Unpredictable vehicle navigation

• US 8,682,521 B2
• Filed: 06/25/2012
• Issued: 03/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Mach, Kimberly, Lutter, Robert P., Olson, Trevor Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TAN QUANG
• Application Number:
  US13/532,537
• Publication Number:
  US 20130345919A1
• Time in Patent Office: 638 Days
• Field of Search: 701/23, 701/3, 701/4, 701/10, 701/26, 701/467, 434/11
• US Class Current: 701/23
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/00 Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots drive control systems specially adapted for autonomous road vehicles B60W60/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0011 associated with a remote control arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0088 characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours using knowledge based models G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/106 Change initiated in response to external conditions, e.g. avoidance of elevated terrain or of no-fly zones
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 7/00 Methods or arrangements for processing data by operating upon the order or content of the data handled logic circuits H03K19/00

Abstract

A system and method for controlling movement of a vehicle. A current state of the vehicle is identified. The current state comprises a current location of the vehicle. A next state for the vehicle is selected by a processor unit. The next state comprises a next location for the vehicle. A value for an attribute of the next state of the vehicle is randomly selected. The movement of the vehicle is controlled to move the vehicle from the current state to the next state.

Claims

1. A method for controlling movement of a vehicle, comprising:

identifying a current state of the vehicle, wherein the current state comprises a current location of the vehicle;

selecting, by a processor unit, a next state for the vehicle, wherein the next state comprises a next location for the vehicle;

using a randomizer to randomly select a value between a range of values for an attribute of the next state of the vehicle; and

controlling the movement of the vehicle to move the vehicle from the current state to the next state.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the attribute of the next state of the vehicle is selected from the next location for the vehicle, an altitude of the vehicle, a speed of the vehicle, and an orientation of the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the next state for the vehicle comprises:

identifying possible next states for the vehicle;

identifying state values for the possible next states; and

selecting the next state from the possible next states using the state values.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein identifying the state values for the possible next states comprises identifying times that the vehicle was in the possible next states.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein selecting the next state comprises:

using the randomizer to randomly select the next state from a plurality of the possible next states that have best state values.

6. The method of claim 3 further comprising:

changing a one of the state values for a one of the possible next states selected to be the next state in response to selecting the next state.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle is selected from an unmanned vehicle, a manned vehicle, an air vehicle, a land vehicle, a marine vehicle, and a submarine vehicle.

21. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of identifying the possible next states for the vehicle comprises looking ahead to remove a number of next states from the possible next states based on a determination that the vehicle could not be moved to a subsequent next state after moving to any of the number of next states.

8. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor unit configured to;

identify a current state of a vehicle, wherein the current state comprises a current location of the vehicle;

select a next state for the vehicle, wherein the next state comprises a next location for the vehicle; and

use a randomizer to randomly select a value between a range of values for an attribute of the next state of the vehicle.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the attribute of the next state of the vehicle is selected from the next location for the vehicle, an altitude of the vehicle, a speed of the vehicle, and an orientation of the vehicle.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processor unit is further configured to:

identify possible next states for the vehicle;

identify state values for the possible next states; and

select the next state from the possible next states using the state values.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor unit is configured to identify the state values for the possible next states by identifying times that the vehicle was in the possible next states.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor unit is configured to use the randomizer to randomly select the next state from a plurality of the possible next states that have best state values.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor unit is further configured to change a one of the state values for a one of the possible next states selected to be the next state in response to selecting the next state.

14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the vehicle is selected from an unmanned vehicle, a manned vehicle, an air vehicle, a land vehicle, a marine vehicle, and a submarine vehicle.

15. A method for controlling movement of a vehicle, comprising:

identifying a current state of the vehicle, wherein the current state comprises a current location of the vehicle;

identifying, by a processor unit, possible next states for the vehicle;

identifying, by the processor unit, state values for the possible next states, wherein the state values are a function of times that the vehicle was in the possible next states; and

selecting a next state for the vehicle from the possible next states using the state values, wherein the next state comprises a next location for the vehicle.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

using a randomizer to randomly select a value between a range of values for an attribute of the next state of the vehicle, wherein the attribute is selected from the next location for the vehicle, an altitude of the vehicle, a speed of the vehicle, and an orientation of the vehicle.

17. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

automatically controlling the movement of the vehicle to move the vehicle from the current state to the next state based on a determination that an automatic navigation system is currently engaged; and

presenting the next state as a recommendation to an operator of the vehicle in response to a determination that the automatic navigation system is currently disengaged.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein selecting the next state for the vehicle comprises:

using a randomizer to randomly select the next state from a plurality of the possible next states that have best state values.

19. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

changing a one of the state values for a one of the possible next states selected to be the next state in response to selecting the next state.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the vehicle is selected from an unmanned vehicle, a manned vehicle, an air vehicle, a land vehicle, a marine vehicle, and a submarine vehicle.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of automatically controlling the movement of the vehicle to move the vehicle from the current state to the next state is responsive to the automatic navigation system being re-engaged after being disengaged a plurality of times while the vehicle is performing a mission in an area near a point of interest.