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Intelligent control apparatus, system, and method of use

  • US 9,851,718 B2
  • Filed: 09/26/2015
  • Issued: 12/26/2017
  • Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2014
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A method of defining one or more optimized travel paths for an autonomously-steering machine to travel over one or more areas, comprising:

  • a) positioning the autonomously-steering machine at a starting point, causing a GPS system attached with the autonomously-steering machine to obtain a location of the starting point, and causing a memory device attached with the autonomously-steering machine to record the starting point;

    b) manually steering the autonomously-steering machine while causing it to move from the starting point over the one or more areas;

    c) causing the GPS system to continuously track location of the autonomously-steering machine during said movement;

    d) causing the memory device to record the tracked location of the autonomously-steering machine as map data in the memory device;

    e) causing a processor attached with the autonomously-steering machine to process the map data in view of effective travel path width data for the autonomously-steering machine to determine one or more perimeters of the one or more areas over which the autonomously-steering machine did travel;

    f) causing the processor to process the map data in view of the effective travel path width data for the autonomously-steering machine to determine one or more perimeters of any excluded areas over which the autonomously-steering machine did not travel within the one or more areas;

    g) causing the processor to process the map data and the effective travel path width data for the autonomously-steering machine to generate optimized travel path data corresponding to one or more optimized travel paths that when traveled by the autonomously-steering machine will cause the autonomously-steering machine to travel over the one or more areas but not the one or more excluded areas while tending to minimize total distance traveled by the autonomously-steering machine;

    h) moving the autonomously-steering machine over the area while an electronically-controlled steering controller device attached with the autonomously-steering machine and driven by the optimized travel path data controls steering of the autonomously steering machine;

    i) manually overriding the electronically-controlled steering controller device during said movement in step h) to cause the autonomously-steering machine to deviate from the one or more optimized travel paths;

    j) the processor automatically causing the OPS system to continuously track location of the autonomously-steering machine during said deviated movement without a user interacting with the processor;

    k) the processor automatically causing the memory device to record the tracked location of the autonomously-steering machine during said deviated movement as deviated map data in the memory device without the user interacting with the processor;

    l) after beginning said deviated movement, an electronic user interface in electronic communication with the memory device automatically prompting the user to indicate whether the one or more optimized travel paths should be updated with said deviated map data; and

    m) causing the optimized travel path data to update to correspond to said deviated map data and thereby updating the optimized travel path to correspond to said deviation, by the user indicating with the electronic user interface that the one or more optimized travel paths should be updated with said deviated map data.

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