Traveling control method, medium, and apparatus for autonomous navigation

• US 8,255,107 B2
• Filed: 04/23/2010
• Issued: 08/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Samsung Group)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Samsung Group)
• Inventors: Yang, Gyunghye, Park, Yonggook, Kim, Hyunjin, Bang, Seokwon
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Cuong H
• Application Number:
  US12/662,587
• Publication Number:
  US 20100211243A1
• Time in Patent Office: 858 Days
• Field of Search: 701/23, 701/301, 701/207, 701/224, 701/412, 701/46, 701/8, 701410-411, 700/245, 700/247, 180/167, 340/435, 340/436, 153/401, 153/19, 153/39, 318/568.1, 318/568.12
• US Class Current: 701/23
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0261 using magnetic plots
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0272 comprising means for registering the travel distance, e.g. revolutions of wheels measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles, e.g. using odometers G01C22/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30

Abstract

A traveling control method, medium, and apparatus for autonomous navigation. The traveling control method of controlling an autonomous navigation machine, having at least on the right and left sides thereof at least first and second receivers that receive a radio signal transmitted from a transmitter disposed at a specific position in a traveling area, the method includes allowing at least one of the first and second receivers to receive the radio signal, recognizing a command included in the received radio signal, acquiring data indicating a size of a recognizable area reached by the radio signal and a position of the transmitter while the autonomous navigation machine moves along the border of the recognizable area, and executing the recognized command in the recognizable area.

Claims

1. A traveling control method of controlling an autonomous navigation machine having at least first and second receivers that receive a radio signal transmitted from a transmitter disposed at a specific position in a traveling area, the method comprising:

receiving the radio signal with at least one of the first and second receivers both configured to receive the radio signal;

recognizing a command included in the received radio signal; and

acquiring data indicating a size of a recognizable area corresponding to the radio signal and a position of the transmitter while the autonomous navigation machine moves along a border of the recognizable area,

wherein the autonomous navigation machine travels along the border of the recognizable area according to a traveling mode and a turning angle that are determined based on a determination of whether the first receiver receives the radio signal and whether the second receiver receives the radio signal, such that when the radio signal is received the traveling mode and the turning angle are determined based on whether the radio signal is received by both of the first and second receivers or received by only one of the first and second receivers.

2. The traveling control method according to claim 1, further comprising:

executing the recognized command in the recognizable area.

3. The traveling control method according to claim 1, further comprising modifying map data regarding the traveling area based on the recognized command and the size data of the recognizable area.

5. The traveling control method according to claim 1, wherein the acquiring of the data indicating the size of the recognizable area further comprises:

maintaining a traveling mode to be a straight traveling mode when the radio signal is received by only the first receiver;

changing the traveling mode to a left turn mode when the radio signal is received by both the first and second receivers directly after the radio signal is received by only the first receiver;

maintaining the traveling mode as the straight traveling mode until the radio signal is not received by either of the first and second receivers directly after turning left a predetermined turning angle;

changing the traveling mode to a right turn mode when the radio signal is not received by either of the first and second receivers; and

maintaining the traveling mode as the straight traveling mode until the radio signal is received by both the first and second receivers directly after turning right a predetermined turning angle.

6. The traveling control method according to claim 1, wherein the acquiring of data indicating the size of the recognizable area further comprises:

maintaining a traveling mode as a straight traveling mode when the radio signal is received by only the second receiver;

changing the traveling mode to a right turn mode when the radio signal is received by both the first and second receivers directly after the radio signal is received by only the second receiver;

maintaining the traveling mode as the straight traveling mode until the radio signal is not received by either of the first and second receivers directly after turning right a predetermined turning angle;

changing the traveling mode to a left turn mode when the radio signal is not received by either of the first and second receivers; and

maintaining the traveling mode as the straight traveling mode until the radio signal is received by both the first and second receivers directly after turning left a predetermined turning angle.

7. The traveling control method according to claim 1, wherein the acquiring of data indicating the size of the recognizable area further comprises:

changing a traveling mode to a right turn mode when the radio signal is received by both the first and second receivers;

maintaining the traveling mode as a straight traveling mode until the radio signal is not received by either of the first and second receivers directly after turning right a predetermined turning angle;

changing the traveling mode to a left turn mode when the radio signal is not received by either of the first and second receivers; and

maintaining the traveling mode as the straight traveling mode until the radio signal is received by both the first and second receivers directly after turning left a predetermined turning angle.

8. The traveling control method according to claim 1, wherein the turning angle is defined by

a=k₁(d/tsr)−

k₂z

wherein a is the turning angle, k1 and k2 are constants, d is a distance between the first receiver and the second receiver, t is a time elapsed when changing a present mode to a subsequent mode in a course of changing the traveling mode, s is a speed of the autonomous navigation machine, r is a radius of the recognizable area, and z denotes a recognition state.

9. The traveling control method according to claim 8, wherein the recognition state is set to 1 when the radio signal is received by both the first and second receivers and is set to 0 when the radio signal is not received by either of the first and second receivers.

10. A non-transitory computer readable recording medium comprising computer readable code to control at least one processing device to implement the method of claim 1.

11. The medium of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises:

executing the recognized command in the recognizable area.

4. A navigation apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a receiving unit including at least first and second receivers both configured to receive a radio signal transmitted from a transmitting unit; and

a controlling unit that controls a traveling of the navigation apparatus such that the navigation apparatus travels along a border of a recognizable area according to a traveling mode and a turning angle based on a determination of whether the first receiver receives the radio signal and whether the second receiver receives the radio signal, such that when the radio signal is received the traveling mode and the turning angle are determined based on whether the radio signal is received by both of the first and second receivers or received by only one of the first and second receivers.

12. The navigation apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the navigation apparatus is an autonomous navigation apparatus.

13. The navigation apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the controlling unit further executes a command included in the radio signal.

14. The navigation apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the controlling unit comprises:

a traveling mode and turning angle determining unit that determines the traveling mode and the turning angle corresponding to the received radio signal;

a recognition unit that recognizes a command included in the received radio signal; and

a traveling control unit that controls the traveling of the navigation apparatus such that the navigation apparatus travels along the border of the recognizable area according to the traveling mode and the turning angle determined by the traveling mode and turning angle determining unit and executes the recognized command in the recognizable area when the radio signal is received by the first or second receiver.

15. The navigation apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the traveling mode and turning angle determining unit sets the traveling mode to a straight traveling mode when the radio signal is received by the first receiver, changes the traveling mode to a left turn mode when the radio signal is received by both the first and second receivers, and changes the traveling mode to a right turn when the radio signal is not received by either of the first and second receivers.

16. The navigation apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the traveling mode and turning angle determining unit sets the traveling mode to a straight traveling mode when the radio signal is received by only the second receiver, changes the traveling mode to a right turn mode when the radio signal is received by both the first and second receivers, and changes the traveling mode to a left turn mode when the radio signal is not received by either of the first and second receivers.

17. The navigation apparatus according to claim 15, wherein when the traveling mode is changed to the left turn mode or the right turn mode, the turning angle is defined by

a=k₁(d/tsr)−

k₂z

wherein a is the turning angle, k1 and k2 are constants, d is a distance between the first receiver and the second receiver, t is a time elapsed when changing a present mode to a subsequent mode in a course of changing the traveling mode, s is a speed of the navigation apparatus, r is a radius of the recognizable area, and z denotes a recognition state.

18. The navigation apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the recognition state is set to 1 when the radio signal is received by both the first and second receivers and is set to 0 when the radio signal is not received by either of the first and second receivers.

19. The navigation apparatus according to claim 16, wherein when the traveling mode is changed to the left turn mode or the right turn mode, the turning angle is defined by

a=k₁(d/tsr)−

k₂z

wherein a is the turning angle, k₁ and k₂ are constants, d is a distance between the first receiver and the second receiver, t is a time elapsed when changing a present mode to a subsequent mode in a course of changing the traveling mode, s is a speed of the navigation apparatus, r is a radius of the recognizable area, and z denotes a recognition state.

20. The navigation apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the recognition state is set to 1 when the radio signal is received by both the first and second receivers and is set to 0 when the radio signal is not received by either of the first and second receivers.

21. The navigation apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the traveling control unit modifies map information on the basis of data regarding the recognizable area.