Sensor-fusion navigator for automated guidance of off-road vehicles

• US 6,445,983 B1
• Filed: 07/07/2000
• Issued: 09/03/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Blue Leaf IP Incorporated (CNH Industrial N.V.), CNH America Llc (CNH Industrial N.V.), University of Illinois
• Original Assignee: Case Corporation (CNH Industrial N.V.)
• Inventors: Noguchi, Noboru, Will, Jeffrey D., Zhang, Qin, Reid, John F., Dickson, Monte A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hernandez, Olga
• Application Number:
  US09/611,510
• Time in Patent Office: 788 Days
• Field of Search: 701/23, 701/36, 701/50, 701/200, 701/213
• US Class Current: 701/23
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 69/008 automatic
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/1656 with passive imaging devices, e.g. cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0246 using a video camera in combination with image processing means
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/027 comprising intertial navigation means, e.g. azimuth detector inertial navigation G01C21/16; inertial navigation combined with non-inertial navigation instruments G01C21/165
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0278 using satellite positioning signals, e.g. GPS

Abstract

An automatically guided agricultural vehicle with multiple sensors is disclosed. The automatically guided agricultural vehicle includes guidance parameter identification using multi-sensor data fusion for real-time vehicle guidance. To insure robust navigation, a map-based guidance and sensor-based guidance are disclosed and integrated because no individual sensing technology is ideally suited for vehicle automation under all modes of use. The appropriate sensor and operational mode will depend on the field status of time or operation. A fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) and a real-time kinematic GPS (RTK-GPS) and machine vision are added to the guidance system in order to improve reliability of the system for vehicle guidance. The navigator includes key functions of selecting control mode, correcting position by vehicle roll/pitch inclinations, Kalman filtering, and calculating a steering angle.

Claims

1. An automatic guidance system for an agricultural vehicle, the guidance system comprising:

at least two sensors configured to gather information representative of at least one of vehicle relative position and attitude wherein at least one of the sensors is a vision sensor;

an information processor having a memory and a central processing unit, and the information processor coupled to the at least two sensors; and

a program in the memory of the information processor configured to be executed by the central processing unit, the program configured to select a mode of operation, from at least two modes of operation, based on the information from the at least one sensor, each mode of operation running a different control program, wherein the at least two modes of operation includes a vision mode.

2. The guidance system of claim 1, wherein the at least two sensors includes a global positioning system receiver.

9. The guidance system of claim 1, wherein the vision mode of operation is given greatest priority.

3. An automatic guidance system for an agricultural vehicle, the guidance system comprising:

at least two sensors configured to gather information representative of at least one of vehicle relative position and attitude wherein at least one of the sensors is a gyroscope;

an information processor having a memory and a central processing unit, and the information processor coupled to the at least two sensors; and

a program in the memory of the information processor configured to be executed by the central processing unit, the program configured to select a mode of operation, from at least two modes of operation, based on the information from the at least one sensor, each mode of operation running a different control program, wherein the gyroscope is a fiber optic gyroscope.

4. The guidance system of claim 3, wherein the at least two modes of operation includes a gyroscope mode.

5. The guidance system of claim 3, wherein the at least two sensors includes a global positioning system receiver.

6. The guidance system of claim 5, wherein the at least two modes of operation includes a combined global positioning system receiver and gyroscope mode.

7. The guidance system of claim 6, wherein the combined global positioning system receiver and gyroscope mode uses a Kalman filter.

8. The guidance system of claim 3, wherein the program is configured to select a mode of operation by using a rule-based methodology.