Populating geospatial database for onboard intelligent vehicle applications

• US 7,552,008 B2
• Filed: 07/17/2002
• Issued: 06/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Regents of The University of Minnesota (University of Minnesota), University of Minnesota
• Original Assignee: Regents of The University of Minnesota (University of Minnesota)
• Inventors: Shankwitz, Craig R., Newstrom, Bryan J., Donath, Max
• Primary Examiner(s): To; Tuan C
• Application Number:
  US10/197,273
• Publication Number:
  US 20030023614A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,533 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701/96, 701/301, 701/207, 342/165, 340/988, 340/902, 340/903, 340/435, 340/444, 340/441, 340/467, 340/465, 180/170, 180/282, 404/94, 707/104.1, 707/100, 382/210
• US Class Current: 701/207
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

The present invention is an apparatus and a method for populating a geospatial road database. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a geospatial database management system is mounted on a host vehicle and manages geospatial data relating to a travel path for the host vehicle. The embodiment further comprises a geospatial database to store data elements indicative of objects and their location. The embodiment further comprises a database manager component to maintain the geospatial database and receive database queries from a driver assist subsystem. The embodiment further comprises a database developer component is configured to develop the data elements in the geospatial database and receive database inputs from a lane level digitizer subsystem configured to receive inputs from a plurality of sensors mounted on the host vehicle. Finally, the embodiment comprises the plurality of sensors may include a Digital Global Positioning System, a digital camera, and a scanning range sensor. The present invention includes a method for implementing the steps performed by the embodiment of the apparatus.

Claims

1. A geospatial database generation system (GDGS), mounted on a host vehicle, generating geospatial data relating to travel paths having one or more lanes, comprising:

a database developer component including a lane level data system configured to receive sensor inputs from a plurality of sensors mounted on the host vehicle including a location sensor input indicating a location of the host vehicle in three-dimensional space, and to develop data elements in the geospatial database based on the inputs, the data elements being indicative of objects and a location of the objects in three dimensional space, the objects having a lane-level resolution, wherein the plurality of sensors includes an object sensor configured to sense an object, and wherein the database developer component is configured to generate the data elements from the sensor inputs from the plurality of sensors as data objects having an attribute portion and a spatial data portion, the attribute portion including attributes indicative of the data object and the spatial data portion including data indicative of the location of the object in three dimensional space.

2. The GDGS of claim 1, wherein the lane level data system generates the data elements such that the location has an accuracy of at least one decimeter.

3. The GDGS of claim 1, further comprising a Differential GPS (DGPS) receiver configured to generate the location sensor input.

4. The GDGS of claim 1, wherein the host vehicle is a lane marking machine configured to mark the one or more lanes along the travel path.

5. The GDGS of claim 4, wherein the lane marking machine has an applicator device that applies a marking material to mark the one or more lanes.

6. The GDGS of claim 5, wherein the object sensor includes an actuation sensor sensing actuation of the applicator device.

7. The GDGS of claim 5, wherein the location sensor is mounted on the applicator device to sense a location of the applicator device in three dimensional space.

8. The GDGS of claim 5, wherein the lane marking machine has a plurality of applicator devices that apply marking material at a plurality of locations along the travel path.

9. The GDGS of claim 8, location sensor further comprising a plurality of location sensors each mounted on one of the applicator devices.

10. The GDGS of claim 1, wherein the object sensor includes a digital camera.

11. The GDGS of claim 1, wherein the object sensor includes a scanning range sensor.

12. The GDGS of claim 1, further comprising a location sensor configured to generate the location sensor input, wherein the location sensor is spatially offset from the object sensor and wherein the database developer accounts for the offset in generating the data elements.

13. The GDGS of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors includes a plurality of object sensors for sensing objects.

14. The GDGS of claim 1, wherein the sensor inputs include a LaneBoundary object representative of a roadway lane boundary.

15. The GDGS of claim 1, wherein the sensor inputs include a RoadShoulder object representative of a roadway shoulder.

16. The GDGS of claim 1, wherein the sensor inputs include a RoadIsland object representative of a roadway island.

17. The GDGS of claim 1, wherein the sensor inputs include a LaneCenter object representative of a roadway lane center.

18. The GDGS of claim 1, wherein the sensor inputs include objects representative of structures adjacent to the travel paths.

19. The GDGS of claim 18, wherein the sensor inputs are representative of one or more of mailboxes, jersey barriers, guard rails, bridge abutments, tunnel walls, ground plane and ceiling, curbs, curb cutouts, fire hydrants, light posts, traffic signal posts, sign and sign posts, pavement edge, drop-off, and other of the structures adjacent to the travel paths.

20. The GDGS of claim 1, wherein one or more of the sensor inputs are calculated from one or more other of the sensor inputs.

21. A geospatial database generation system (GDGS), mounted on a host vehicle, generating geospatial data relating to travel paths having one or more lanes, comprising:

a database developer component including a lane level data system configured to receive sensor inputs from a plurality of sensors mounted on the host vehicle including a location sensor input from a location sensor indicating a location of the host vehicle in three-dimensional space, and to develop data elements in the geospatial database based on the inputs, the data elements being indicative of objects and a location of the objects in thee dimensional space, the objects having a lane-level resolution, wherein the plurality of sensors includes an object sensor configured to sense an object, and wherein the location sensor is spatially offset from the object sensor and wherein the database developer accounts for the offset in generating the data elements.

22. The GDGS of claim 21, wherein the host vehicle is a lane marking machine configured to mark the one or more lanes along the travel path.

23. The GDGS of claim 21, wherein the object sensor includes a digital camera.

24. The GDGS of claim 21, wherein the object sensor includes a scanning range sensor.

25. The GDGS of claim 21, wherein the database developer component is configured to generate the data elements from the sensor inputs from the plurality of sensors as data objects having an attribute portion and a spatial data portion, the attribute portion including attributes indicative of the data object and the spatial data portion including data indicative of the location of the object in three dimensional space.

26. The GDGS of claim 25, wherein the sensor inputs include a LaneBoundary object representative of a roadway lane boundary.

27. The GDGS of claim 25, wherein the sensor inputs include a LaneCenter object representative of a roadway lane center.

28. The GDGS of claim 25, wherein the sensor inputs include objects representative of structures adjacent to the travel paths.

29. A geospatial database generation system (GDGS), mounted on a host vehicle, generating geospatial data relating to travel paths having one or more lanes, comprising:

a database developer component including a lane level data system configured to receive sensor inputs from a plurality of sensors mounted on the host vehicle including a location sensor input from a location sensor indicating a location of the host vehicle in three-dimensional space, and to develop data elements in the geospatial database based on the inputs, the data elements being indicative of objects and a location of the objects in three dimensional space, the objects having a lane-level resolution, wherein the plurality of sensors includes an object sensor configured to sense an object, and wherein the database developer component is configured to generate the data elements from the sensor inputs from the plurality of sensors as data objects having an attribute portion and a spatial data portion, the attribute portion including attributes indicative of the data object and the spatial data portion including data indicative of the location of the object in three dimensional space.

30. The GDGS of claim 29, wherein the host vehicle is a lane marking machine configured to mark the one or more lanes along the travel path.

31. The GDGS of claim 29, wherein the object sensor includes a digital camera.

32. The GDGS of claim 29, wherein the object sensor includes a scanning range sensor.

33. The GDGS of claim 29, wherein the location sensor is spatially offset from the object sensor and wherein the database developer accounts for the offset in generating the data elements.

34. The GDGS of claim 29, wherein the sensor inputs include a LaneBoundary object representative of a roadway lane boundary.

35. The GDGS of claim 29, wherein the sensor inputs include a LaneCenter object representative of a roadway lane center.