the travel end point;

calculating a point at which a moving obstacle located within the moving area crosses the traveling path of the autonomous moving body as a collision prediction point;

defining a time-space coordinate system in which an elapsed time from a current time is indicated on a horizontal axis and a distance from a current position of the autonomous moving body along the traveling path is indicated on a vertical axis;

drawing a movement track of the autonomous moving body on the time-space coordinate system;

defining a square-shaped area containing the moving obstacle for the moving obstacle;

calculating, when the moving obstacle passes through the collision prediction point, four times and positions each of which corresponding to a respective one of four vertices of the square-shaped area as the square-shaped area passes through the traveling path, and drawing an area surrounded by the calculated four times and positions as the obstacle occupation area on the time-space coordinate system;

determining whether or not the movement track overlaps the obstacle occupation area;

adjusting, if the movement track overlaps the obstacle occupation area in a result of the determination, a traveling speed of the autonomous moving body by decreasing the traveling speed so that the movement track passes through a time and position at which the square-shaped area has completely passed the traveling path and whose value on the vertical axis is smaller than that of any other times and positions among the four times and positions, or increasing the traveling speed so that the movement track passes through a time and position at which the square-shaped area starts to pass the traveling path and whose value on the vertical axis is larger than that of any other times and positions.

14. The control method of an autonomous moving body according to claim 11, wherein, after the area having the predetermined shape has completely passed through the traveling path, the adjusted traveling speed is changed to a predetermined traveling speed and travelling is performed at the predetermined traveling speed.

12-13. -13. (canceled)

15-27. -27. (canceled)

28. An autonomous moving body that starts traveling from a travel start point located within a moving area and arrives at a travel end point located within the moving area, comprising:

a control unit that

creates a traveling path of the autonomous moving body, the traveling path extending from the travel start point to the travel end point,

calculates a point at which a moving obstacle located within the moving area crosses the traveling path of the autonomous moving body as a collision prediction point,

defines a time-space coordinate system in which an elapsed time from a current time is indicated on a horizontal axis and a distance from a current position of the autonomous moving body along the traveling path is indicated on a vertical axis,

draws a movement track of the autonomous moving body on the time-space coordinate system,

defines, when the moving obstacle passes through the collision prediction point, a square-shaped area containing the moving obstacle for the moving obstacle, and draws an area surrounded by four times and positions as the obstacle occupation area on the time-space coordinate system, each of the four times and positions corresponding to a respective one of four vertices of the square-shaped area as the square-shaped area passes through the traveling path;

determines whether or not the movement track overlaps the obstacle occupation area, and

adjusts, if the movement track overlaps the obstacle occupation area as a result of the determination, a traveling speed of the autonomous moving body by decreasing the traveling speed so that the movement track passes through a time and position at which the square-shaped area has completely passed the traveling path and whose value on the vertical axis is smaller than that of any other times and positions among the four times and positions, or increasing the traveling speed so that the movement track passes through a time and position at which the square-shaped area starts to pass the traveling path and whose value on the vertical axis is larger than that of any other times and positions.