Autonomous vehicle rapid development testbed systems and methods

• US 7,813,888 B2
• Filed: 07/24/2006
• Issued: 10/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Provine, Ronald C., How, Jonathan P., Bethke, Brett M., Abdel-Motagaly, Khaled, Valenti, Mario J., Pigg, Paul E. R., Troy, James J., Erignac, Charles A., Murray, Paul, Bieniawski, Stefan R., Vian, John L., Mansouri, Ali R., Saad, Emad W., Clark, Gregory J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Black; Thomas G
• Assistant Examiner(s): LOUIE, WAE LENNY
• Application Number:
  US11/459,617
• Publication Number:
  US 20080033684A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,541 Days
• Field of Search: 702/113, 702/1, 702/127, 702/187, 702/189, 702/108, 701/1, 701/36, 701/37
• US Class Current: 702/113
• CPC Class Codes: F41G 7/303 Sighting or tracking devices especially provided for simultaneous observation of the target and of the missile
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0027 involving a plurality of vehicles, e.g. fleet or convoy travelling fleet control of land vehicles from a control room G05D1/0297; traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/00; for marine craft G08G3/00; for aircraft G08G5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0033 by having the operator tracking the vehicle either by direct line of sight or via one or more cameras located remotely from the vehicle

Abstract

Systems and methods for development testing of vehicles and components are disclosed. In one embodiment, a system includes a position reference system and a command and control architecture. The position reference system is configured to repetitively measure one or more position and motion characteristics of one or more vehicles operating within a control volume. The command and control architecture is configured to receive the repetitively measured characteristics from the position reference system, and to determine corresponding control signals based thereon. The control signals are then transmitted to the one or more vehicles to control at least one of position, movement, and stabilization of the one or more vehicles in a closed-loop feedback manner. The system may further include a health monitoring component configured to monitor health conditions of the one or more vehicles, the control signals being determined at least in part on the health conditions.

Claims

1. A system for operating one or more vehicles, comprising:

a position reference system including a plurality of cameras operatively disposed along at least a portion of a perimeter of a control volume, the position reference system being configured to repetitively measure one or more stability and control characteristics of the one or more vehicles at least in part using the plurality of cameras as the one or more vehicles operate within the control volume;

a control architecture configured to receive the repetitively measured one or more stability and control characteristics from the position reference system, to determine corresponding command signals based on the repetitively measured one or more stability and control characteristics from the position reference system, and to transmit the corresponding command signals to the one or more vehicles operating within the control volume to control the one or more stability and control characteristics of the one or more vehicles in a closed-loop system; and

a simulation component configured to simulate one or more simulated vehicles via the control architecture, and to determine the corresponding command signals based at least in part on a simulated characteristic of the one or more simulated vehicles.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the control architecture includes a health monitoring component configured to receive health monitoring information from the one or more vehicles, and to assess a health condition of the one or more vehicles based on the received health monitoring information, the control architecture being further configured to determine the corresponding command signals based at least partially on the health monitoring information of the one or more vehicles.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the health monitoring information includes at least one of a characteristic of an onboard vehicle propulsion system, a characteristic of an onboard power system, and a functional degradation of an onboard sensor system.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein at least one of the vehicles includes a flight vehicle, and wherein the onboard vehicle propulsion system comprises one or more rotor assemblies configured to provide lift for the flight vehicle.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the control architecture includes:

at least one communication network operatively coupled to the position reference system;

a main processing component operatively coupled to the at least one communication network and configured to compute the command signals; and

one or more control modules operatively coupled to the at least one communication network and configured to receive the command signals from the main processing component, to recondition the command signals into a format suitable for use by the one or more vehicles, and to transmit the reconditioned command signals to the one or more vehicles.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the control architecture includes:

at least one communication network operatively coupled to the position reference system and configured to transmit the one or more stability and control characteristics repetitively measured by the position reference system; and

an onboard processing component positioned on each of the vehicles and configured to receive the one or more stability and control characteristics from the at least one communication network, the onboard processing component being further configured to compute the command signals and to communicate the command signals to an onboard control system of each of the vehicles.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the onboard processing component further includes a health monitoring component configured to receive health monitoring information regarding an associated one of the vehicles, the onboard processing component being further configured to determine the corresponding command signals based at least partially on the health monitoring information of the associated one of the vehicles.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the simulation component is configured to determine interoperability of the one or more simulated vehicles with respect to the one or more vehicles operating within the control volume to enable testing of new prototypes before deployment of a physical vehicle.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the vehicles and simulated vehicles includes at least one of a flight vehicle and a ground-based vehicle.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the simulated characteristic of the one or more simulated vehicles includes at least one of a simulated position characteristic, a simulated attitude characteristic, a simulated stability characteristic, a simulated dynamic characteristic, and a simulated health condition characteristic.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of cameras are configured to determine six-degree-of-freedom information for each of the vehicles operating within the control volume.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more vehicles has a plurality of retro-reflective markers positioned thereon, and wherein the plurality of cameras are configured to detect at least some of the retro-reflective markers positioned on the one or more test vehicles.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of cameras are configured to track the retro-reflective markers using a visible wavelength portion of the spectrum.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of cameras are configured to track the retro-reflective markers using an infrared wavelength portion of the spectrum.

15. A system for operating one or more vehicles, comprising:

a position reference system including a plurality of cameras operatively disposed with respect to a control volume, the position reference system being configured to repetitively measure one or more stability and control characteristics of the one or more vehicles at least in part using the plurality of cameras as the one or more vehicles operate within the control volume;

a health monitoring component configured to receive health monitoring information from the one or more vehicles, and to assess a health condition of the one or more vehicles based on the received health monitoring information;

a communication component configured to receive the repetitively measured one or more stability and control characteristics from the position reference system and the health monitoring information from the health monitoring component; and

a processing component operatively coupled to the communication component and configured to determine corresponding command signals based on the repetitively measured one or more stability and control characteristics and the health monitoring information, the communication component being further configured to transmit the corresponding command signals to the one or more vehicles to control the one or more stability and control characteristics in a closed-loop system.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the health monitoring information includes at least one of a characteristic of an onboard vehicle propulsion system, a characteristic of an onboard power system, and a functional degradation of an onboard sensor system.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the communication component includes:

at least one communication network operatively coupled to the position reference system; and

one or more control modules operatively coupled to the at least one communication network and configured to receive the command signals from the processing component, to recondition the command signals into a format suitable for use by the one or more vehicles, and to transmit the reconditioned command signals to the one or more vehicles.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein:

the communication component includes at least one communication network operatively coupled to the position reference system and configured to transmit the one or more stability and control characteristics repetitively measured by the position reference system; and

the processing component includes one or more onboard processing components, each processing component being positioned on an associated one of the vehicles and configured to receive the one or more stability and control characteristics from the at least one communication network, the onboard processing component being further configured to compute the command signals and to communicate the command signals to an onboard control system of the associated one of the vehicles.

19. The system of claim 15, further comprising a simulation component operatively coupled to the processing component and configured to simulate one or more simulated vehicles, the processing component being further configured to determine the corresponding command signals based at least in part on a simulated characteristic of the one or more simulated vehicles.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the simulated characteristic of the one or more simulated vehicles includes at least one of a simulated position characteristic, a simulated attitude characteristic, a simulated stability characteristic, a simulated dynamic characteristic, and a simulated health condition characteristic.

21. The system of claim 15, wherein the plurality of cameras are operatively disposed along at least a portion of a perimeter of the control volume.

22. The system of claim 15, wherein each of the one or more vehicles has a plurality of retro-reflective markers positioned thereon, and wherein the plurality of cameras are configured to detect at least some of the retro-reflective markers positioned on the one or more test vehicles.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the plurality of cameras are configured to track the retro-reflective markers using at least one of a visible wavelength portion of the spectrum and an infrared wavelength portion of the spectrum.

24. A method of operating one or more vehicles within a control volume, comprising:

measuring one or more stability and control characteristics of the one or more vehicles using a position reference system including a plurality of measuring devices operatively disposed with respect to the control volume as the one or more vehicles operate within the control volume;

receiving the measured one or more stability and control characteristics from the position reference system;

determining a command signal based on the one or more stability and control characteristics measured using the position reference system;

transmitting the command signal to the one or more vehicles operating within the control volume to control the one or more stability and control characteristics of the one or more vehicles in a closed-loop system; and

simulating one or more simulated vehicles to enable determination of an interoperability of the one or more simulated vehicles with respect to the one or more vehicles operating within the control volume to enable testing of new prototypes before deployment of a physical vehicle.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising receiving health monitoring information from the one or more vehicles, and wherein determining a command signal includes determining a command signal based at least partially on the health monitoring information from the one or more vehicles.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein receiving health monitoring information includes receiving at least one of a characteristic of an onboard vehicle propulsion system, a characteristic of an onboard power system, and a functional degradation of an onboard sensor system.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein at least one of the vehicles includes a flight vehicle, and wherein the onboard vehicle propulsion system comprises one or more rotor assemblies configured to provide lift for the flight vehicle.

28. The method of claim 24, wherein:

receiving the measured one or more stability and control characteristics includes receiving the measured one or more stability and control characteristics using at least one communication network;

determining a command signal includes determining a command signal using a main processing component operatively coupled to the at least one communication network and reconditioning the command signal into a format suitable for use by the one or more vehicles; and

transmitting the command signal to the one or more vehicles includes transmitting the reconditioned command signals to the one or more vehicles.

29. The method of claim 24, wherein includes:

receiving the measured one or more stability and control characteristics includes receiving the measured one or more stability and control characteristics using at least one communication network;

a determining a command signal includes

receiving the measured one or more stability and control characteristics from the communication network into an onboard processing component positioned on an associated one of the vehicles; and

computing the command signal for the associated one of the vehicles using the onboard processing component.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the onboard processing component further includes a health monitoring component configured to receive health monitoring information regarding the associated one of the vehicles, the onboard processing component being further configured to determine the command signal based at least partially on the health monitoring information.

31. The method of claim 25, wherein determining the command signal includes determining the command signal based at least in part on a simulated characteristic of the one or more simulated vehicles.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein determining the command signal includes determining the command signal based at least in part on at least one of a simulated position characteristic, a simulated attitude characteristic, a simulated stability characteristic, a simulated dynamic characteristic, and a simulated health condition characteristic.

33. The method of claim 24, wherein measuring one or more stability and control characteristics includes measuring one or more stability and control characteristics using a plurality of detection devices operatively distributed along at least a portion of a perimeter of the control volume, the detection devices being configured to determine six-degree-of-freedom information for each of the vehicles operating within the control volume.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein measuring one or more stability and control characteristics includes measuring one or more stability and control characteristics using a plurality of retro-reflective markers positioned on each of the one or more test vehicles.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein measuring one or more stability and control characteristics includes measuring one or more stability and control characteristics using a plurality of camera devices operating configured to track the retro-reflective markers using at least one of a visible wavelength portion of the spectrum and an infrared wavelength portion of the spectrum.