Autonomous mobile machine, and system and method for controlling a mobile machine
First Claim
1. An autonomous mobile machine comprising:
- (a) a sensing unit for outputting signals related to a distance and an angle between the machine and a path to be traced the sensing unit further outputting signals related to an obstacle-free space, the obstacle-free space being the space in which the machine can move freely between a first and second sampling time;
(b) means for obtaining intermediate control outputs by using a navigation procedure for path tracing in accordance with signals related to the distance and angle;
(c) means for obtaining intermediate control outputs by using a navigation procedure for obstacle avoidance in accordance with signals related to the obstacle-free space;
(d) means for determining a first weighting coefficient for path tracing and a second weighting coefficient for obstacle avoidance by inference based on a set of fuzzy rules in accordance with the signals related to the distance and angle and the signals related the obstacle-free space;
(e) means for computing a set of computed control outputs from the intermediate outputs obtained by said means (c), those obtained by the means (d), a first coefficient, and a second coefficient; and
(f) a drive system for driving the machine in accordance with the set of computed control outputs.
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Abstract
The present apparatus, control system, and method for navigating is used to navigate a mobile machine accurately along a traced path so that the machine avoids collisions with obstacles. Intermediate control outputs are generated not only in accordance with a signal indicative of a distance and angle from a path to be traced according to a navigation procedure for path tracing, but also in response to a signal related to the obstacle-free space ahead of the machine according to a navigation procedure for obstacle avoidance. Weighting coefficients respective for the two procedures are generated by fuzzy inference based on signals indicating the distance and angle from the predetermined path and signals related to the obstacle-free space ahead of the machine. Final control outputs are computed in accordance with the two intermediate outputs and the two weighting coefficients. Regardless of the number of obstacles a mobile machine comes across while moving along a path, and of whether or not they are moving, the mobile machine can avoid them reliably and smoothly.
123 Citations
19 Claims
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1. An autonomous mobile machine comprising:
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(a) a sensing unit for outputting signals related to a distance and an angle between the machine and a path to be traced the sensing unit further outputting signals related to an obstacle-free space, the obstacle-free space being the space in which the machine can move freely between a first and second sampling time; (b) means for obtaining intermediate control outputs by using a navigation procedure for path tracing in accordance with signals related to the distance and angle; (c) means for obtaining intermediate control outputs by using a navigation procedure for obstacle avoidance in accordance with signals related to the obstacle-free space; (d) means for determining a first weighting coefficient for path tracing and a second weighting coefficient for obstacle avoidance by inference based on a set of fuzzy rules in accordance with the signals related to the distance and angle and the signals related the obstacle-free space; (e) means for computing a set of computed control outputs from the intermediate outputs obtained by said means (c), those obtained by the means (d), a first coefficient, and a second coefficient; and (f) a drive system for driving the machine in accordance with the set of computed control outputs. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19)
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16. A control apparatus for navigating a mobile machine comprising:
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means for obtaining intermediate control outputs in accordance with signals related to a distance and an angle between the machine and a path to be traced according to a navigation procedure for path tracing; means for obtaining intermediate control outputs in accordance with signals related to an obstacle-free space according to the navigation procedure for obstacle avoidance; means for determining a first weighting coefficient for path tracing and a second weighting coefficient for obstacle avoidance by inference based on a set of fuzzy rules in response to the signals related to distance and angle and the signals related to obstacle-free space; and means for computing control outputs from a set of intermediate outputs obtained by the navigation procedure for path tracing, those obtained by the navigation procedure for obstacle avoidance, the first coefficient, and the second coefficient.
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17. A control method for navigating a mobile machine comprising the steps of:
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obtaining intermediate control outputs in accordance with information related to a distance and one or more angles between the machine and a path to be traced according to a navigation procedure for path tracing; obtaining intermediate control outputs in accordance with information related to an obstacle-free space according to the navigation procedure for obstacle avoidance; determining a first weighting coefficient for path tracing and a second weighting coefficient for obstacle avoidance in accordance with said information related to the distance and angle and said information related to the obstacle-free space; and computing control outputs in accordance with the intermediate outputs obtained by said navigation procedure for path tracing, the first weighting coefficient, the intermediate outputs obtained by said navigation procedure for obstacle avoidance, and the second weighting coefficient.
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18. A control system comprising:
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a sensing unit for outputting different kinds of signals indicating one or more control parameters for calculating the weighting coefficients; means for generating intermediate control outputs according to a first control procedure in accordance with at least one kind of signal; means for generating intermediate control outputs according to a second control procedure in accordance with at least one other kind of signal; means for generating a first weighting coefficient for the first control procedure and a second weighting coefficient for the second control procedure by fuzzy inference in accordance with the kinds of signals used in the first and second control procedures; and means for computing control outputs in accordance with the intermediate outputs obtained by first control procedure, the first weighting coefficient, the intermediate outputs obtained by second control procedure, and the second weighting coefficient.
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Specification