Moving device

• US 8,239,084 B2
• Filed: 09/10/2007
• Issued: 08/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Kenjiro, Egawa, Saku, Tsubouchi, Takashi, Lee, Jae Hoon
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Amin, Bhavesh V
• Application Number:
  US12/377,692
• Publication Number:
  US 20100235033A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,793 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 701/26
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/024 in combination with a laser lasers per se H01S
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0255 using acoustic signals, e.g. ultra-sonic singals sonar systems designed for anti-collision purposes G01S15/93
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0257 using a radar radar systems designed for anti-collision purposes between land vehicles or between land vehicle and fixed obstacles G01S13/931

Abstract

A moving device (70) determines an obstacle virtual existence region (72) of a simple graphic approximating a detected obstacle (71) to detect the obstacle (71) in a real time and determine a smooth avoidance path by calculation, thereby performing collision prediction.

Claims

1. A moving device that moves under an environment where a moving obstacle exists, comprising:

external information acquiring means for acquiring external information;

obstacle detecting means for detecting an external object in an absolute coordinate system from time-series information in which the external information acquired from the external information acquiring means and self information of the moving device are accumulated, and for extracting an obstacle that is an object possibly impeding the motion of the moving device from the time-series information;

obstacle feature estimating means for estimating a feature of the obstacle, including a size, a shape or a shape change of the obstacle and a position and a motion pattern of the obstacle from the time-series information of the plurality of obstacles detected by the obstacle detecting means;

collision predicting means for predicting possibility of collision with the obstacle from the feature of the obstacle and the self information and path information of the moving device;

avoidance route planning means for calculating, in a case where collision with the obstacle is predicted, a through point that passes through right or left side or a surrounding area of the obstacle for avoiding the obstacle, and in a case where the possibility of collision is still predicted after passing the through point, further calculating a through point that passes through right or left side or a surrounding area of the obstacle for avoiding the obstacle, whereby planning a single or a plurality of avoidance routes that pass through one or more through points; and

avoidance path generating means for adjusting the through point so as not to interfere with the obstacle, and generating a smooth avoidance path on which the moving device can travel.

2. The moving device according to claim 1,

wherein the collision prediction with the obstacle by the collision predicting means, or the calculation of changes in a motion direction and a motion speed of the moving device itself by the avoidance route planning means, or the calculation of the through point by the avoidance route planning means is calculated by using an obstacle-fixing-relative-space in which the position of the obstacle is fixed and the moving device moves with a relative motion vector with the obstacle, and

wherein the generation of the avoidance path by the avoidance path generating means is calculated from a through point information and time information in the obstacle-fixing-relative-space, with use of the through point in the absolute coordinate system having an origin of the coordinate corresponding to a point in a real space.

3. The moving device according to claim 1,

wherein the obstacle feature estimating means comprises at least one of:

means for approximating the shape of the obstacle to a simple graphic including a circle, or a polygon, or a single or a plurality of straight lines;

means for approximating the motion pattern of the obstacle to uniform linear motion, and

means for approximating a motion pattern of the moving device to uniform linear motion.

4. The moving device according to claim 1,

wherein the collision predicting means prepares, as a region where the moving device does not enter, a region that has a risk to collide with the obstacle and a region that takes into account of a safe distance between the obstacle and the moving device, and uses the regions for collision prediction to adjust timing of starting of avoidance.

5. The moving device according to claim 1,

wherein the avoidance route planning means smoothly connects a current path to the avoidance path by making a new avoidance plan from a position on the current path and before a starting point of a new avoidance pass along which actual avoidance action can be started.

6. The moving device according to claim 1,

wherein the avoidance route planning means sets an order of priority by evaluating at least one of a shortest route, a shortest arrival time, a smallest angular change, a smallest speed change, passing behind a moving obstacle, and a width of an avoidance route when it finally selects an avoidance route from the plurality of avoidance routes,

wherein the avoidance path generating means generates an avoidance path from the avoidance route in order from the high priority, and the avoidance route planning means evaluates whether the moving device can move smooth and without interacted by the obstacle.

7. The moving device according to claim 1,

wherein the obstacle feature estimating means performs an obstacle avoidance process by regarding a portion that changes greatly as an independent moving obstacle in a case where the obstacle changes greatly in shape.

10. The moving device according to claim 1, wherein the avoidance route planning means connects a last through point for avoiding the obstacle to a straight line in a motion target direction or a target point of the moving device.

12. The moving device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising at least one of:

means for presenting or instructing an operation information of the moving device including at least one of avoidance route, operation angle and speed for avoiding the possible colliding obstacle, with an image or a sound by using information of the generated smooth avoidance path;

steering means for changing operation load by using the information of the generated smooth avoidance path.

8. A moving device that moves under an environment where a stationary or moving obstacle exists, comprising:

external information acquiring means for acquiring external information;

obstacle detecting means for detecting an external object from time-series information in which the external information acquired from the external information acquiring means and posture information of the moving device are accumulated, and for extracting an obstacle that is an object possibly impeding the motion of the moving device from the time-series information;

obstacle feature estimating means for estimating a feature of the obstacle, including a size, a shape or a shape change of the obstacle and a position and a motion pattern of the obstacle from the time-series information of the single or the plurality of obstacles detected by the obstacle detecting means;

collision predicting means for predicting collision with the obstacle from the position and feature of the obstacle and the posture information and path information of the moving device;

avoidance route planning means for calculating a through point that passes through right or left side or a surrounding area of the obstacle for avoiding the obstacle, and planning a single or a plurality of avoidance routes that pass through the through point in a case where collision with the obstacle is predicted; and

avoidance path generating means for adjusting the through point so as not to interfere with the obstacle, and generating a smooth avoidance path on which the moving device can travel,

wherein the avoidance path generating means performs a search such that the smooth avoidance path becomes smoothest while moving a through point, by repeatedly evaluating an avoidance path obtained by displacing the through point in surrounding eight directions and selecting the through point through which a curvature change is smooth and smallest.

9. A moving device that moves under an environment where a stationary or moving obstacle exists, comprising:

external information acquiring means for acquiring external information;

obstacle detecting means for detecting an external object from time-series information in which the external information acquired from the external information acquiring means and posture information of the moving device are accumulated, and for extracting an obstacle that is an object possibly impeding the motion of the moving device from the time-series information;

obstacle feature estimating means for estimating a feature of the obstacle, including a size, a shape or a shape change of the obstacle and a position and a motion pattern of the obstacle from the time-series information of the single or the plurality of obstacles detected by the obstacle detecting means;

collision predicting means for predicting collision with the obstacle from the position and feature of the obstacle and the posture information and path information of the moving device;

avoidance route planning means for calculating a through point that passes through right or left side or a surrounding area of the obstacle for avoiding the obstacle, and planning a single or a plurality of avoidance routes that pass through the through point in a case where collision with the obstacle is predicted; and

avoidance path generating means for adjusting the through point so as not to interfere with the obstacle, and generating a smooth avoidance path on which the moving device can travel,

wherein the moving device further comprising an operation integrated management unit for changing a posture of the moving device to reduce interference with the obstacle during avoidance.

11. A moving device that moves under an environment where a stationary or moving obstacle exists, comprising:

external information acquiring means for acquiring external information;

obstacle detecting means for detecting an external object from time-series information in which the external information acquired from the external information acquiring means and posture information of the moving device are accumulated, and for extracting an obstacle that is an object possibly impeding the motion of the moving device from the time-series information;

obstacle feature estimating means for estimating a feature of the obstacle, including a size, a shape or a shape change of the obstacle and a position and a motion pattern of the obstacle from the time-series information of the single or the plurality of obstacles detected by the obstacle detecting means;

collision predicting means for predicting collision with the obstacle from the position and feature of the obstacle and the posture information and path information of the moving device;

avoidance route planning means for calculating a through point that passes through right or left side or a surrounding area of the obstacle for avoiding the obstacle, and planning a single or a plurality of avoidance routes that pass through the through point in a case where collision with the obstacle is predicted; and

avoidance path generating means for adiustinq the through point so as not to interfere with the obstacle, and generating a smooth avoidance path on which the moving device can travel,

wherein the obstacle detecting means composes the time-series information of a time when the external information is acquired, a position, a size and a shape of an object detected from the external information, a self position, a self direction and a self posture of the moving device at the time, and association information of data of the detected object at a different time.

13. A method of avoiding contact with a moving obstacle while moving under an environment where the moving obstacle exists, comprising the steps of:

acquiring external information;

detecting an external object in an absolute coordinate system from time-series information in which the external information and self information of the moving device are accumulated, and extracting an obstacle that is possibly impeding the motion of the moving device from the time-series information;

estimating a feature of the obstacle including a size, a shape or a shape change of the obstacle and a position and a motion pattern of the obstacle from the time-series information the plurality of obstacles;

performing collision prediction possibility of collision with the obstacle from the feature of the obstacle and the self information and path information of the moving device;

calculating, in a case where collision with the obstacle is predicted, a through point that passes through right or left side or a surrounding area of the obstacle for avoiding the obstacle, and in a case where the possibility of collision is still predicted after passing the through point, further calculating a through point that passes through right or left side or a surrounding area of the obstacle for avoiding the obstacle, whereby planning a single or a plurality of avoidance routes that pass through one or more through points; and

adjusting the through point so as not to interfere with the obstacle, and generating a smooth avoidance path on which the moving device can travel.