Remote Vehicle

• US 20110054717A1
• Filed: 08/09/2010
• Published: 03/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Flir Detection, Inc. (Teledyne Technologies Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: iRobot Corporation
• Inventors: Massey, Kent Conway, YAMAUCHI, Brian Masao, Lafferty, David Aaron
• Granted Patent: US 8,527,113 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/2
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 17/342 having a longitudinal, endless element, e.g. belt or chain, for transmitting drive to wheels
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0038 by providing the operator with simple or augmented images from one or more cameras located onboard the vehicle, e.g. tele-operation images analyzed by a computer and used for automatic navigation G05D1/0246

Abstract

A system for providing enhanced operator control of a remote vehicle driving at increased speeds comprises: a head-mounted display configured to be worn by the operator and track a position of the operator'"'"'s head; a head-aimed camera mounted to the remote vehicle via a pan/tilt mechanism and configured to pan and tilt in accordance with the position of the operator'"'"'s head, the head-aimed camera transmitting video to be displayed to the operator via the head-mounted display; and a computer running a behavior engine, the computer receiving input from the operator and one or more sensors, and being configured to utilize the behavior engine, operator input, sensor input, and one or more autonomous and/or semi-autonomous behaviors to assist the operator in driving the remote vehicle. The remote vehicle includes releasably mounted wheels and high-friction tracks.

Claims

1. A remote vehicle comprising:

a chassis;

a main track drive shaft spanning a width of the chassis;

at least one other shaft spanning a width of the chassis substantially parallel to the main track drive shaft;

first and second hubs connected to the main track drive shaft on opposite sides of the main track drive shaft, and third and fourth hubs connected to the other shaft on opposite sides of the other shaft, the first and second hubs being rotated by the main track drive shaft, the first and third hubs being located on a first side of the remote vehicle and the second and fourth hubs being located on a second side of the remote vehicle;

a first main track surrounding, engaging, and extending between the first and third hubs on a first side of the chassis, and a second main track surrounding, engaging, and extending between the second and fourth hubs on a second side of the chassis, the first main track being driven by rotation of the first hub and the second main track being driven by rotation of the third hub; and

a wheel connected directly or indirectly to each of the first, second, third, and fourth hubs, the wheel having a diameter that is greater than a diameter of a hub to which it is connected and being configured to directly contact a driving surface in use.

2. The remote vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a flipper mounted on each side of the remote vehicle, external to each main track of the remote vehicle, each flipper including a high-friction flipper track surrounding a flipper drive hub and a flipper driven hub, an axis of each flipper drive hub being aligned with an axis of an adjacent main track drive hub and being driven by the main track drive shaft.

3. The remote vehicle of claim 2, wherein at least two of the wheels are configured to be mounted to the flipper drive hub at a location outside of the flippers.

4. The remote vehicle of claim 2, wherein at least two of the wheels are configured to be mounted between a main track drive hub and a flipper drive hub.

5. The remote vehicle of claim 1, wherein each wheel releasably engages a respective hub of the remote vehicle.

6. The remote vehicle of claim 5, wherein each wheel comprises a cog and each hub comprises a protrusion, and a coupler is configured to connect each wheel cog to a respective hub protrusion.

7. The remote vehicle of claim 6, wherein the coupler is generally cylindrical, having inner teeth configured to engage teeth provided on the protrusion of the hub.

8. The remote vehicle of claim 7, wherein the inner teeth of the coupler also engage teeth provided on the cog of the wheel, and wherein the coupler allows rotation of each hub to be transferred to a respective wheel.

9. The remote vehicle of claim 8, further comprising a quick release mechanism configured to releasable lock each wheel to a respective hub.

10. The remote vehicle of claim 9, wherein the quick release mechanism comprises a lever that pivots to lock the wheel to a respective hub and release the wheel from the respective hub.

11. The remote vehicle of claim 10, wherein the quick release mechanism further comprises a cylindrical male portion and a plunger.

12. The remote vehicle of claim 11, wherein locking a wheel to a respective hub comprises inserting the cylindrical male portion of the quick release mechanism through the coupler and into an aperture of the respective hub, and pivoting the lever of the quick release mechanism to lock the male portion within the hub aperture.

13. A system for providing enhanced operator control of a remote vehicle driving at increased speeds, the system comprising:

a head-mounted display configured to be worn by the operator and track a position of the operator'"'"'s head;

a head-aimed camera mounted to the remote vehicle via a pan/tilt mechanism and configured to pan and tilt in accordance with the position of the operator'"'"'s head, the head-aimed camera transmitting video to be displayed to the operator via the head-mounted display; and

a computer running a behavior engine, the computer receiving input from the operator and one or more sensors, and being configured to utilize the behavior engine, operator input, sensor input, and one or more autonomous and/or semi-autonomous behaviors to assist the operator in driving the remote vehicle.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the autonomous and/or semi-autonomous behaviors comprise an obstacle avoidance behavior.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the autonomous and/or semi-autonomous behaviors comprise a street-following behavior.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the autonomous and/or semi-autonomous behaviors comprise a perimeter-following behavior.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the remote vehicle comprises wheels configured to directly contact a driving surface.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the remote vehicle also comprises main tracks configured to directly contact a driving surface, each main track being driven by a drive hub and extending between the drive hub and a driven hub, and wherein the wheels are releasably mounted to the drive hubs and the driven hubs.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the remote vehicle also comprises a flipper mounted on each side of the remote vehicle, outside of each main track of the remote vehicle, the flipper including a high-friction track surrounding a flipper drive hub and a flipper driven hub, an axis of each flipper drive hub being aligned with an axis of an adjacent main track drive hub and being driven by the main track drive shaft.

20. A method for operating a remote vehicle comprising both high-friction tracks and wheels having a diameter that is greater than hubs around which the high-friction tracks extend, each wheel being selectively engaged with a corresponding hub, the method comprising:

driving the remote vehicle to a destination at a high speed using a head-aimed camera and a head-mounted display while the wheels are selectively engaged;

jettisoning the wheels upon arriving at the destination; and

driving remote vehicle at a slower speed using the high-friction tracks after the wheels have been jettisoned.