Autonomous Control Device

• US 20150309485A1
• Filed: 03/11/2013
• Published: 10/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: NISHI, Masataka
• Granted Patent: US 9,983,553 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/09 Taking automatic action to avoid collision, e.g. braking and steering
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 13/026 using a predictor
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0088 characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours using knowledge based models G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/58 Recognition of moving objects or obstacles, e.g. vehicles or pedestrians; Recognition of traffic objects, e.g. traffic signs, traffic lights or roads
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/1983 Syntactic or structural pattern recognition, e.g. symbolic string recognition

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide an autonomous system that realizes expected operation in a form in which the soundness of the operation can be proved to a third party in adaptation to an external factor that dynamically varies and to enhance a working ratio in autonomous operation. The autonomous system is provided with a function for dynamically leading a satisfiable combination of a requirement for the soundness of operation and expected operation on the basis of the information of operating environment acquired via exterior world measurement means, a function for generating control logic for realizing the expected operation, a function for recording the control logic, the requirement for sound operation and the expected operation, and a function for presenting the record in a form in which the third party can read the record.

Claims

1-6. -6. (canceled)

7. An autonomous control device that generates operation control logic for realizing operation adapted to an internal state of an autonomous system and an external factor acquired by exterior world measurement means in open external environment on the basis of operation control logic stored in a recording unit and instructs the autonomous system to operate, comprising:

an autonomous operation control unit that determines the existence of operation control logic for realizing both expected operation and requirements for the soundness of operation on the basis of a constraint corresponding to an external factor acquired from the exterior world measurement means and an internal state of the autonomous system and a constraint related to the expected operation demanded for the autonomous system and the soundness of the operation every time the operation control logic is sequentially reconstructed, generates the operation control logic of the autonomous system and control logic of a drive device that configures the autonomous system, correlates the generated operation control logic with information acquired from the exterior world measurement means, writes it to the recording unit as a generation record of the operation control logic, and instructs the drive device to operate on the basis of the control logic; and

an expected operation determination unit that designates the expected operation demanded for the autonomous system on the basis of a result of the determination of the expected operation and the soundness of the operation by the autonomous operation control unit.

8. The autonomous control device according to claim 7,

wherein the constraint is a constraint with a relaxing condition on which the constraint is relaxed according to a satisfied state of each constraint;

and

the autonomous operation control unit determines the satisfiability of the expected operation and generates control logic corresponding to the instruction of operation in respective cases at satisfiable time and at unsatisfiable time.

9. The autonomous control device according to claim 8,

wherein the autonomous operation control unit receives a constraint in the form of a logical expression or temporal logic including the logical expression and a restriction form including an allowable limit of relaxation;

and

the autonomous control device is provided with;

first conversion means that converts an internal state of the autonomous system and an external factor in open external environment into the restriction form and generates a list of the converted restriction forms; and

second conversion means that converts sound operation which is operation that meets the expected operation and the soundness to a restriction form and generates a list of the converted restriction forms.

10. The autonomous control device according to claim 9,

wherein the control logic is sequentially generated and the expected operation is realized when operation control logic for realizing both a requirement for the sound operation and the expected operation exists;

and

the autonomous operation control unit specifies a factor of unsatisfiability in the list of restriction forms when no operation control logic exists, selects the list of restriction forms to recover sound operation while satisfying the allowable limit of relaxation of the relaxing condition, and generates operation control logic.

11. The autonomous control device according to claim 8,

wherein the autonomous control device presents contents of operation control logic to a presentation device when the sound expected operation can be realized, and the autonomous control device presents a factor to the presentation device when the sound expected operation cannot be realized.

12. A moving body provided with the autonomous control device according to claim 9,

wherein the expected operation is an instruction to travel at specified speed, and the sound operation is operation for avoiding contact with another moving body or an obstruction around the moving body, comprising a function for controlling traveling speed and an orbit of the moving body to make the expected operation and the sound operation compatible.