Multi-vehicle high integrity perception

• US 8,467,928 B2
• Filed: 05/04/2012
• Issued: 06/18/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Deere & Company
• Original Assignee: Deere & Company
• Inventors: Anderson, Noel Wayne
• Primary Examiner(s): VERLEY, NICOLE T
• Application Number:
  US13/464,067
• Publication Number:
  US 20120221172A1
• Time in Patent Office: 410 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 701/29.3
• 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 vehicle, the method comprising:

requesting collected sensor data from at least one other vehicle to form alternate sensor data;

receiving the alternate sensor data by the vehicle; and

controlling the vehicle using the alternate sensor data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the controlling comprises:

performing localization of the vehicle using the alternate sensor data to identify a location of the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the controlling comprises:

controlling movement of the vehicle based on a location of the vehicle.

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

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle has a set of fields of regard covered by the plurality of sensors.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle and the at least one other vehicle are automobiles.

7. 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.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

determining a relative position estimate of the different vehicle, wherein the sensor data sent to the different vehicle comprises the relative position estimate of the different vehicle.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the relative position estimate is in relation to a map.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the relative position estimate is in relation to a vehicle route.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining a position estimate of the first vehicle, wherein the sensor data sent to the different vehicle further comprises the position estimate of the first vehicle.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving the sensor data by the different vehicle; and

performing localization of the different vehicle using the sensor data received by the different vehicle to identify a location of the different vehicle.

13. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

controlling movement of the different vehicle based on the location of the different vehicle.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein controlling movement of the different vehicle is performed using a knowledge base.

15. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

the first vehicle classifying the different vehicle as a vehicle using a knowledge base.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the knowledge base comprises at least one of a priori knowledge base, an online knowledge base and a learned knowledge base.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

processing the sensor data; and

using the online knowledge base by a machine control process of the first vehicle to adjust the processing of the sensor data.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the knowledge base comprises an online knowledge base that is wirelessly accessed by the first vehicle using a communication unit.

19. The method of claim 7, further comprising;

determining an accuracy level for the sensor data; and

fusing certain of the sensor data based on the determined accuracy level to form fused sensor data, wherein the sensor data sent to the different vehicle comprises the fused sensor data.

20. The method of claim 7, wherein at least one of the plurality of vehicles is an automobile.