AU736792B2 - Apparatus and method for surface based vehicle control system - Google Patents

Description

I> P/00/0011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

tP Australia Documents received on: Batch No: Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for service in Australia: CATERPILLAR INC Adam J GUDAT, Karl W KLEIMENHAGEN, Dana A CHRISTENSEN, Carl A KEMNER, Walter J BRADBURY, Craig L COEHRSEN, Christos T KYRTSOS, Norman K LAY, Joel L PETERSON, Larry E SCHMIDT, Darrell E STAFFORD, Louis J WEINBECK CARTER SMITH BEADLE 2 Railway Parade Camberwell Victoria 3124 Australia Apparatus and Method for Surface Based Vehicle Control System Invention Title: The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us f.I 2 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present application is a divisional application of Australian Patent Application No 46044/93 which was divided from Australian Patent No 642638. The present application relates to tele-operation systems for navigating a surface based vehicle. Other inventions relating to apparatus/methods for determining terrestrial position information are discussed and claimed in other co-pending applications e.g.

Australian Patent Application No 46043/93. For an overview of the interrelated navigation and positioning systems/apparatus/methods, the reader should refer to the specification accompanying Australian Patent No 642638.

2. Related Art There is presently under development a terrestrial position determining system, referred to as the global positioning system (GPS), designated NAVSTAR by the U.S.

Government. In this system, a multitude of orbiting satellites will be used to determine the terrestrial position of receivers on the Earth. In the planned system, there will be eight orbiting satellites in each of three sets of orbits, 21 satellites on line and three spares, for a total of 24 satellites. The three sets of orbits will have mutually orthogonal planes relative to the Earth. The orbits are neither polar orbits nor 20 equatorial orbits, however. The satellites will be in 12-hour orbits. The position of each satellite at all times will be precisely known. The longitude, latitude, and altitude with respect to the center of the Earth, of a receiver at any point close to Earth at the .:time of transmission, will be calculated by determining the propagation time of transmissions from at least four of the satellites to the receiver. The more satellites used the better. A current constraint on the number of satellites is that the currently available receiver has only five channels.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is an integrated vehicle positioning and navigation system which, as used throughout, means apparatus, method or a combination of both apparatus and method. The present invention overcomes many of the limitations present in conventional technology in the fields of positioning and navigation, and thereby provides for highly accurate and autonomous positioning and navigation of a DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 I. 1 3 _79 vehicle.

The present invention contemplates a totally autonomous work site, where numerous autonomous vehicles and equipment may operate with minimal human supervision. This reduces labor costs. This also makes the present invention suitable for hazardous or remote work sites, such as at the site of a nuclear accident, for example.

The navigation portion of the present invention provides control flexibility by providing for at least three modes of operation. These modes include a manual mode, a remote control or "tele" mode, and a fully autonomous mode. The "tele" mode may be over a remote radio, or cable, with the controlled vehicle in the line of sight of the "tele" operator. There is also a transitional or intermediate "ready" mode, used when going between certain other modes such that the transition is an orderly transition.

The present invention, in providing these modes, also provides for on-board, tele, and host displays for status and control information and manipulation.

More particularly, the invention provides a surface based vehicle control system comprising: means for providing for manual operation of said vehicle wherein an operator directly manipulates vehicle controls on said vehicle; means for providing for tele-operation of said vehicle wherein the oooo operator directly controls operation of said vehicle, including speed and :steering, from a position remote from said vehicle; means for providing for autonomous operation of said vehicle; and means for providing for an orderly transition between manual operation, tele-operation, and autonomous operation of said vehicle through an intermediate "ready" mode.

The invention also provides a surface based vehicle control method comprising the steps of: providing for manual operation of said vehicle wherein an operator directly manipulates vehicle controls on said vehicle; providing for tele-operation of said vehicle wherein the operator directly controls operation of said vehicle, including speed and steering, from a DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 4 position remote from said vehicle; providing for autonomous operation of said vehicle; and providing for an orderly transition between manual operation, teleoperation, and autonomous operation of said vehicle through an intermediate "ready" mode.

The invention also provides a surface based vehicle control system comprising: means for providing for manual operation of said vehicle wherein an operator directly manipulates vehicle controls on said vehicle; means for providing for tele-operation of said vehicle wherein the operator directly controls operation of said vehicle, including speed and steering, from a position remote from said vehicle; means for providing for autonomous operation of said vehicle; and means for providing for an orderly transition between manual operation, tele-operation, and autonomous operation of said vehicle through an intermediate "ready" mode under normal vehicle operation, and for providing a direct transition to manual operation bypassing the "ready" mode under predetermined abnormal vehicle operating conditions.

"A better appreciation of these and other advantages and features of the present 20 invention, as well as how the present invention realizes them, will be gained from the o f Sfollowing detailed description and drawings of the various embodiments, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention is better understood by reference to the following drawings in conjunction with the accompanying text.

1 is a diagrammatic view of the GPS satellites in 6 orbital planes.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the GPS navigation equations.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view of a typical autonomous work site in which the present invention is practiced.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of the interrelationships between the navigator, the vehicle positioning system (VPS), and the vehicle controls.

DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 1, Fig. 5 is a context diagram, illustrating the various elements and their interrelationship in an autonomous control system according to the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic representation of the operation of a Global Positioning System (GPS), including a satellite constellation, A pseudolite, the base station and a vehicle.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram representing the GPS Processing System.

Fig. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating communications in one embodiment of the GPS Processing System of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a block diagram illustrating the Motion Positioning System (MPS) including the Inertial Reference Unit and the Odometer.

Fig. 10 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of the VPS System Architecture.

Fig. 11 is a detailed block diagram of the embodiment of the VPS System Architecture of Fig. Fig. 12 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the VPS Main Processor of Fig. 10 showing the VPS Kalman Filter and the Weighted Combiner.

Fig. 13 is a flowchart of the Constellation Effects Method for improving position accuracy.

Fig. 14 is a polar plot illustrating the computed pseudo ranges from a four 20 satellite constellation.

.oo..i Fig. 15 is a flowchart of the original bias technique for Differential Corrections.

Fig. 16 is a flowchart of the Parabolic Bias Method for Differential Corrections.

•Fig. 17 is a flowchart of the BASE residuals as BIAS Method for Differential Corrections.

Fig. 18 is a flowchart of the method for Satellite Position Prediction.

Fig. 19 is a flowchart of the Weighted Path History Method.

Fig. 20 is a diagrammatic representation of the Weighted Path History Method.

Fig. 21 is a flowchart of the Anti-Spoofing Method.

Fig. 22 is a diagram of route definitions using nodes and segments according to the present invention.

DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 Fig. 23 is a diagrammatical representation of how postures and associated circles are obtained from objective points.

Fig. 24 is a diagrammatical representation of how the sign of the first clothoid segment is determined.

Fig. 25 is a diagrammatical representation of how the sign of the last clothoid segment is determined.

Fig. 26 is a graphical illustration of a clothoid curve.

Fig. 27 is a flowchart of a numerical method for calculating approximate Fresnel integrals.

Fig. 28 is a diagram showing the replanning of a path.

Fig. 29 is a graph of B-spline curves of second, third and fourth order.

Fig. 30 is a diagram of an embodiment of the posture ring buffer of the present invention.

Fig. 31 is a diagram of a path tracking control structure of an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 32 is a diagram showing relevant postures in steering planning cycle.

Fig. 33 is a diagram showing how an error vector including curvature is computed.

Fig. 34 is a diagram showing how an error vector including curvature is 20 computed with the vehicle path included.

ooooo Fig. 35 is a context diagram of an embodiment of the navigator of the present S.i :invention.

Fig. 36 is a context diagram of a path tracking structure of the present S"invention.

Figs. are navigator data flow summaries.

Fig. 38A is an illustration of a vehicle mounted scanner.

Fig. 38B is an illustration of an autonomous vehicle scanning for obstacles.

Fig. 39 is a diagram of selected scan lines in an embodiment of a laser scanner system of the present invention.

Fig. 40 is a diagram of an autonomous vehicle avoiding obstacles.

Fig. 41 is a diagram of obstacle handling according to an embodiment of the DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 present invention.

Fig. 42 is a schematic of a laser scanner system used for obstacle detection in an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 43 is a block diagram of an autonomous mining truck vehicle controls system of the present invention.

Fig. 44 is a state diagram showing the transitions between modes of operation.

Fig. 45 is a diagram of an embodiment of a tele-line of sight remote control system of the present invention.

Fig. 46 is a representational diagram of an embodiment of the speed control system of the present invention.

Fig. 47 is a diagram of an embodiment of the service brakes control circuit of the speed control system of the present invention.

Fig. 48 is a diagram of an embodiment of the governor control circuit of the speed control system of the present invention.

Fig. 49 is a diagram of an embodiment of a steering control circuit of the steering control system of the present invention.

Fig. 50 is a diagram of an embodiment of a park brake control circuit in the speed control system of the present invention.

ig. 51 is a diagram of a tricycle steering model used to develop navigation system of the present invention.

Fig. 52 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a shutdown circuit of the S. present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT TABLE OF CONTENTS I. General Overview "II. Vehicle Positioning System (VPS) A. Overview B. Global Positioning System (GPS) 1. GPS Space Segment 2. GPS System Operation C. Motion Positioning System (MPS) DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 8 D. VPS System Architecture E. Base Station F. Anti-Spoofing III. Navigation A. Overview B. Vehicle Controlling Systems 1. Introduction 2. Vehicle Manager (modes) a. Ready mode b. Tele mode c. Manual mode d. Autonomous mode 3. Speed Control 4. Steering Control a. Steering Model b. Path Representation c. Posture Definition d. Position Information e. VPS Short Definition 20 f. Steering Method 5. Monitor/Auxiliary 6. Safety System a. Introduction Sb. Shutdown Control 25 7. Bus Architecture I. General Overview In the following description of the present invention, and throughout the specification, the term "system" is used for shorthand purposes to mean apparatus, method, or a combination of both apparatus and method.

Autonomous is used herein in its conventional sense. It indicates operation which is either completely automatic or substantially automatic, that is, without DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 significant human involvement in the operation. An autonomous vehicle will generally be unmanned, that is without a human pilot or co-pilot. However, an autonomous vehicle may be driven or otherwise operated automatically, and have one or more human passengers.

The task of guiding an autonomous vehicle along a prescribed path requires that one accurately knows the current position of the vehicle. Once the current position is known, one can command the vehicle to proceed to its next destination.

For a truly autonomous vehicle to be practical, very accurate position information is required. In the past, it was not believed possible to obtain this nearly absolute position information without using a prohibitively large number of reference points. All positioning was done relative to the last reference point using inertial navigation or dead reckoning.

Using the systems discussed in Australian Patent No 642638, we are able to obtain the nearly absolute position information required for a truly autonomously navigated vehicle. This led us to the development of simpler, more reliable vehicle controllers and related systems as well.

The development and implementation of the GPS (global positioning system) was a necessary and vital link which allowed us to develop our inventive systems to obtain more accurate position information. The GPS satellite position information, significantly enhanced through our inventive techniques, is combined and filtered with IRU (Inertial Reference Unit) inertial navigation information, and vehicle odometer S: information, according to one aspect of the present invention, resulting in a highly accurate system for determining position and effecting navigation. See Australian Patent No 642638 for a discussion of positioning systems.

25 Integration of both positioning and navigation systems, apparatus, methods and techniques which, provide for the highly accurate transportation of unmanned vehicles.

The navigation system using the highly accurate position information obtained from the positioning system, is able to provide for accurate navigation between points 30 along pre-established or dynamically generated paths.

The navigation system makes use of various models or conceptual DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 representations to generate and follows these paths. For example, lines and arcs may be used to establish paths between objective points the vehicle is to obtain. B-splines or clothoid curves may be used to model the actual path the vehicle is to navigate.

Using modelling or representational techniques provides for enhanced data communication, storage and handling efficiencies. It allows for simplification of supervisory tasks by providing a hierarchy of control and communication such that the higher the level of control, the simpler the task, and the more compact the commands.

At the base station, where GPS positioning data is also received from the satellites, a host processing system provides for the highest level of control of the navigation system. The host handles scheduling and dispatching of vehicles with much the same results as a human dispatcher would achieve. The host thereby determines the work cycle of each vehicle.

The host commands each of the vehicles to proceed from a current position to another position taking a specified route in order that they effect their work goals. The host specifies the routes by name, and not by listing each point along the route. Each vehicle has an on-board system which looks up the named route and translates the named route into a set of nodes and segments along the route, using, for example, the models or representations discussed above to connect the nodes.

The on-board system also provides for controlling the vehicle systems, such as 20 brakes, steering, and engine and transmission, to effect the necessary physical acts eoo..: required to move, stop, and steer the vehicle. These may be designed to be retro-fitted S onto existing vehicles, such as the Caterpillar, Inc. 785 off-highway truck, for instance.

The on-board system also checks actual position against desired position and 25 corrects vehicle control to stay on route. The system may run multi-state models to enhance this checking capability. The system also checks for errors or failures of the system and vehicle components. If detected, the system provides for fail-safe shutdown, bringing the vehicle to a stop.

The on-board navigation system provides for different modes of control. These include a fully autonomous mode, where navigation of the vehicle is automatically handled by the on-board system; a tele or remote control mode, where a remote DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 11 human operator may control the direction and motion, and so on, of the vehicle; and a manual mode, where a human operator sitting in the cab can take control of the vehicle and drive it manually.

In the autonomous mode, obstacle detection is critical, and is provided for in the navigation system of the present invention. Boulders, animals, people, trees, or other obstructions may enter the path of a vehicle unexpectedly. The on-board system is capable of detecting these, and either stopping, or plotting a path around the obstruction, to return to its original route when it is safe.

Accurately tracking the desired route is another function of the on-board navigational system. System function and architecture has been designed for real time tracking of the path at speeds up to approximately 30 mph. safely.

As an introduction to the next section, "POSITIONING," recall that the vehicle positioning system (VPS) of the present invention is a positioning system based on the incorporation of Inertial Reference Unit (IRU) Data, Odometer Data and Global Positioning System (GPS) Data.

The VPS incorporates these three subsystems with extensive innovative methodology to create a high accurate position determination system for moving or stationary vehicles, or any point on the Earth.

The GPS comprises a space segment and a land or atmospheric based 20 processing system. The space segment includes 24 special purpose satellites (not yet o i S. •fully implemented) which are being launched and operated by the U.S. Government.

These satellites continually transmit data to the Earth that can be read by a GPS receiver. The GPS receiver is part of a processing system which produces an estimate of the vehicle position based on the transmitted data.

S 25 When multiple satellites are in view, the GPS receiver can read each satellite's navigation messages and determine position based on known triangulation methods.

The accuracy of the process is in part dependent on how many satellites are in view.

The IRU comprises laser gyroscopes and accelerometers which produce position, velocity, roll, pitch and yaw data. The IRU combines this information into an estimate of vehicle position. The odometer produces data on distance travel that is incorporated with the IRU data.

DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 A base station provides a geographic proximate reference point and reads the data transmitted by each satellite. Using the transmitted data, the base station makes improvements in accuracy on the estimate of the vehicle position.

I. Positioning A. Overview Referring now to Figs. 7 through 11, the present invention includes a Vehicle *Positioning System (VPS) 1000 which is a highly accurate position determination system. The VPS incorporates three subsystems and extensive innovative methodology to create an unsurpassed position determination system for moving or stationary vehicles 310.

The VPS includes global positioning system (GPS) 700 and a motion positioning system (MPS) 900 including an inertial reference unit (IRU) 904, and an odometer 902 which have been enhanced and combined to produce a highly effective position determining system. The GPS 700 comprises a space segment and a land or atmospheric (for example, one located on an aircraft) based processing system. The space segment includes 24 special purpose satellites (not yet fully implemented; see Fig. 1) which are being launched and operated by the U.S. Government. These satellites constantly transmit data to the Earth that is read by a GPS receiver 706.

The GPS receiver 706 is part ofa GPS processing system 700 which produces 20 an estimate of the vehicle position based on the transmitted data. The vehicle's estimated position is transmitted to a VPS main processor 1004.

When multiple satellites are in view (see Fig. the GPS receiver 706 can read each of their navigation messages and compute the position of the antenna 702 using triangulation methods. The accuracy of the process is in part dependent on how many 25 satellites are in view. Each satellite in view increases the accuracy of the process.

The IRU 904 comprises laser gyroscopes and accelerometers which produce position, velocity, roll, pitch, and yaw data. The IRU 904 combines this information into an estimate of the vehicle position. The odometer 902 produces distance S.1 travelled. The data from the IRU 904 and the odometer 902 are also transmitted to the 30 VPS main processor 1004.

The VPS main processor 1004 combines the data from the MPS 900 (the IRU DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 904 and the odometer 902) with the estimated position from the GPS processing system 700 to produce a more accurate position.

Referring now to Fig. 3, a base station 314 provides a geographic proximate reference point for the VPS 1000. The base station 314 includes its own GPS receiver 706 for reading the data transmitted by the satellites. Using the transmitted data, the base station 314 allows the VPS 1000 to make satellite based accuracy improvements on the estimated of the vehicle position.

The invention described in Australian Patent No 642638 includes description of a method to predict the position of any satellite at the current time or any future time. Given an estimate of the position of the GPS antenna 702, the GPS receiver 706 can predict which satellites it will be able to read at any time. Using that information, the GPS receiver 706 can determine the optimum satellite constellation.

That specification also includes description of a method for reducing vehicle "wandering" and spurious position computations. In this method, the path history of the vehicle is used to statistically determine the accuracy of future estimates.

That specification also includes description of a method for determining if the data received from the satellites is valid. The GPS receiver 706 determines the distance from the satellite to the GPS receiver 706 based on the data being transmitted by each satellite. The GPS receiver 706 compares this determined distance with an expected distance based on the time and an estimated position. If the distances are within a given range, then the data from satellites is assumed to be valid. Otherwise, the data is adjusted such that the determined distance between the satellite and the "GPS receiver is within the given range.

B. Global Positioning System (GPS) 25 1. GPS Space Segment As shown in Fig. 1, 24 man-made electronic satellites which make up the global positioning system (GPS) are planned for deployment by the early 1990s. As currently envisioned, the satellites will orbit the Earth at an altitude of approximately **10,900 miles and encircle the globe twice a day. With this conventional GPS system, it will be possible to determine terrestrial position within 15 meters in any weather, any time, and most areas of the Earth.

DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 14 As of the date of the filing of the basic application, there are known to be seven experimental GPS satellites in orbit, and several manufacturers that are building GPS receivers. Until additional satellites are deployed and operational, there are only two windows each day when three or more satellites are available for position tracking.

The location of these satellites (and all others once deployed) is very predictable and can be plotted in terms of elevation and azimuth.

Reference is again made to Fig. 1 of the drawings wherein the configuration of the fully operational GPS system is schematically illustrated. Twenty-four (twentyone operational, three spare) medium orbiting satellites in six sets of orbits continuously transmit unique identifying signals on a common carrier frequency.

Each of the 24 satellites transmits a unique navigation signal which can be used to determine the terrestrial position of an Earth antenna sensitive to the signal. The navigation signal is comprised of a data bit stream which is modulated with a pseudorandom type binary code which biphase modulates the carrier frequency.

In the coarse acquisition mode, each satellite has an established unique pseudo-random code, which is a gold code sequence having a length of 1,023 chips that repeats itself once every millisecond. To facilitate separation of different satellite's signals, the gold code sequence for each satellite has a low correlation with the gold code sequence from the other satellites.

In the carrier mode, the data transmitted by the satellites is encoded on the carrier frequency in a manner similar to the C/A code. In the carrier mode, more data -can be encoded and therefore more precise position computations can be made.

A GPS receiver can decode a navigation signal whose gold code sequence .eeee: ::.highly correlates to an identical gold code sequence generated by the GPS receiver.

25 The separation of the different satellite's signals from a common carrier is based on cross correlation of the signal with the locally generated gold code sequences, on a chip by chip basis, and then within a chip, until the maximum cross correlation value S"is obtained; the gold code sequence which maximizes this value can be used to extract the navigation data which is used in determining position of the receiving antenna.

Turning now to Fig. 2, a diagrammatic representation of the GPS in operation is shown. Four satellites 200, 202, 204, 206 comprise the current group (constellation) DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 of satellites in the view of the Earth antenna (user 210).

As is shown in the description block 208, each satellite is transmitting a navigation signal that includes timing (GPS time) and ephemeris (satellite position) data. Using the navigation equations 212, which are well-known in the art, and the timing and ephemeris data from the navigation signal, the position of the user 210 can be determined.

2. GPS System Operation Turning now to Fig. 6, a representative GPS system is shown in operation.

Four GPS satellites 200, 202, 204 and 206 are transmitting navigation signals in which satellite position (ephemeris) data and transmission time data are encoded. Both a vehicle 310 and a base station 314 are receiving these signals from each of these satellites on their respective GPS antennas 312 and 316. In a preferred embodiment, both the C/A code and the carrier frequency are received at GPS antennas 312 and 316 for processing.

In addition to the four GPS satellites shown in the Fig. 6, a radio transmitter 624 is also depicted. This radio transmitter 624 is commonly known as a pseudolite.

These pseudolites, in one embodiment, can be strategically placed around the perimeter of a mine pit and emulate the GPS satellites as shown in Fig. 6. This arrangement can be extremely useful in situations such as a mine pit or mine shaft, in which mining vehicles may be out of view of one or more of the GPS satellites, because of topographic features such as high mine pit walls. These ground based pseudolites provide additional ranging signals and can thus improve availability and accuracy of the positioning capability in the present invention.

The pseudolites are synchronized to the GPS satellites and have a signal 25 structure that, while possibly different, is compatible with the GPS satellites. Note that when ranging to pseudolites, the ranging error does not include selective availability nor ionospheric errors. However, other errors must be accounted for such as tropospheric, pseudolite clock error and multipath errors.

In a deep pit surface mining operation, the view of the sky is limited by the walls of the mine and an inadequate number of satellites may be in view for position determination. In such a case, one or more pseudolites would be placed on the rim of DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 the mine and used with a vehicle with the visible satellites to obtain accurate vehicle position.

Transmission channel 618 represents the electromagnetic communications channel linking the base station 314 and the vehicle 310. The transmission channel 618 is used to transfer data between the base station 314 and the vehicle 310. This transmission channel 618 is established by data-radios 620 and 622 which are transmitter/receivers.

The data-radios 620 and 622 are located at the base station 314 and vehicle 310 respectively, and are responsible for transferring various data between the base station 314 and the vehicle 310. The type of data transferred will be discussed further below.

No physical medium (for example, copper wire, optical fiber) is necessary to conduct the transmission of data.

A radio transmitter/receiver which functions appropriately with the present invention can be found in the art. Such a preferred radio transmitter/ receiver is commercially available from Dataradio Ltd. of Montreal, Canada, Model Number DR-4800BZ.

Turning now to Fig. 7, a preferred embodiment of a GPS processing system 700 is shown. The GPS processing system 700 on the vehicle 310 includes a GPS antenna 702. In a preferred embodiment, the GPS antenna 702 is receptive to the radio spectrum of electro-magnetic radiation. However, the present invention contemplates reception of any signal by which GPS satellites might encode the navigation data.

An antenna receptive to the radio spectrum used by GPS satellites which eoeoe 25 functions satisfactorily with the present invention can be found in the art. Such a preferred antenna is commercially available from Chu Associates Inc. of Littleton, Massachusetts, Model CA3224.

The GPS antenna 702 is coupled to a pre-amplifier 704 so that the signals ee* received at the GPS antenna 702 can be transmitted to the pre-amplifier 704. The *...invention contemplates any method by whichthe GPS antenna 702 can be satisfactorily coupled to the pre-amplifier 704. Further, as will be noted at numerous places below, all devices in the GPS processing system 700, MPS processing system DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 17 900 and VPS processing system 1000 are coupled. The invention contemplates any method by which these devices can be satisfactorily coupled.

Such coupling methods may include for example, electronic, optic, and sound methods as well as any others not expressly described herein. In a preferred embodiment, the coupling method used is electronic and adheres to any one of numerous industry standard interfaces.

The pre-amplifier 704 amplifies the signal received from the GPS antenna 702 so that the signals can be processed (decoded). The invention contemplates any method by which the received signals can be amplified.

A pre-amplifier which functions satisfactorily with the invention can be found in the art. Such a preferred pre-amplifier is commercially available from Stanford Telecommunications Inc. (STel) of Santa Clara, California, Model Number 5300, Series GPS RF/IF.

The pre-amplifier 704 is coupled to a GPS receiver 706. The GPS receiver 706 decodes and processes the navigation message sent from the satellites in the view of the GPS antenna 702. During this processing, the GPS receiver 706 computes the latitude, longitude, and altitude of all satellites in the particular constellation being viewed. The GPS receiver 706 also computes pseudoranges, which are estimates of the distances between the satellites in the currently viewed constellation and the GPS antenna 702. In a preferred embodiment, the GPS receiver 706 can process, in parallel, pseudoranges for all satellites in view.

In a preferred embodiment, the GPS receiver 706 produces this data when four ee or more satellites are visible. In a preferred embodiment, the GPS processing system 700 can compute a position having an accuracy of approximately 25 meters when an optimal constellation of 4 satellites is in view. In another preferred embodiment, the GPS processing system 700 can compute a position having an accuracy of approximately 15 meters when an optimal constellation of 5 satellites is in view. An optimal constellation is one in which the relative positions of the satellites in space affords superior triangulation capability, triangulation technology being well known in the art.

In a preferred embodiment, the GPS receiver 706 encodes in the outputted DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 18 position data the number of satellites currently being viewed for each position computation made. In cases in which the number of satellites viewed for a series of position computations is four, the VPS weighted combiner 1204 (see Fig. 12 and discussion) uses only the first position computation received in the series. All subsequent position computations in the series are ignored by the VPS weighted combiner 1204. The VPS weighted combiner 1204 acts in this manner because position computations derived from four satellites are less accurate than nominally acceptable.

A receiver that functions satisfactorily can be found in the art. Such a receiver is commercially available from Stanford Telecommunications Inc., Model Number 5305-NSI.

The GPS receiver 706 is coupled to a GPS inter communication processor 708.

The GPS inter communication processor 708 is also coupled to a GPS processor 710 and a GPS Console 1 712. The GPS inter communication processor 708 coordinates data exchange between these three devices. Specifically, The GPS inter communication processor 708 receives pseudorange data from the GPS receiver 706 which it passes on to the GPS processor 710. The GPS inter communication processor 708 also relays status information regarding the GPS receiver 706 and the GPS processor 710 to the GPS Console 1 712.

An inter communication processor that functions satisfactorily can be found in the art. Such a preferred inter communication processor is commercially available from Motorola Computer Inc. of Cupertino, California, Model Number 68000.

The GPS processor 710 is passed the satellite location and pseudorange data from the GPS inter communication processor 708. Turning now to Fig. 8, the 25 operation of the GPS processor is depicted. The GPS processor 710 uses methods to process this data including a GPS Kalman filter 802 (see Fig. 8) which filters out noise buried in the pseudorange data, including ionospheric, clock, and receiver noise. The GPS Kalman filter 802 also reads biases (discussed further below) transmitted by the **base station 314 to the GPS processor 710.

Processor hardware that functions satisfactorily with the present invention as the GPS processor 710 can be found in the art. Such hardware is commercially DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 19 available from Motorola Computer Inc., Model Number 68020. The software in the GPS processor 710, in a preferred embodiment, functions in the following way.

In a preferred embodiment, this GPS Kalman filter 802 is semi-adaptive and therefore automatically modifies its threshold of acceptable data perturbations, depending on the velocity of the vehicle 310. This optimizes system response and accuracy as follows.

Generally, when the vehicle 310 increases velocity by a specified amount, the GPS Kalman filter 802 will raise its acceptable noise threshold. Similarly, when the vehicle 310 decreases its velocity by a specified amount the GPS Kalman filter 802 will lower its acceptable noise threshold. This automatic optimization technique provides the highest degree of accuracy under both moving and stationery conditions.

In the best mode the threshold of the GPS Kalman filter 802 does not vary continuously in minute discreet intervals. Rather, the intervals are larger and, therefore, less accurate than a continuously varying filter. However, the Kalman filter 802 is easy to implement, less costly and requires less computation time than a continuously varying filter. However, such a continuously varying filter could be used.

The GPS Kalman filter 802 must be given an initial value from the user at system start-up. From this value, and data collected by the GPS receiver 706, the GPS Kalman filter 802 extrapolates the current state (which includes position and velocities for northing, easting and altitude) to the new "expected" position. This extrapolated position is combined with new GPS data (an update) to produce the current state. The way the data is utilized is dependent on an a priori saved file called a control file (not shown). This file will determine how much noise the system is allowed to have, 025 how fast the system should respond, what are the initial guesses for position and velocity, how far off the system can be before a system reset occurs, how many bad measurements are allowed, and/or how much time is allotted between measurements.

The GPS processor 710 then computes position, velocity, and time using the filtered data and biases. However, the GPS processor 710 discards the computed velocity datum when the C/A code rather than the carrier is processed by the GPS DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 receiver 706 because experimentation has shown that this datum is not accurate.

Velocity data derived from the carrier frequency is not discarded because it is much more accurate than the C/A code velocity data. The computed position and time data (and velocity data if derived from the carrier frequency) are encoded on GPS Signal 716 and sent on to the VPS main processor 1004 shown on Fig. In a preferred embodiment, the GPS processor 710 reads both of these codes depending on the availability of each. Unlike data transmitted using the C/A code, the carrier frequency data transmitted by the satellite is available from the GPS receiver 706 at approximately 50 Hz (rather than approximately 2 Hz.) This increased speed allows the present invention to produce more precise position determinations with less error.

A preferred embodiment of other functions of the GPS processor 710 is shown in Fig. 8. However, the invention contemplates any method by which data transmitted by GPS satellites can be processed. As shown at a block 816, a console function controls the operation of the GPS console 2. This console function regulates the operation of the GPS Kalman filter 802 by providing the user interface into the filter.

The VPS communications function shown at a block 818, controls the outputs of the GPS Kalman filter 802 which are directed to the VPS system 1000. At a block 806, it is shown that the GPS Kalman filter 802 requests and decodes data from the GPS receiver 706, which data is routed through an IPROTO function shown at a block 804. The IPROTO function is not a function of the GPS processor, as indicated on Fig. 8 by the dashed line. Rather, the IPROTO function resides on the GPS inter communications processor 708 and executes tasks associated with the GPS inter *:fee: 0000 ocommunications processor 708. An IPROTO function that operates satisfactorily with S 25 the present invention can be found in the art. One model is commercially available from Xycom Inc., model number XVME-081.

As shown at a block 810 the data transmitted over the transmission channel 618 is decoded and transmitted into the GPS Kalman filter 802. The communications manager function shown at a block 808, coordinates the incoming data from the IPROTO function. The communications manger function 808 also coordinates data received from an ICC function which is shown in a block 812. The ICC function 812 UL: (:.i/4V1 4 a 19 .CC:1 IJI4.DIV 14 May 1999 exchanges data with the data-radio 714 and the GPS data collection device 718 as shown.

The GPS console 1 712, is well known in the art. Many types of devices are commercially available which provide the desired function. One such device is commercially available from Digital Equipment Corporation of Maynard, Massachusetts Model Number VT220. The GPS Console 1 712 displays processor activity data regarding GPS inter communication processor 708, and GPS processor 710.

The GPS processor 710 is coupled to a GPS Console 2 722 and a GPS communications interface processor 720. The GPS console 2 722, is well known in the art. Many types of devices are commercially available which provide the desired console function. One such device is commercially available from Digital Equipment Corporation of Maynard, Massachusetts Model Number VT220. The GPS console 2 722 provides the user interface from which the GPS processor 710 can be activated and monitored.

The GPS communications interface processor 720 is coupled to a data-radio 714 and a GPS data collection device 718. The GPS communications interface processor 720 coordinates data exchange between the GPS processor 710 and both the data-radio 714 and the GPS data collection device 718. A communications interface 20 processor which functions appropriately can be found in the art. A preferred communications interface processor is commercially available from Motorola Computer Inc., Model Number MVME3 3 1.

.o The data-radio 714 communicates information from the GPS processor 710 (through the GPS communications interface processor 720) to a similar data-radio 620 25 located at the base station 314 (see Fig. In a preferred embodiment, the data-radio S: 714 communicates synchronously at 9600 baud. These data-radios provide periodic updates on the amount of bias (as detected by the base station 314) are transmitted to the vehicle 310 at a rate of twice a second. Base station 314 computed bias will be discussed further below.

The GPS data collection device 718 can be any of numerous common "electronic processing and storage devices such as a desktop computer. The DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) PC available from IBM of Boca Raton, Florida can be used.

C. Motion Positioning System (MPS) In a preferred embodiment, the present invention also includes the combination of inertial reference unit (IRU) 904 and odometer 902 components. These together with a processing device 906 comprise the motion positioning system (MPS) 900.

IRUs and odometers are well known in the field, and are commercially available from Honeywell Inc. of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Model Number H61050-SR01, and from Caterpillar Inc. of Peoria, Illinois, Part Number 7T6337 respectively.

Turning now to Fig. 9, a preferred embodiment of the motion positioning system 900 is depicted. A Vehicle odometer 902 and an IRU 904 are coupled to the MPS inter communications processor 906.

The IRU 904 comprises laser gyroscopes and accelerometers of known design.

An IRU which can satisfactorily be used in the present invention is a replica of the system used by Boeing 767 aircrafts to determine position, except that the system used in the present invention has been modified to account for the lesser dynamics (for example, velocity) that the vehicles of the present invention will be exhibiting compared to that of a 767 aircraft.

In a preferred embodiment, the IRU 904 outputs position, velocity, roll, pitch, 20 and yaw data at rates of 50 Hz (fifty (50) times a second); the vehicle odometer 902 outputs distance travelled at 20 Hz.

The laser gyroscopes of the IRU 904, in order to function properly, must be given an estimate of vehicle latitude, longitude and altitude. Using this data as a baseline position estimate, the gyroscopes then use a predefined calibration in 25 conjunction with forces associated with the rotation of the earth to determine an estimate of the vehicle's current position.

This information is then combined by the IRU 904 with data acquired by the IRU 904 accelerometers to produce a more accurate estimate of the current vehicle position. The combined IRU 904 data and the vehicle odometer 902 data are 30 transmitted to the MPS inter communications processor 906.

!The MPS inter communications processor 906 forwards the IRU and odometer DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 data on to the VPS I/O processor 1002 (see Fig. 10), as shown at signals 910 and 908, respectively.

An inter communications processor that functions satisfactorily with the present invention can be found in the art. Such a preferred inter communications processor is commercially available from Motorola Computer Inc., Model Number 68000.

The present invention contemplates any method by which the signals 716, 908 and 910 can be received by the VPS I/O processor 1002 from the GPS system 700 and MPS system 900 and forwarded on to the VPS main processor 1004. An 1/O processor which functions satisfactorily with the present invention can be found in the art. Such an I/0 processor is commercially available from Motorola Computer Inc., Model Number 68020.

D. Vehicle Positioning System (VPS) €Architecture Turning now to Fig. 10, a preferred embodiment of the VPS system architecture 1000 is depicted. Fig. 11 shows a diagram of the same VPS system architecture 1000, with the GPS processing system 700 and MPS processing system 900 in detail.

GPS processing system 700 and MPS processing system 900 are independently 20 coupled to the VPS I/O processor 1002. Because they are independent, the failure of one of the systems will not cause the other to become inoperative. Thus, if the GPS S: processing system 700 is not operative, data will still be collected and processed by the MPS processing system 900 and the VPS 1000. GPS processing system 700 and MPS processing system 900 transmit signals 716, 908, 910 to the VPS I/0 processor 1002, as shown. These signals contain position, velocity, time, pitch, roll, yaw, and distance data (see Figs. 7 and 9 and associated discussions).

The VPS I/O processor 1002 is coupled to the VPS main processor 1004. The VPS 1/0 processor 1002 transmits signals 1006, 1008, and 1010 to the VPS main processor 1004, as shown. These signals contain the GPS, IRU and odometer data noted above.

S" Turning now to Fig. 12, a preferred embodiment of the operation of the VPS DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 main processor 1004 is depicted. As shown, the GPS signal 1006, and the odometer signal 1008 are transmitted into a weighted combiner 1204. The IRU signal 1010 is transmitted into a VPS Kalman filter 1202. In a preferred embodiment, the GPS signal 1006 is transmitted at a rate of 2Hz; the Odometer signal 1008 is transmitted at a rate of 20Hz and; the IRU signal 1010 is transmitted at a rate of The VPS Kalman filter 1202 processes the IRU signal 1010 and filters extraneous noise from the data. The VPS Kalman filter 1202 also receives a signal from the weighted combiner 1204, as shown, which is used to reset the VPS Kalman filter with new position information.

The weighted combiner 1204 processes the signals and gives a predetermined weighing factor to each datum based on the estimated accuracy of data gathering technique used. Thus, in the best mode of the present invention, the position component of the GPS signal 1006 is weighted heavier than the position component of the IRU signal 1010. This is because GPS position determination is inherently more accurate than IRU position determination.

However, velocity can be more accurately determined by the IRU, and therefore the IRU velocity component is weighted heavier than the GPS velocity component in the best mode of the invention.

The weighted combiner 1204 produces two outputs. One output contains all 20 computed data and is sent to two locations: as shown at an arrow 1206, to the VPS Kalman filter 1202; and as shown at the arrow 1016, out of the VPS main processor *oooo 1004. The second output shown at the arrow 1018 contains only velocity data and is :sent out of the VPS main processor 1004 to the GPS processing system 700. The output shown at the arrow 1016 contains GPS time, position, velocity, yaw, pitch, and 25 roll data and is transmitted at a rate of20 Hz.

The present invention contemplates any method by which the signals 1006, 1008, and 1010 can be processed at the VPS main processor 1004 in accordance with the above noted process steps. Processor hardware that functions satisfactorily with the present invention as the VPS main processor can be found in the art. Such ,o 30 hardware is commercially available from Motorola Computer Inc., Model Number 68020. The software in the VPS main processor 1004, in a preferred embodiment, 68020. The software in the VPS main processor 1004, in a preferred embodiment, DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 functions as described above.

Referring now back to Fig. 10, the VPS main processor 1004 is coupled to a VPS communications interface processor 1020.

A communications interface processor which functions satisfactorily with the present invention can be found in the art. One preferred model is commercially available from Motorola Computer Inc., Model Number MVME331.

In a preferred embodiment, the VPS communications interface processor 1020 is coupled to, and routes the data contained in Output 1016 (at 20 Hz.) to, three different devices: a VPS console 1012, a data collection device 1014, and a navigation system 1022.

The VPS console 1012 is well known in the art, and is commercially available from Digital Equipment Corporation, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Model Number VT220. This VPS console 1012 is used to display the current status of the VPS main processor 1004.

The VPS data collection device 1014 can be any of numerous common electronic processing and storage devices such as a desktop computer. The Macintosh computer available from Apple Computer of Cupertino, California, can be used successfully.

The navigation system 1022 comprises the features associated with the 20 navigational capabilities of the present invention. The VPS system 1000 transmits its "final data regarding vehicle position etc. to the navigation system 1022 at this point.

E. Base Station Referring back to Fig. 7, the present invention includes GPS components at the base station 314 that are identical to those which comprise the GPS processing system 25 700 (as shown on Fig. The purpose of the base station 314 is to monitor the operation of the vehicles, provide a known terrestrial reference location from which biases can be produced, and provide information to the vehicles when necessary, over a high-speed data transmission channel 618.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the base station 314 will be 30 located within close proximity to the vehicle 310, preferably within 20 miles. This will provide foreffective radio communication between the base station 314 and the will provide for effective radio communication between the base station 314 and the DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 26 vehicle 310 over the transmission channel 618. It will also provide an accurate reference point for comparing satellite transmissions received by the vehicle 310 with those received by the base station 314.

A geographically proximate reference point is needed in order to compute accurate biases. Biases are, in effect, the common mode noise that exists inherently in the GPS system. Once computed at the base station 314, these biases are then sent to the vehicle 310 using the data-radios 714 (as shown in Fig. The biases are computed using various methods which are discussed further below.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a host processing system 402 is located at the base station 314 to coordinate the autonomous activities and interface the VPS system 1000 with human supervisors.

F. Anti-Spoofing It is believed that the U.S. government (the operator of the GPS satellites) may at certain times introduce errors into the navigation data being transmitted from the GPS satellites by changing clock and ephemeris parameters. For example, during a national emergency such an action might take place. The government would still be able to use the GPS because the government uses a distinct type of pseudo random code transmission, called the P-code. Thus, the government could debilitate the C/A code and carrier transmissions, causing earth receivers to compute incorrect 20 pseudoranges, and thus incorrect position determinations. The present invention includes methods to detect and compensate for such misleading data.

Turning now to Fig. 21, a flowchart of the anti-spoofing technique is depicted.

The beginning of the flowchart is shown at a block 2102. At a block 2104 it is shown that the current position of satellites in view of the GPS antenna 702 is predicted by 25 old almanac data. Old almanac data is data that has been previously recorded by the GPS receiver 706. The current position of the satellite is also computed using the current ephemeris data being transmitted by the GPS satellites. At a block 2106, the predicted position (using the almanac) and the computed position (using the latest ephemeris) are compared. As is shown in the block 2106, the euclidian norm of the 30 two parameters is computed and tested against a preset threshold. If this value is larger than the threshold, then the ephemeris data would appear to be corrupted and DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 the latest valid almanac data will be used instead, as is shown at a block 2108.

Because the latest valid almanac data will be older than the new ephemeris data, it is always the preference to use the latest ephemeris data.

The position of the base station 314 is then computed based on the good almanac data and the GPS time sent by the satellites. This good almanac data will either consist of the latest valid almanac data in the case where the ephemeris data is corrupted, or the ephemeris data itself when the ephemeris data is not corrupted. As shown at a block 2112, the computed base position is tested against expected values.

Because the location of the base station 314 is known, the accuracy of the computation using the almanac data is readily determined. If the accuracy is within an expected range, then the results are sent to the vehicle 310 as shown at a block 2116.

If the computed base station 314 is not within expected values, then clock time and/or biases at the base are manipulated so that the estimated base position is as expected, as is shown at a block 2114. These results are then sent to the vehicle as shown at the block 2116.

III. Navigation A. Overview In considering implementation of an autonomous navigation system, there are some basic questions which any autonomous system must be able to answer in order 20 to successfully navigate from point A to point B. The first question is "where are we (the vehicle) now?" This first question is answered by the positioning system portion iof the present invention, as discussed above in section II or more fully discussed in Australian Patent No 642638.

The next or second question is "where do we go and how do we get there?".

25 This second question falls within the domain of the navigation system portion of the present invention, discussed in this section (III).

A further (third) question, really a refinement of the second one, is "how do we actually physically move the vehicle, for example, what actuators are involved (steering, speed, braking, and so on), to get there?" This is in the domain of the vehicle 30 controls subsystem of the navigation system, also discussed below.

In the preceding and following discussions of the present invention, recall that, DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 "system(s)" may include apparatus and/or methods.

As has been discussed implicitly above, autonomous navigation, of a mining vehicle as an example, may provide certain significant advantages over conventional navigation. Among them is an increased productivity from round the clock, 24 hr.

operation of the vehicles. The problems presented by dangerous work environments, or work environments where visibility is low, are particularly well suited to solution by an autonomous system.

There are, for instance, some mining sites where visibility is so poor that work is not possible 200 days of the year. There are other areas which may be hazardous to human life because of being contaminated by industrial or nuclear pollution. An area may be so remote or desolate that requiring humans to work there may pose severe hardships or be impractical. The application of the present invention could foreseeably include extraterrestrial operations, for example, mining on the Moon, provided that the necessary satellites were put in Moon orbit.

In a typical application of the present invention, as shown in Fig. 3, with regard to the navigation of a mining vehicle at a mining site, there are three basic work areas: the load site, the haul segment, and the dump site. At the load site, a hauling vehicle may be loaded with ore in any number of ways, by human operated shovels for instance, controlled either directly or by remote control, or by autonomous shovels.

20 The hauling vehicle then must traverse an area called the haul segment which may be only a few hundred meters or may be several km's. At the end of the haul segment is the dump site, where the ore is dumped out of the hauling vehicle to be crushed, or otherwise refined, for instance. In the present invention, autonomous positioning and navigation may be used to control the hauling vehicle along the haul segment.

25 Autonomously navigated refueling and maintenance vehicles are also envisioned.

Referring now toFigs. 4 and 5, Navigation of the AMT (Autonomous Mining Truck) encompasses several systems, apparatus and/or functions. The VPS (Vehicle Positioning System) 1000 subsystem of the overall AMT system as described above, outputs position data that indicates where the vehicle is located, including, for 30 example, a Northand an East position.

S"Referring now to Figs. 4 and 5, position data output from the VPS is received DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 i.

29 by a navigator 406. The navigator determines where the vehicle wants to go (from route data) and how to get there, and in turn outputs data composed of steer and speed commands to a vehicle controls functional block 408 to move the vehicle.

The vehicle controls block then outputs low level commands to the various vehicle systems, 310, such as the governor, brakes and transmission. As the vehicle is moving towards its destination, the vehicle controls block and the VPS receive feedback information from the vehicle indicative of, for example, any fault conditions in the vehicle's systems, current speed, and so on.

Navigation also must include an obstacle handling (detection and avoidance) capability to deal with the unexpected. A scanning system 409 detects obstacles in the vehicle's projected trajectory, as well as obstacles which may be approaching from the sides and informs the navigator of these.

The navigator may be required to then decide if action is required to avoid the obstacle. If action is required, the navigator decides how to avoid the obstacle. And after avoiding the obstacle, the navigator decides how to get the vehicle back onto a path towards its destination.

Referring now to Fig. 35, titled the context diagram, and Fig. 37A-37D, definitions of the communications, which are shown as circles with numbers in them, are provided below: 20 502. Host commands queries: Commands given by the host to the vehicle manager. These commands could be of eotee several types: initiate/terminate; supply parameters; 25 emergency actions; and S•directives.

Queries inquire about the status of various parts of the navigator.

504. replies to host: These are responses to the queries made by the host.

432. position data: This is streamed information provided by the VPS system.

This is streamed information provided by the VPS system.

DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 416. Range data: This is range data from the line laser scanner.

432. VPS control: These are commands given to the VPS system to bring it up, shut it down and switch between modes.

416. scanner control: These are commands sent to the laser scanner to initiate motion and set follow velocity profile.

420. steering speed commands These are commands given to the vehicle to control steering and speed. These commands are issued at the rate of 2-5 Hz.

Referring to Fig. 5, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as described above, both the VPS and the navigator are located on the vehicle and communicate with the base station 314 to receive high level GPS position information and directives from a host processing system, discussed below. The system gathers GPS position information from the satellites 200-206 at the base station and on-board the vehicle so that common-mode error can be removed and positioning accuracy enhanced.

In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, portions of the VPS and 20 navigator may be located at the base station.

The host at the base station may tell the navigator to go from point A to point B, for instance, and may indicate one of a set of fixed routes to use. The host also handles other typical dispatching and scheduling activities, such as coordinating

S.

vehicles and equipment to maximize efficiency, avoid collisions, schedule 25 maintenance, detect error conditions, and the like. The host also has an operations interface for a human manager.

It was found to be desirable to locate the host at the base station and the navigator on the vehicle to avoid a communications bottleneck, and a resultant degradation in performance and responsiveness. Since the host sends relatively high- 30 level commands and simplified data to the navigator, it requires relatively little •communication bandwidth. However, in situations where broad-band communication DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 31 is available to the present invention, this may not be a factor.

Another factor in determining the particular location of elements of the system of the present invention, is the time-criticality of autonomous navigation. The navigation system must continually check its absolute and relative locations to avoid unacceptable inaccuracies in following a route. The required frequency of checking location increases with the speed of the vehicle, and communication speed may become a limiting factor even at a relatively moderate vehicle speed.

However, in applications where maximum vehicle speed is not a primary consideration and/or a high degree of route following accuracy is not critical, this communication factor may not be important. For example, in rapidly crossing large expanses of open, flat land, in a relatively straight path, it may not be necessary to check position as often in the journey as it would be in navigating a journey along a curvaceous mountain road.

Conceptually, the navigation aspects of the present invention can be arbitrarily divided into the following major functions: route planning/path generation; path tracking; and obstacle handling.

See Australian Patent No 642638 for a full discussion of these aspects.

B. Vehicle Controlling Systems S1. Introduction Referring now to Fig. 43, the vehicle controls are comprised of four, low-level functional blocks.

25 One is called a "vehicle manager" (4302). A second is called a "speed control" (4304). The third is called a "steering control" (4306). The fourth is called a "monitor/auxiliary control" (depicted as two separate blocks 4310 and 4308). These are described in turn below.

They are all tied together with a high-speed serial data bus 4314. The bus 4314 S.:i 30 is a data collision detection, packet passing system.

Each of these functional blocks have separate microprocessors, for instance of Each of these functional blocks have separate microprocessors, for instance of DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 the Motorola 68000 16 bit series. Each of these microprocessors talks to and listens to the others over the bus 4314.

While each functional block has a more or less specific function, the vehicle manager 4302 functions as a communications hub. It sends to and receives messages from the navigator 406 via an RS-422, 9600 Baud serial link 4316. It is also listening to and sending to the remote control or "tele" panel 410 via an FM radio communicationslink 4318.

2. Vehicle Manager (modes) As mentioned above, the vehicle manager 4302 receives commands from a remote control panel 410 and the navigator 406. It then decides which mode M, T, or R" (for Autonomous, Manual, Tele, or Ready) the vehicle 310 should be in.

a. Ready Mode Reference is now made to Fig. 44, which shows the states (modes) and how the vehicle 310 changes between states. The navigator 406 cannot set the mode itself.

Notice that the vehicle 310 cannot change from tele to auto, for instance, directly. It must pass through the ready mode 4404 first in that case.

The ready mode 4404 brings the vehicle 310 to a stop in a known state. This is because it would be difficult to make a smooth transition, from, for instance, auto mode 4408 to tele mode 4406 while the vehicle 310 was moving. The tele control 20 panel joy-stick 4502, 4504 would have to be in just the right position when control was switched.

•Going from tele 4406 to auto 4408 mode, there is the consideration that the :navigator 406 must initialize. For example, it must determine where it is with respect to a route before taking control, which takes some finite time, during which the 25 vehicle 310 might otherwise drive off uncontrolled.

The ready mode, therefore, enables an orderly transition between the various operational modes during normal vehicle operation.

b. Tele Mode Tele control mode 4406, also referred to as tele-operation, remote control or 30 radio control mode, provides a way of controlling the vehicle 310 from a remote location while the vehicle 310 is kept in view.

DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 Shop personnel would use the tele-operation mode 4406 to move the vehicle 310 in the yard, for example. Advantageously, this mode would also be used by a shovel or loader operator to manoeuvre the vehicle into position for loading or unloading, and moving the vehicle into a location where autonomous mode 4408 would resume control.

In tele-operation mode 4406, each vehicle 310 at an autonomous work site 300 would have its own unique identification code that would be selected on a radio control panel 410 to ensure communication with and control of the correct vehicle only. The vehicle 310 would only respond to tele-operation commands 4318 when its unique identification code is transmitted. Any conflict between modes, such as between manual 4402 and tele 4406, would be resolved in favor of manual mode 4402, for obvious safety reasons.

The navigator 406 keeps track of where the vehicle 310 is while being operated in the tele mode 4406, even though, in tele mode, the vehicle can be manoeuvred far off of a known route.

c. Manual Mode Manual control mode 4402 may be required when the vehicle 310 is being manoeuvred in very close quarters, for example, at a repair shop, equipment yard, and so on, or when a control subsystem needs to be removed for repair or maintenance.

e.g 20 This control mode may be implemented to be invoked whenever a human operator activates any of the manual controls. The simple action of stepping on the ooee• brakes 4708, moving the shift lever from some predetermined, autonomous mode position, or grasping the steering wheel 4910, for example, would immediately signal the control system that manual control mode 4402 is desired and the system would 25 immediately go to the manual mode.

While in manual mode, the autonomous system would continuously monitor vehicle motion and maintain an updated record of the vehicle position so that when and if autonomous mode 4408 was desired, a quicker and more efficient transition could be made.

30 When autonomous mode 4408 is again desired, the human operator would then affirmatively act to engage autonomous mode 4408, by physically moving a switch or affirmatively act to engage autonomous mode 4408, by physically moving a switch or DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 lever, for instance, to the autonomous control mode which would move control to the "ready" mode. A time delay would preferably be built in so that the human operator would have the opportunity to leave the vehicle 310 if desired. At the end of the time delay, the system would then give several levels of warning, such as lights, horn, or the like, indicating autonomous takeover of the vehicle 310 was imminent.

d. Autonomous Mode The autonomous mode 4408 is entered into from ready mode 4404. In the autonomous mode 4408, the vehicle 310 is under the control of the autonomous navigation system.

In this mode, the vehicle control system receives messages from the navigator 406 as discussed above, through the vehicle manager 4302. The vehicle manager 4302 is, as discussed, basically the communications and command hub for the rest of the controllers.

The vehicle manager 4302, and the other functional control blocks, all communicate with the shutdown circuits 4312 as well. The shutdown circuits 4312 are discussed in more detail below.

3. Speed Control The speed control subsystem 4302 may be organized to contain a speed command analyzer, closed loop controls 4800 for the engine 4614, transmission and brakes 4700, 5000, a real time simulation model of the speed control system, and a monitor 4310 that is tied to an independent vehicle shutdown system 4312. It is S.designed to be placed in parallel to the production system on the vehicle 310.

The speed control functional block 4304 takes care of three basic functions. It controls the governor on the engine 4614. It controls the brake system 4606. And it controls the transmission 4610 via the production transmission control block 4616.

The production transmission control block 4616 is interfaced with the speed control block 4304 in a parallel retro-fit of the autonomous system onto the production system as shown in Fig. 48. The production transmission control block 4616 is a microprocessor based system which primarily monitors speed and shifts gears accordingly.

The autonomous system speed control block 4304 feeds the transmission DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 control block 4616 the maximum gear desired. For instance, if the vehicle 310 is to go mph, the maximum gear might be third gear. The production transmission control block 4616 will control all the shifting necessary to get to that gear appropriately.

The governor 4626 (Fig. 46) controls the amount of fuel delivered to the engine 4616. Thus, it controls engine speed. The autonomous system is capable of being retro-fitted in parallel with the production governor control system, in a similar fashion as described with respect to the transmission system.

The brake system is shown in Figs. 47 and 50. The autonomous system here is also capable of being retro-fitted to the production brake system.

The following discusses vehicle systems shown in Figs. 46, 48, 47, 50 and 49.

These systems relate to the vehicle drive train 4600 and steering 4900 systems.

Referring to Fig. 46 a governor 4626 controls engine speed 4222, which in turn controls vehicle speed 4624. The engine power is transferred to the drive wheels through the drive train 4600 which is comprised of: torque converter 4612 transmission 4610 final drive 4608 brake system 4606 "wheels 4604 The function of these systems is well known in the art.

Several key systems were modified in accordance with the present invention to i effect autonomous control. The primary systems were the speed control (engine speed, transmission, vehicle speed, and brakes) and steering systems. Each key system is design with manual override capability as a safety measure. In all cases, manual control has priority so that if the vehicle is operating autonomously, and an operator takes control of any one of the vehicle functions, control automatically is returned to the operator.

The system also provides an emergency override button (not shown; also referred to as a 'panic' button) which, when activated, disables all electronically controlled systems and returns the vehicle 310 to manual control 4402.

The system also provides for sensing the pneumatic pressure which is a key DCC:TG:#31 374.DIV 14 May 1999 part for actuating some of the key systems. If this pressure falls below some preset threshold, it is assumed that there is a problem and the vehicle control system reverts to manual control 4402 and the vehicle 310 is stopped.

Fig,. 48 depicts the system used to control engine speed. This system uses electronically controlled valves 4808 and 4812 to regulate pneumatic pressure in parallel to a pedal 4806 which can be manually operated to override electronic control of the engine speed 4622. The pressure sensor 4802 and the engine speed sensor 4622 provide the necessary feedback for the electronic speed control system 4304.

Also required to control the vehicle speed is a transmission control 4616. The basic control system is readily available on the particular vehicle used for this purpose.

In addition to controlling the engine speed 4622 as a means of regulating vehicle speed, it is also necessary to control the vehicle service brakes 4606. This system is shown in Fig. 47 and is necessary to effect normal stoppage or slowing of the vehicle 310. This system uses electronically controlled pneumatic valves 4712 and 4716 in parallel with a manually operated brake pedal 4708 and/or retarder lever 4710 to regulate the braking force. These two manual inputs can override the electronic control system when actuated. The pressure sensor 4702 and the vehicle speed sensor 4624 provide the necessary feedback to regulate the braking force.

Control of vehicle steering is also required for the vehicle to operate autonomously. The system which performs this function is shown in Fig. 49. The system consists of a Rexroth proportional hydraulic valve 4912 which can be actuated electronically to provide flow to hydraulic cylinders 4914 and 4916 attached to the vehicle steering linkage. The system also comprises a manually operable handmetering unit, or HMU, 4918, which is in parallel to the electronically controlled system. The manual system can override the electronic system, if required, as a safety measure. Also, the system provides a switch 4920 on the HMU to detect when the manual steering wheel 4910 is different from the centered position. When not centered, the autonomous system assumes that the system is being operated manually 4402 and disables autonomous control of the vehicle 310.

Electronic control of the vehicle parking brake is also included as an added safety feature. This system is shown in Fig. 50. For proper operation under DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 autonomous control, the parking brake is manually placed in the 'ON' position. When the vehicle proceeds through the status modes (MANUAL 4402, READY 4404, and AUTO 4408), the parking brake is automatically released by electronically controlling the pneumatic valve 5008. This system is in parallel to the manual systems comprised of the brake lever release valve 5016 and the Emergency brake lever 5014.

When a problem is encountered, the vehicle 310 is automatically placed under manual control. Since the manual setting of the park brake is normally this activates the parking brake, stopping the vehicle 310 as quickly as possible.

4. Steering Control Referring again to Fig. 43, the steering control functional block 4306 is responsible for controlling the steer angle of the vehicle's wheels. It sends out commands to a valve 4912 to control the steer angle and receives information from a resolver (not shown) mounted on the tie rod system, so that it knows what the actual wheel angle is.

The steering angle can be controlled with an accuracy on the order of a half a degree, and the resolver is accurate to something less than that, on the order of an eighth of a degree.

At some point in the useful life of the vehicle 310 the resolver may go out of adjustment. If this happens, the vehicle will not be able to track the path 3312 properly.

However, the navigator 406 constantly monitors the vehicle 310 to determine :how far the vehicle 310 is from the desired path 3312. (The vehicle 310 is always off the desired path 3812 to some extent, and the system is constantly correcting.) If the vehicle 310 is more than a certain distance, for example several meters, from the desired path 3312, the navigator 406 stops the vehicle as a safety precaution.

The steering control system 4306 itself is also always checking to make sure the resolver is accurate, and that steering commands 420 received have not been corrupted (not shown) by noise or other error sources. A steering simulation model may also be iiiplemented as an additional check of the system.

The autonomous steering system 4900 may be designed to be implemented in parallel with a manual steering system, and can be retro-fitted on to the vehicle 310 in DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 a similar manner as the speed control system.

As shown in Fig. 49, the existing or production manual steering system has a manual steering wheel 4910 which turns a hand metering unit, or HMU 4918. The HMU 4918 controls a valve 4912 which controls flow of hydraulic fluid to steering cylinders 4914, 4916, which turn the wheels (not shown).

A switch 4920 on the HMU 4918 detects off-center position of the steering wheel 4910 as an indication to change to manual control of steering. An operator riding in the cab can merely turn the steering wheel 4910 to disable autonomous steering control 4408.

Under autonomous steering control 4408, the manual steering wheel 4910 in the cab remains centered no matter what position the autonomous steering control has turned the wheels to. There is no mechanical linkage between the steering wheel 4910 and the wheels themselves.

Of course a vehicle 310 may be manufactured without any manual steering system at all on the vehicle if desired. To drive the vehicle manually, the tele-panel 410 could be used, or some sort of tele-panel might be plugged into the side of the vehicle 310 to control it without a radio link 4506 in close quarters, for instance. A jump seat might be provided for an operator in such situations.

Some discussion of the steering model developed may facilitate a better S 20 understanding of the present invention.

S"a. Steering Model The basis for the steering planner is a tricycle steering model shown in Fig. 5.1.

This model permits the calculation of the required steer angle independent of the velocity of the vehicle.

1 tan LCpath To use this model, the desired path 3312 must contain the curvature of the path to be followed. The curvature is the inverse of the instantaneous radius of curvature at the point of the curve.

DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 f(s) P C I 0 f(s) p:position curve f' p:tangent to curve or heads f' p:curvature at the point This is also equal to the second path derivative at the point.

b. Path Representation Referring to Figs. 22-34, the response of autonomous vehicle 310 in tracking a path 3312 depends partly on the characteristics of the path 3312. In particular, continuity of the curvature and the rate of change of curvature (sharpness) of the path 3312 are of particular importance, since these parameters govern the idealized steering motions to keep the vehicle 310 on the desired path 3312. In the case where a path 3312 is specified as a sequence of arcs and lines, there are discontinuities of curvature at the point where two arcs of differing radii meet. Discontinuities in curvature are 20 troublesome, since they require an infinite acceleration of the steering wheel. A o vehicle travelling through such transition points with non-zero velocity will experience an offset error along the desired path 3312.

In general, and as shown in Fig. 33, if a posture 3314 is desired as the quadruple of parameters--position 3320, heading 3318, and curvature 3316 y, 0, c), 25 then it is required that the path 3812 be posture-continuous. In addition, the extent to which steering motions are likely to keep the vehicle 310 on the desired path 3312 correlates with the linearity of sharpness of the path, since linear curvature along a path means linear steering velocity while moving along the path.

Certain spline curves guarantee posture continuity. However, these spline curves do not guarantee linear gradients of curvature along curves. Clothoid curves 2602 have the "good" property that their curvature varies linearly with distance along DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999

I

the curve. Paths composed of arcs and straight lines or clothoid segments have been developed.

A path that has discontinuities in curvature results in larger steady state tracking errors. This is particularly the case when the actuators are slow.

The path representation must contain sufficient information to calculate the steer angle 3112 (See Fig. 31) needed to drive the desired path 3312, that is, it must consist of at least the position, heading, curvature and speed. A position on the desired path 3312 has been defined as a posture 3314, and the structure of a posture in the present invention is given by: c. Posture Definition North: desired north coordinate East: desired east coordinate Heading: desired heading Curvature: desired curvature Speed: desired ground speed Distance: distance between current posture and the previous posture.

d. Position Information The position information 3322 is obtained from the vehicle positioning system (VPS) 1000 and is, for example, 71 bytes of data. The structure of the information used to track the desired path 3312 is a subset of the 71 byte VPS output and is given by the VPS short definition shown below.

e. VPS Short Definition Time: gps time North: wgs 84_northing East: wgs 84_easting Heading: compass direction vehicle is moving Curvature: calculated from other variable N_velocity: north velocity E_velocity: east velocity Yaw rate: rate of change of the heading G_speed: ground speed distance travelled DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 41 f. Steering Method The steering planner calculates the steer angle needed to follow the desired path. If the vehicle 310 was on the desired path 3312, the steer angle is: 1LC ON PATH Osteer f(Cdesired) tan LC If the vehicle 310 is off the desired path 3312, then the steer angle is: OFF PATH Osteer f(Cdesired Cerror).

The method of the present invention used to calculate Cerror is a quintic method. The quintic is a fifth degree polynomial in an error space that defines a smooth path back to the desired path 3312. The degree of the polynomial is defined by the needed data, that is, Cerror and the known end constraints.

Polynomial in error space: error

L

.error(s)= a +a,s+a 2 s 2 +a +a 4 s +a 5 s 5 |1

L

error' a,+2a 2 s+3a 3 s +4a 4 s +5a 5 s jo

L

error'' 2a 2 +6a 3 s+12as 2 +20a 5 s Io O s=speed*dtplanL s at s=O: error position current desired position current actual position DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 I 42 error' heading current desired heading current actual heading error"(0) curvature current desired curvature current actual curvature at s=L (L lookahead distance): error position O error heading O error curvature O The coefficients of the polynomial error(s) are functions of L, the distance at which the errors go to zero: error a error'(O) a error"(0) 2a 2 error a alL a 2

L

2 a3L 3 a 4

L

4 a 5

L

error'(L) a 1 2a 2 L 3a 3

L

2 4a 4

L

3 5a 5

L

4 error"(L) 2a 2 6a 3 L 12a 4 L2 20a 5 L3 These five equations are solved symbolically for the coefficients ao, al...a 5 Then, each coefficient can be easily determined for any reasonable set of boundary conditions.

Once the coefficients of the polynomial are obtained, the error"(s) can be evaluated for some picked s, which corresponds to a distance along desired path from s=O and is presently defined as: Ss picked1ground speed planning interval to obtain the correction term: Cerror error"(spicked)curvature to calculate the new steer angle: Osteer tan 1 [(Cdesired Cerror+s cked) L] This calculation is done at each planning interval which is presently .25 sec.

(dt_ plan).

DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 Monitor/Auxiliary Referring now to Fig. 43, the monitor/auxiliary functional block(s) 4308 and 4310 take care of some miscellaneous functions not performed by the other blocks of the vehicle control system. For instance, start or kill the engine 4616, honk the horn, raise or lower the bed, setting the parking brake on or off, turning the lights on or off, are some of its functions.

The monitor block 4310 also checks the commands that are being sent by or to the other functional blocks on the bus 4314 to see if they are valid. If error is detected, it will signal the shutdown circuits block 4312 and the system will shutdown as discussed below.

6. Safety System (Shutdown) a. Introduction The safety system, including shutdown circuits 4312, (see Figs. 43 and 52) operates to stop the vehicle 310 on detection of a variety of error conditions by setting the parking brake on. This results in the vehicle 310 coming to a safe stop in the shortest distance possible.

Since the parking brake is designed to be normally "set" or and the electronic circuits operate to release it, upon a failure of the electronic controlling system(s) the power 5216 is turned off to the actuators 5006, so that there is no power to actuate valves, and the parking brake returns to its normal position, called "set." Whenever several erroneous commands are received, or whenever the speed and/or steering simulation models disagree beyond an acceptable tolerance with vehicle sensor outputs 4622 and 4624, are examples of conditions which could result in shutdown of the system. The shutdown system 4312 is an independent and separate subsystem from the other autonomous control subsystems (see Figs. 43 and 52).

b. Shutdown Control The safety system shutdown circuits 4312 shown in Fig. 43 connected to receive the outputs of the other vehicle control system functional blocks is shown in more detail in Fig. 52.

It is a fail-safe type design. It contains no microprocessor at all. It is all hardwired, discrete logic.

DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 44 A feature of the vehicle control system 4312 design is that all functional blocks are capable of detecting errors in the output of the others on the serial bus 4314. So if one of them senses that another is not functioning correctly, it can send a signal to the shutdown circuits 4312 to shut the system down.

For example, the speed and steering blocks each look at their received commands (received via the vehicle manager 4302) to make sure they are valid. They also make sure that what they are told to execute, that is, what they are requested to command, is within predetermined bounds. If not, they will act to shut the system down.

The safety system may also be monitoring oil, hydraulic and pneumatic pressures, and temperatures, for instance, making sure they are sufficient to safely operate and control the vehicle.

The safety system includes switches for manual override, including a panic stop 5208, switches on the brake pedal 5202 and steering wheel 5206.

7. Bus Architecture The bus 4314 that inter-connects the vehicle control system functional units 4302, 4304, 4306, 4308, and 4310 is a serial data type common bus implemented in a ring structure using a data packet collision detection scheme.

ooooo a a.

a a° DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999

Claims (6)

1. A surface based vehicle control system comprising: means for providing for manual operation of said vehicle wherein an operator directly manipulates vehicle controls on said vehicle; means for providing for tele-operation of said vehicle wherein the operator directly controls operation of said vehicle, including speed and steering, from a position remote from said vehicle; means for providing for autonomous operation of said vehicle; and means for providing for an orderly transition between manual operation, tele-operation, and autonomous operation of said vehicle through an intermediate "ready" mode.

2. A surface based vehicle control method comprising the steps of: providing for manual operation of said vehicle wherein an operator directly manipulates vehicle controls on said vehicle; providing for tele-operation of said vehicle wherein the operator directly controls operation of said vehicle, including speed and steering, from a position remote from said vehicle; providing for autonomous operation of said vehicle; and providing for an orderly transition between manual operation, tele- 20 operation, and autonomous operation of said vehicle through an intermediate "ready" mode.

S"3. A surface based vehicle control system comprising: means for providing for manual operation of said vehicle wherein an operator directly manipulates vehicle controls on said vehicle; means for providing for tele-operation of said vehicle wherein the operator directly controls operation of said vehicle, including speed and steering,. from a position remote from said vehicle; :0 means for providing for autonomous operation of said vehicle; and means for providing for an orderly transition between manual operation, tele-operation, and autonomous operation of said vehicle through an intermediate "ready" mode under normal vehicle operation, DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999 4 I 46 and for providing a direct transition to manual operation bypassing the "ready" mode under predetermined abnormal vehicle operating conditions.

4. A surface based vehicle control method comprising the steps of: providing for manual operation of said vehicle wherein an operator directly manipulates vehicle controls on said vehicle; providing for tele-operation of said vehicle wherein the operator directly controls operation of said vehicle, including speed and steering, from a position remote from said vehicle; providing for autonomous operation of said vehicle; and providing for an orderly transition between manual operation, tele- operation, and autonomous operation of said vehicle through an intermediate "ready" mode under normal vehicle operation, and for providing a direct transition to manual operation bypassing the "ready" mode under predetermined abnormal vehicle operating conditions.

A surface based vehicle control system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

6. A surface based vehicle control method substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED: 14 May 1999 e CARTER SMITH BEADLE Patent Attorneys for the Applicants: CATERPILLAR INC *o* SO* S DCC:TG:#31374.DIV 14 May 1999