Traveling control method, medium, and apparatus for autonomous navigation

• US 7,734,385 B2
• Filed: 03/07/2005
• Issued: 06/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Hyunjin, Park, Yonggook, Bang, Seokwon, Yang, Gyunghye
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Cuong H
• Application Number:
  US11/072,435
• Publication Number:
  US 20050197752A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,919 Days
• Field of Search: 701/11, 701/14, 701/200, 701/23, 701/213, 180/168
• US Class Current: 701/23
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0261 using magnetic plots
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0272 comprising means for registering the travel distance, e.g. revolutions of wheels measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles, e.g. using odometers G01C22/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30

Abstract

A traveling control method, medium, and apparatus for autonomous navigation. The traveling control method of controlling an autonomous navigation machine, having at least on the right and left sides thereof at least first and second receivers that receive a radio signal transmitted from a transmitter disposed at a specific position in a traveling area, the method includes allowing at least one of the first and second receivers to receive the radio signal, recognizing a command included in the received radio signal, acquiring data indicating a size of a recognizable area reached by the radio signal and a position of the transmitter while the autonomous navigation machine moves along the border of the recognizable area, and executing the recognized command in the recognizable area.

Claims

1. A traveling control system of an autonomous navigation machine, the system comprising:

a receiving unit including at least first and second receivers for receiving a radio signal; and

a controlling unit to determine a traveling mode and a turning angle according to a determination by the controlling unit of whether the radio signal has been received from one of the at least first and second receivers or both of the at least first and second receivers and to control a traveling of the autonomous navigation machine to travel along a border of a recognizable area corresponding to the radio signal according to the determined traveling mode and turning angle.

2. The traveling control system according to claim 1 further comprising a transmitting unit disposed at a specific position in a traveling area and transmitting the radio signal.

3. The traveling control system according to claim 1, wherein the controlling unit further executes a command included in the radio signal.

4. The traveling control system according to claim 1, wherein the controlling unit comprises:

a traveling mode and turning angle determining unit that determines the traveling mode and the turning angle corresponding to the received radio signal;

a recognition unit that recognizes a command included in the received radio signal; and

a traveling control unit that controls the traveling of the autonomous navigation machine such that the autonomous navigation machine travels along the border of the recognizable area according to the traveling mode and the turning angle determined by the traveling mode and turning angle determining unit and executes the recognized command in the recognizable area when the radio signal is received by the first or second receiver.

5. The traveling control system according to claim 4, wherein the traveling mode and turning angle determining unit sets the traveling mode to a straight traveling mode when the radio signal is received by the first receiver, changes the traveling mode to a left turn mode when the radio signal is received by both the first and second receivers, and changes the traveling mode to a right turn when the radio signal is not received by either of the first and second receivers.

6. The traveling control system according to claim 4, wherein the traveling mode and turning angle determining unit sets the traveling mode to a straight traveling mode when the radio signal is received by only the second receiver, changes the traveling mode to a right turn mode when the radio signal is received by both the first and second receivers, and changes the traveling mode to a left turn mode when the radio signal is not received by either of the first and second receivers.

7. The traveling control system according to claim 5, wherein when the traveling mode is changed to the left turn mode or the right turn mode, the turning angle is defined by

a=k₁(d/tsr)−

k₂z

wherein a is the turning angle, k1 and k2 are constants, d is a distance between the first receiver and the second receiver, t is a time elapsed when changing a present mode to a subsequent mode in a course of changing the traveling mode, s is a speed of the autonomous navigation machine, r is a radius of the recognizable area, and z denotes a recognition state.

8. The traveling control system according to claim 7, wherein the recognition state is set to 1 when the radio signal is received by both the first and second receivers and is set to 0 when the radio signal is not received by either of the first and second receivers.

9. The traveling control system according to claim 6, wherein when the traveling mode is changed to the left turn mode or the right turn mode, the turning angle is defined by

a=k₁(d/tsr)−

k₂z

wherein a is the turning angle, k₁ and k₂ are constants, d is a distance between the first receiver and the second receiver, t is a time elapsed when changing a present mode to a subsequent mode in a course of changing the traveling mode, s is a speed of the autonomous navigation machine, r is a radius of the recognizable area, and z denotes a recognition state.

10. The traveling control system according to claim 9, wherein the recognition state is set to 1 when the radio signal is received by both the first and second receivers and is set to 0 when the radio signal is not received by either of the first and second receivers.

11. The traveling control system according to claim 1, wherein the traveling control unit modifies map information on the basis of data regarding the recognizable area.