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Human transport system with dead reckoning facilitating docking

  • US 6,135,228 A
  • Filed: 04/21/1997
  • Issued: 10/24/2000
  • Est. Priority Date: 04/25/1996
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A vehicle for docking against a fixture, the vehicle comprising:

  • a. a ground contacting assembly capable of motion in a plane, the motion being holonomic with respect to three degrees of freedom;

    b. a motor drive for propelling the ground contacting assembly in a predetermined direction;

    c. an instrumented bumper for sensing contact between the vehicle and the fixture; and

    d. a controller for determining a docking trajectory to the fixture, the controller being programmed to react to feedback from the instrumented bumper to control the motor drive such that the vehicle behaves with a variable specified stiffness in each degree of freedom about a determined center of compliance in such a manner as to steer the vehicle to the fixture.

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