Autonomous vehicle navigation system and method

摘要

An autonomous vehicle is improved with a navigational system having both cameras and echolocation sensors, each including overlapping fields of view. The cameras and echolocation sensors may be part of an optical and echolocation system, respectively, that may work in conjunction with a global positioning system to determine a course for the autonomous vehicle to reach an objective while detecting and avoid obstacles along the course.

主权项

1. A navigation system for an aerial vehicle, the navigation system comprising:
a housing; a global positioning system (GPS) transceiver to determine a current position of the housing; an optical system to generate at least one hundred and eighty degrees of optical field of view about the housing, wherein the optical system is configured to identify a first obstacle within the at least one hundred and eighty degrees of optical field of view about the housing; an acoustic system to generate at least ten degrees of acoustic field of view about the housing, wherein the acoustic system is configured to identify a second obstacle within the at least one hundred and eighty degrees of optical field of view about the housing; and a processor to determine a navigational path for the aerial vehicle to a location based at least in part upon signals from the GPS transceiver, the optical system, and the acoustic system,
wherein the processor instructs the aerial vehicle to follow a first navigational path based at least in part on signals from the GPS transceiver,wherein the processor (1) calculates a dodging maneuver if a second obstacle is detected along the first navigational path so as to avoid the second obstacle and (2) instructs the aerial vehicle to execute the dodging maneuver so as to deviate from the first navigational path until the second obstacle is no longer detected by the acoustic system, whereupon the processor instructs the aerial vehicle to return to the first navigational path,wherein signals from the acoustic system preempt signals from the GPS transceiver and the optical system.