Blended position solutions
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A heavy equipment vehicle, comprising:
- a locomotion system having one or more of an engine, drivetrain, and steering system;
a road-forming system configured to manipulate a ground surface;
a computer system in communication with one or more of the engine or the drivetrain, the computer system comprising a processor and a non-transitory computer readable medium having encoded thereon a set of instructions that are executable by the processor to;
receive, from a first positioning device at a first location, first data indicating an estimated position of the heavy equipment vehicle at a first point in time;
receive, from a second positioning device oriented at a second location, second data indicating an estimated position of the heavy equipment vehicle at the first point in time;
determine a first weighting factor for the first data and a second weighting factor for the second data, wherein the first and second weighting factors specify a relative weight to be accorded to each of the first and second data at the first point in time;
apply the first weighting factor to the first data;
apply the second weighting factor to the second data;
determine a blended solution for a first position of the heavy equipment vehicle at the first point in time, based at least in part on the first and second data and the first and second weighting factors;
periodically determine the first and second weighting factors over time, wherein the first and second weighting factors vary over time, resulting in different weights being accorded the first data and second data over time; and
determine a plurality of blended solutions for the position of the vehicle over a period of time, the plurality of blended solutions describing a substantially continuous curve during a transition, over the period of time, from a state in which the second weighting factor disregards the second data in determining a blended solution for a position of the heavy equipment vehicle to a state in which the first weighting factor disregards the first data in determining a blended solution for a position of the heavy equipment vehicle;
control operation of at least one of the locomotion system or road-forming system, based on the determined plurality of positions of the vehicle, to continuously operate the heavy equipment vehicle without pause during the transition, wherein controlling operation of at least one of a locomotion system or a road-forming system of the vehicle comprises comparing the blended solutions for the position of the vehicle with a corridor model.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Novel tools and techniques for determining a blended position solution for a vehicle, using data from multiple positioning devices, some of which can be external to the vehicle. Some techniques allow a control system of a vehicle to transition from receiving position data from one positioning device to receiving data from another device without ceasing operation and/or while limiting any resulting discontinuity the position solution (and any resulting work performed by the vehicle) to within acceptable tolerances.
-
Citations
30 Claims
-
1. A heavy equipment vehicle, comprising:
-
a locomotion system having one or more of an engine, drivetrain, and steering system; a road-forming system configured to manipulate a ground surface; a computer system in communication with one or more of the engine or the drivetrain, the computer system comprising a processor and a non-transitory computer readable medium having encoded thereon a set of instructions that are executable by the processor to; receive, from a first positioning device at a first location, first data indicating an estimated position of the heavy equipment vehicle at a first point in time; receive, from a second positioning device oriented at a second location, second data indicating an estimated position of the heavy equipment vehicle at the first point in time; determine a first weighting factor for the first data and a second weighting factor for the second data, wherein the first and second weighting factors specify a relative weight to be accorded to each of the first and second data at the first point in time; apply the first weighting factor to the first data; apply the second weighting factor to the second data; determine a blended solution for a first position of the heavy equipment vehicle at the first point in time, based at least in part on the first and second data and the first and second weighting factors; periodically determine the first and second weighting factors over time, wherein the first and second weighting factors vary over time, resulting in different weights being accorded the first data and second data over time; and determine a plurality of blended solutions for the position of the vehicle over a period of time, the plurality of blended solutions describing a substantially continuous curve during a transition, over the period of time, from a state in which the second weighting factor disregards the second data in determining a blended solution for a position of the heavy equipment vehicle to a state in which the first weighting factor disregards the first data in determining a blended solution for a position of the heavy equipment vehicle; control operation of at least one of the locomotion system or road-forming system, based on the determined plurality of positions of the vehicle, to continuously operate the heavy equipment vehicle without pause during the transition, wherein controlling operation of at least one of a locomotion system or a road-forming system of the vehicle comprises comparing the blended solutions for the position of the vehicle with a corridor model. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
-
-
5. A method, comprising:
-
orienting a first positioning device at a first location; orienting a second positioning device at a second location; generating, using the first positioning device, first data indicating an estimated position of a vehicle at a first point in time, wherein the vehicle is a heavy equipment vehicle; generating, using the second positioning device, second data indicating an estimated position of the vehicle at the first point in time; receiving, at a computer, the first and second data; determining, with the computer, a first weighting factor for the first data and a second weighting factor for the second data, wherein the first and second weighting factors specify a relative weight to be accorded to each of the first and second data at the first point in time; applying, with the computer, the first weighting factor to the first data; applying, with the computer, the second weighting factor to the second data; determining, with the computer, a blended solution for a first position of the vehicle at the first point in time, based at least in part on the first and second data and the first and second weighting factors; and controlling, with the computer, operation of at least one of a locomotion system or road-forming system of the vehicle, based on the blended solution for the first position of the vehicle, continuously operating the heavy equipment vehicle without pause during the transition, wherein the locomotion system has one or more of an engine, drivetrain, and steering system, and wherein the road-forming system is configured to manipulate a ground surface in the formation of a road surface, wherein controlling operation of at least one of a locomotion system or a road-forming system of the vehicle comprises comparing the blended solution for the first position of the vehicle with a corridor model. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
-
-
26. A system, comprising:
-
a processor; and a non-transitory computer readable medium having encoded thereon a set of instructions that are executable by the processor to; receive, from a first positioning device at a first location, first data indicating an estimated position of a vehicle at a first point in time, wherein the vehicle is a heavy equipment vehicle; receive, from a second positioning device oriented at a second location, second data indicating an estimated position of the vehicle at the first point in time; determine a first weighting factor for the first data and a second weighting factor for the second data, wherein the first and second weighting factors specify a relative weight to be accorded to each of the first and second data at the first point in time; apply the first weighting factor to the first data; apply the second weighting factor to the second data; determine a blended solution for a first position of the vehicle at the first point in time, based at least in part on the first and second data and the first and second weighting factors; and control operation of at least one of a locomotion system or road-forming system of the vehicle, based on the blended solution for the first position of the vehicle, continuously operating the heavy equipment vehicle without pause during the transition, wherein the locomotion system has one or more of an engine, drivetrain, and steering system, and wherein the road-forming system is configured to manipulate a ground surface in the formation of a road surface, wherein controlling operation of at least one of a locomotion system or a road-forming system of the vehicle comprises comparing the blended solution for the first position of the vehicle with a corridor model. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
-
-
30. An apparatus, comprising:
a non-transitory computer readable medium having encoded thereon a set of instructions that are executable by a computer to; receive, from a first positioning device at a first location, first data indicating an estimated position of a vehicle at a first point in time, wherein the vehicle is a heavy equipment vehicle; receive, from a second positioning device oriented at a second location, second data indicating an estimated position of the vehicle at the first point in time; determine a first weighting factor for the first data and a second weighting factor for the second data, wherein the first and second weighting factors specify a relative weight to be accorded to each of the first and second data at the first point in time; apply the first weighting factor to the first data; apply the second weighting factor to the second data; determine a blended solution for a first position of the vehicle at the first point in time, based at least in part on the first and second data and the first and second weighting factors; and control operation of at least one of a locomotion system or road-forming system of the vehicle, based on the blended solution for the first position of the vehicle, continuously operating the heavy equipment vehicle without pause during the transition, wherein the locomotion system has one or more of an engine, drivetrain, and steering system, and wherein the road-forming system is configured to manipulate a ground surface in the formation of a road surface, wherein controlling operation of at least one of a locomotion system or a road-forming system of the vehicle comprises comparing the blended solution for the first position of the vehicle with a corridor model.
Specification