System and method for detecting obstacles in the path of a vehicle
First Claim
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1. A scanning system, mounted on a vehicle, for detecting an object in a path of said vehicle, comprising:
- means for producing a beam of energy;
means for scanning said beam of energy through a desired range of angles relative to said vehicle;
means for measuring a distance between said vehicle and the object in the path of said vehicle, comprised of;
means for detecting reflected energy, said reflected energy being produced by a reflection of said beam off of the object,means for storing information associated with said reflected energy, andmeans for processing the associated information to calculate a distance said reflected energy has traveled; and
means for disabling said producing means during a portion of said desired range of angles so that only a fraction of said desired range of angles is scanned and an amount of the associated information that is stored is minimized.
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Abstract
A system (400) for positioning and navigating an autonomous vehicle (310) allows the vehicle (310) to travel between locations. Position information (432) is derived from global positioning system satellites (200, 202, 204, and 206) or other sources (624) when the satellites (200, 202, 204, and 206) are not in the view of the vehicle (310). Navigation of the vehicle (310) is obtained using the position information (432), route information (414), obstacle detection and avoidance data (416), and on board vehicle data (908 and 910).
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A scanning system, mounted on a vehicle, for detecting an object in a path of said vehicle, comprising:
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means for producing a beam of energy; means for scanning said beam of energy through a desired range of angles relative to said vehicle; means for measuring a distance between said vehicle and the object in the path of said vehicle, comprised of; means for detecting reflected energy, said reflected energy being produced by a reflection of said beam off of the object, means for storing information associated with said reflected energy, and means for processing the associated information to calculate a distance said reflected energy has traveled; and means for disabling said producing means during a portion of said desired range of angles so that only a fraction of said desired range of angles is scanned and an amount of the associated information that is stored is minimized. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A scanning method of detecting an object in a path of a vehicle, using a scanner mounted on said vehicle, comprising the steps of:
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(1) producing a beam of energy; (2) scanning said beam of energy through a desired range of angles relative to said vehicle; (3) measuring a distance between said vehicle and the object in the path of said vehicle, comprising the steps of; (a) detecting reflected energy, said reflected energy being produced by a reflection of said beam off of the object, (b) storing information associated with said reflected energy, and (c) processing the associated information to calculate a distance said reflected energy has traveled; and (4) disabling said step of producing during a portion of said desired range of angles so that only a fraction of said desired range of angles is scanned and an amount of the associated information that is stored is minimized. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification