Method and system for mapping environments containing dynamic obstacles
First Claim
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1. A method for mapping an environment containing dynamic obstacles comprising the steps of:
- forming a current instantaneous map of the environment using a processor;
determining free cells which are free-space within the current instantaneous map using the processor;
determining occupied cells which are occupied-space within the current instantaneous map using the processor; and
forming a new integrated map using the processor by integrating the current instantaneous map of the environment with an old integrated map of the environment, the forming includingmarking cells in the new integrated map as free-space or occupied-space based on the corresponding cells in the current instantaneous map andmarking some of unmarked cells in the new integrated map as free-space based at least on the some of the unmarked cells being disposed along a line between a first cell and a second cell, the line being substantially perpendicular to a ground plane.
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a method and system for mapping environments containing dynamic obstacles. In one embodiment, the present invention is a method for mapping an environment containing dynamic obstacles using a processor including the steps of forming a current instantaneous map of the environment, determining cells which are free space within the current instantaneous map, determining cells which are occupied space within the current instantaneous map, and integrating the current instantaneous map with an old integrated map of the environment to form a new integrated map of the environment.
24 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method for mapping an environment containing dynamic obstacles comprising the steps of:
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forming a current instantaneous map of the environment using a processor; determining free cells which are free-space within the current instantaneous map using the processor; determining occupied cells which are occupied-space within the current instantaneous map using the processor; and forming a new integrated map using the processor by integrating the current instantaneous map of the environment with an old integrated map of the environment, the forming including marking cells in the new integrated map as free-space or occupied-space based on the corresponding cells in the current instantaneous map and marking some of unmarked cells in the new integrated map as free-space based at least on the some of the unmarked cells being disposed along a line between a first cell and a second cell, the line being substantially perpendicular to a ground plane. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 15)
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7. A method for mapping an environment of an automobile containing dynamic obstacles comprising the steps of:
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forming a map of the environment at a first time using a processor; determining free-space cells within the map of the environment at the first time using the processor; determining occupied-space cells within the map of the environment at the first time using the processor; and integrating the map of the environment at the first time with a map of the environment at a second time to form an integrated map using the processor by marking cells in the integrated map as free-space or occupied-space based on the corresponding cells in the map of the environment at the first time, marking unmarked cells in the integrated map as free-space which are below a first cell and above a second cell, have a same associated horizontal distance as the first cell, and which are located in a vertical line including the first cell that is substantially perpendicular to a ground plane and marking remaining unmarked cells as free-space, occupied-space, or unknown-space based on the corresponding cells in the map of the environment at the second time. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 16)
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12. A system in an automobile for mapping an environment containing dynamic obstacles comprising:
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a sensor unit configured to collect environmental data; a location unit connected to the sensor unit, the location unit configured to output location data of the sensor in relation to the environment; and a control unit connected to the sensor unit and the location unit, the control unit configured to generate a new integrated map of the environment by generating a current instantaneous map of the environment formed from the environmental data collected by the sensor, marking cells in the new integrated map as free-space or occupied-space based on the corresponding cells in the current instantaneous map and marking unmarked cells in the new integrated map as free-space based at least on the unmarked cells being disposed along a line between a first cell and a second cell, the line being substantially perpendicular to a ground plane. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 17, 18)
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Specification