Autonomous navigation apparatus with neural network for a mobile vehicle
First Claim
1. Autonomous navigation apparatus for a mobile vehicle arranged to move within an environment that is delimited, at least in part, by a boundary, said apparatus comprising, in combination:
- (a) a plurality of sensors arranged on said vehicle and adapted to determine the distance from said vehicle to said boundary, each sensor being operative to determine said distance in a prescribed direction, with respect to said vehicle, which is different from the direction of at least one other sensor;
(b) a neural network comprising an input layer coupled to said sensors, at least one hidden layer coupled to said input layer and an output layer coupled to one of said hidden layers for producing a first output representing an identification of the spacial position of said vehicle; and
at least one patch location within said environment for training said neural network to produce a correct first output in response to the distance from said vehicle to said boundary determined by said plurality of sensors and the actual position of said vehicle at the at least one patch location.
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Abstract
An autonomous navigation system for a mobile vehicle arranged to move within an environment includes a plurality of sensors arranged on the vehicle and at least one neural network including an input layer coupled to the sensors, a hidden layer coupled to the input layer, and an output layer coupled to the hidden layer. The neural network produces output signals representing respective positions of the vehicle, such as the X coordinate, the Y coordinate, and the angular orientation of the vehicle. A plurality of patch locations within the environment are used to train the neural networks to produce the correct outputs in response to the distances sensed.
96 Citations
22 Claims
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1. Autonomous navigation apparatus for a mobile vehicle arranged to move within an environment that is delimited, at least in part, by a boundary, said apparatus comprising, in combination:
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(a) a plurality of sensors arranged on said vehicle and adapted to determine the distance from said vehicle to said boundary, each sensor being operative to determine said distance in a prescribed direction, with respect to said vehicle, which is different from the direction of at least one other sensor; (b) a neural network comprising an input layer coupled to said sensors, at least one hidden layer coupled to said input layer and an output layer coupled to one of said hidden layers for producing a first output representing an identification of the spacial position of said vehicle; and at least one patch location within said environment for training said neural network to produce a correct first output in response to the distance from said vehicle to said boundary determined by said plurality of sensors and the actual position of said vehicle at the at least one patch location. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. Method of calibrating autonomous navigation apparatus for a mobile vehicle arranged to move in a forward direction within an environment that is delimited, at least in part, by a boundary, said vehicle having a central vertical axis perpendicular to said forward direction and a central horizontal axis which is parallel to said forward direction and which passes through said vertical axis, wherein said apparatus comprises, in combination:
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(a) a plurality of sensors arranged on said vehicle and adapted to determine the distance from said vehicle to said boundary, each sensor being operative to determine said distance in a prescribed angular direction, perpendicular to said vertical axis of said vehicle, which is different from the angular direction of at least one other sensor; (b) a first neural network comprising an input layer coupled to said sensors, a hidden layer coupled to said input layer and an output layer coupled to said hidden layer for producing a first output representing a first identification of the position of said vehicle; and (c) a second neural network comprising an input layer coupled to said sensors, a hidden layer coupled to said input layer and an output layer coupled to said hidden layer for producing a second output representing a second identification of the position of said vehicle; said calibration method comprising the steps of; (1) selecting a plurality of patch locations within said environment; (2) sensing the distances of said vehicle from said boundary using said plurality of sensors while said vehicle is disposed at each of said patch locations; (3) determining the actual position of said vehicle at each patch location; and (4) training said neural networks to produce correct first and second outputs in response to the distances sensed in step (2). - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. A method of calibrating the autonomous navigation apparatus for a mobile vehicle arranged to move in a forward direction within an environment that is delimited, at least in part, by a boundary, said vehicle having a central vertical axis perpendicular to said forward direction and a central horizontal axis which is parallel to said forward direction and which passes through said vertical axis, the method comprising:
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arranging a plurality of sensors on said vehicle to determine the distance from said vehicle to said boundary; positioning a neural network on said vehicle, said neural network including an input layer coupled to said plurality of sensors, a hidden layer coupled to said input layer and an output layer coupled to said hidden layer; selecting at least one patch location within said environment; determining the actual position of said vehicle at said at least one patch location; while said vehicle is at said at least one patch location, determining said distance, for each of said plurality of sensors, from said vehicle to said boundary in a prescribed angular direction substantially perpendicular to said central axis of said vehicle; and training said neural network in response to said sensed distances. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification