Multi-vehicle high integrity perception

• US 8,200,428 B2
• Filed: 10/07/2011
• Issued: 06/12/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Deere & Company
• Original Assignee: Deere & Company
• Inventors: Anderson, Noel Wayne
• Primary Examiner(s): Dickson, Paul N
• Assistant Examiner(s): VERLEY, NICOLE T
• Application Number:
  US13/268,288
• Publication Number:
  US 20120029761A1
• Time in Patent Office: 249 Days
• Field of Search: 701/34, 701/1, 701/29, 701/24, 701/50, 701/65, 702182-185, 714/25, 714/100, 340/988, 340/3.1, 700/9
• US Class Current: 701/453
• 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 1/0287 involving a plurality of land vehicles, e.g. fleet or convoy travelling traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/00, particularly anticollision systems G08G1/16

Abstract

The illustrative embodiments provide a method for processing sensor data and controlling the movement of a vehicle. In one illustrative embodiment, a vehicle having a plurality of sensors attempts to receive sensor data. In response to an inability of the vehicle to obtain needed sensor data, collected sensor data is requested from a plurality of other vehicles to form alternate sensor data. The alternate sensor data is received and the vehicle is controlled using the alternate sensor data. In another illustrative embodiment, a request is received at a first vehicle for sensor data from a different vehicle. Sensor data is collected from a plurality of sensors at the first vehicle. The sensor data is then sent to the different vehicle.

Claims

1. A method for managing sensor data for a plurality of vehicles, the method comprising:

receiving a request, at a first vehicle, for sensor data from a different vehicle;

collecting the sensor data from a plurality of sensors at the first vehicle; and

sending the sensor data to the different vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors comprises a plurality of redundant sensors.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a request, at the first vehicle, for information from the different vehicle; and

sending the information to the different vehicle.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the information is from an online knowledge base.