System for controlling a plurality of autonomous vehicles on mine site

Abstract

To provide a system for controlling a plurality of autonomous vehicles on a mine site.SOLUTION: A system for controlling a plurality of autonomous vehicles on a mine site comprises: a centralized platform configured to store an inventory list of vehicles travelling on the mine site and configured to determine and communicate missions to the vehicles; and the plurality of autonomous vehicle. The autonomous vehicles comprise: a trajectory control system configured to autonomously control the autonomous vehicle according to a predetermined mission; a detection system configured to detect other vehicles; a collision prediction system configured to predict collisions with the other vehicles; and an inter-vehicle communication interface for exchanging information between the vehicles.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a system for controlling multiple autonomous vehicles on a mining site. [Background technology]

[0002] An autonomously controlled vehicle used on a mining site, such as an autonomously controlled dump truck, may receive a mission from a centralized platform that includes a predetermined trajectory to move from a start point to an end point. A vehicle control system of the autonomous vehicle may determine its current location and control the autonomous vehicle along the predetermined trajectory. Summary of the Invention

[0003] An autonomous vehicle may be equipped with a detection system to detect obstacles such as other vehicles. Although stationary obstacles may be considered when planning a trajectory, vehicles are not considered when planning a trajectory because there is no information of their position, and a system and method are needed for an autonomous vehicle to handle other vehicles to avoid collisions.

[0004] A centralized platform can prevent collisions between autonomous machines, but it also has the potential to cause outages and power outages. And it relies on a site-wide network infrastructure that is prone to blind spots.

[0005] It is an object of the present invention to provide a system for controlling multiple autonomous vehicles on a mining site that has improved collision avoidance capabilities, such as an improved ability to avoid collisions with other vehicles.

[0006] This and other objectives may be achieved by embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0007] In one aspect of the present disclosure, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications ensures that autonomous machines in close proximity can communicate even during a network outage.

[0008] In one aspect of the present disclosure, sensor perception is augmented with vehicle-to-vehicle techniques for the purpose of enhancing obstacle detection and classification. In one aspect, the present disclosure includes the concept of altering the behavior of an autonomous vehicle as a result of classification information available from vehicle-to-vehicle.

[0009] In one aspect, the present disclosure includes the concept of augmenting sensor perception by fusing information from between vehicles (e.g., obstacle pose, speed, heading, intent).

[0010] In one aspect of the present disclosure, collision avoidance is based on vehicle-to-vehicle with communication of intended routes between the vehicles used for route planning and intersection management. In one aspect, the present disclosure includes the concept of altering the behavior of autonomous vehicles as a result of vehicle-to-vehicle exchange of mission intent (known information).

[0011] In one aspect, the present disclosure includes the concept of discovering, identifying and classifying new obstacles with appropriate vehicle-to-vehicle data exchange.

[0012] In a first embodiment, a system for controlling a plurality of autonomous vehicles at a mining site is provided, the system comprising: a centralized platform configured to store an inventory of vehicles moving on the mining site and configured to determine and communicate missions to the vehicles; a plurality of autonomous vehicles, the autonomous vehicles comprising: an interface configured to communicate with the centralized platform to receive a predetermined mission; a track control system configured to autonomously control the vehicle in accordance with the predetermined mission; a detection system configured to detect other vehicles by evaluating sensor information received from at least one sensor of the vehicle; a collision prediction system configured to predict a collision with the other vehicle detected by the detection system; a vehicle-to-vehicle communication interface for directly communicating with at least one of the other vehicles at the mine site to exchange information between the vehicles; Equipped with.

[0013] In a second embodiment, a system for controlling a plurality of autonomous vehicles at a mining site is provided, the system comprising: a centralized platform configured to store a map of the mining site including a road network and an inventory of vehicles moving on the mining site, and configured to determine and transmit missions to the vehicles; a plurality of autonomous vehicles, the autonomous vehicles comprising: an interface configured to communicate with the centralized platform to receive a predetermined mission; a track control system configured to autonomously control the vehicle in accordance with the predetermined mission; a detection system configured to detect other vehicles by evaluating sensor information received from at least one sensor of the vehicle; a collision prediction system configured to predict a collision with the other vehicle detected by the detection system, The centralized platform is configured to communicate a map of the mine site to the autonomous vehicle for on-board storage, and the collision prediction system of the autonomous vehicle is configured to determine roads in the road network used by other vehicles in the vicinity based on at least one of sensor information and information received from the other vehicles via a vehicle-to-vehicle interface.

[0014] In a third embodiment, an autonomous vehicle is provided, the autonomous vehicle configured to travel through a mining site, the mining site comprising a centralized platform configured to store an inventory of vehicles traveling through the mining site and configured to determine and communicate missions to the autonomous vehicle; The autonomous vehicle includes: an interface configured to communicate with the centralized platform to receive a predetermined mission; a track control system configured to autonomously control the vehicle in accordance with the predetermined mission; a detection system configured to detect other vehicles by evaluating sensor information received from at least one sensor of the autonomous vehicle; a collision prediction system configured to predict a collision with the other vehicle detected by the detection system; a vehicle-to-vehicle communication interface for directly communicating with at least one of the other vehicles traveling on the mine site; Equipped with.

[0015] A method for detecting obstacles is provided by the present disclosure. Typically, autonomous vehicles utilize sensor perception. It may detect obstacles, but its ability to classify the obstacles may be limited. Classification helps enable the autonomous vehicle to determine behavior with respect to the detected obstacles. For example, detection of other autonomous vehicles versus manned vehicles. Even further differentiation of types of manned vehicles facilitates further differences in behavior.

[0016] For example, when detecting other autonomous vehicles, certain known information (e.g., mission intent) can be exchanged to optimize behavior. When a manned obstacle is classified, a decision on behavior can be made by the autonomous vehicle for behavior such as overtaking. As an example, vehicle-to-vehicle classification can distinguish between a manned light vehicle (where overtaking may be prohibited) versus a manned motor grader (where overtaking may be permitted). [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] In the drawings: [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of an autonomous dump truck, which forms an example of an autonomous vehicle of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating functional portions of an embodiment of a system for controlling a plurality of autonomous vehicles at a mining site of the present disclosure. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating functional portions of an embodiment of an autonomous vehicle of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing various manned vehicles. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing intersection handling based solely on sensor perception. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing handling at an intersection using vehicle spacing. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] A system for controlling multiple autonomous vehicles at a mine site is described below. An embodiment of the present invention and an embodiment of an autonomous vehicle to be used at a mining site will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0019] 1 shows an example of an autonomous vehicle to be used at a mining site. In this embodiment, the vehicle is a dump truck for transportation purposes at the mining site. The dump truck may have a payload of 100 metric tons or more.

[0020] The dump truck 30 comprises a chassis movable on wheels 1. The wheels 1 are driven by a drive unit 6 comprising at least one engine. The engine may be an internal combustion engine, for example a diesel engine. In one embodiment, the drive unit 6 may be a diesel-electric drive unit. The wheels may be driven by an electric motor powered by a generator, which in turn is driven by the diesel engine.

[0021] The dump truck shown in Figure 1 comprises a dump body 3 mounted on a chassis 2. The dump body is attached to the chassis on a horizontal pivot axis and can be swiveled and raised by a hoist cylinder 4 to slide material contained therein out of the dump body to the rear side of the dump body.

[0022] The dump truck further comprises a cab 5 for a driver to enable manual operation of the dump truck. In other embodiments, a cab may not be provided. In other embodiments, the cab 5 is provided on a platform 8 located above the heat exchanger 9 and accessible via a staircase 7.

[0023] The dump truck further includes a vehicle control system for autonomously controlling the vehicle.

[0024] 2 shows functional portions of an embodiment of a system for controlling a plurality of autonomous vehicles 30, 40 at a mine site 70, the system comprising a central platform 10, such as a fleet / traffic management system, and a plurality of autonomous vehicles 30, 40. Additionally, in one embodiment, the system may comprise manned vehicles 50, 60.

[0025] The centralized platform 10 may include at least one microprocessor and software stored in non-transitory memory. The software runs on the microprocessor to implement the functions and subsystems of the centralized platform 10 and features of the methods for controlling an autonomous vehicle described herein. Various subsystems of the vehicle control system may be implemented by software and / or hardware components of the centralized platform 10. The centralized platform 10 may further be provided with input and / or output devices that allow monitoring and / or control of the centralized platform 10 by personnel.

[0026] The centralized platform 10 determines and communicates the mission to the vehicles 30, 40. In particular, the centralized platform 10 may be configured to provide a predetermined trajectory to the autonomous vehicles 30, 40.

[0027] In one embodiment, the centralized platform 10 comprises an electronic storage device 11 configured to store an inventory list of the vehicles 30, 40, 50, 60 moving on the mining site 70. Additionally, the electronic storage device 11 may be configured to store a site map of the mining site.

[0028] For communication between the centralization platform and the vehicles 30, 40, 50, 60, the centralization platform 10 is provided with an interface 15 and the vehicles 30, 40, 50, 60 are provided with communication interfaces 31, 41, 51, 61. In one embodiment, the interfaces 15 and 31, 41, 51, 61 are wireless interfaces, in particular radio interfaces. In one embodiment, the mine site may be provided with a radio communication system, such as a mobile phone system, to provide communication between the interface 15 of the centralization platform 10 and the communication interfaces 31, 41, 51, 61 of the vehicles 30, 40, 50, 60. In one embodiment, the radio communication system may cover all traversable areas of the mine site, i.e. all areas in which the vehicles 30, 40, 50, 60 are allowed to move.

[0029] Furthermore, the vehicles 30, 40, 50, 60 are provided with vehicle-to-vehicle communication interfaces 32, 42, 52, 62 for communicating directly with each other. In one embodiment, the interfaces 32, 42, 52, 62 are wireless interfaces, in particular radio interfaces. The vehicle-to-vehicle communication system may be a short-range interface that allows communication between two vehicles when they are close to each other.

[0030] These and other functional parts of vehicle control system 20 of autonomous vehicle 30, in addition to other components of the autonomous vehicle, are further described with respect to FIG.

[0031] The vehicle control system may include at least one microprocessor and software stored in non-transitory memory. The software operates on the microprocessor to implement the functions and subsystems of the vehicle control system and features of the methods for controlling an autonomous vehicle described herein. Various subsystems of the vehicle control system may be implemented by software and / or hardware components of the vehicle control system.

[0032] The vehicle control system 20 of the autonomous vehicle comprises an interface 31 configured to communicate with the centralization platform 10. In one embodiment, the interface 31 may be used to receive a predetermined mission from the centralization platform 10. The centralization platform 10 and the autonomous vehicles 30 at the mine site may communicate, inter alia, via a central radio network installed at the mine site.

[0033] The vehicle control system 20 of the autonomous vehicle may further comprise a trajectory control system 21. The trajectory control system 21 may be configured to autonomously control the autonomous vehicle 30 according to a predetermined mission received from the centralized platform 10.

[0034] In one embodiment, vehicle control system 20 may include a steering control system 22 configured to control a steering system of the autonomous vehicle, a propulsion control system 37 configured to control a propulsion system of the vehicle, and a brake control system 23 configured to control a braking system of the autonomous vehicle. The propulsion system may, among other things, include one or more motors for driving the wheels of the vehicle.

[0035] In one embodiment, the trajectory control system 21 may be configured to autonomously control the autonomous vehicle 30 via the steering control system 22, the propulsion control system 37, and the braking control system 23 to follow a trajectory prescribed by a mission. In particular, as part of the mission, the centralized platform 10 may communicate a predetermined trajectory to the autonomous vehicle 30, and the trajectory control system 21 may be configured to autonomously control the autonomous vehicle 30 along the predetermined trajectory via the steering control system 22 and the braking control system 23.

[0036] The vehicle control system 20 may further include a detection system 24. The detection system 24 may be configured to evaluate signals of sensors 34 disposed on the autonomous vehicle.

[0037] The detection system 24 may be configured to detect obstacles, such as other vehicles 40, 50, 60, by evaluating sensor information received from at least one sensor 34 of the autonomous vehicle.

[0038] In one embodiment, the detection system may be further configured to detect stationary obstacles.

[0039] In one embodiment, the detection system 24 may be configured to detect the position and / or attitude of the autonomous vehicle at the mine site 70.

[0040] Furthermore, the vehicle control system 20 may include a collision prediction system 25 configured to predict a collision with an obstacle, such as another vehicle 40 , 50 , 60 , detected by the detection system 24 .

[0041] Further, in one embodiment, the vehicle control system may include a collision avoidance system 26. The collision avoidance system may be configured to autonomously replan a predefined trajectory built into the vehicle to provide a replanned trajectory that avoids the collision if the collision prediction system 25 predicts a collision.

[0042] The vehicle control system 20 may be connected to sensors 34. At least one sensor 34 is connected to the detection system 24 to enable the detection system 24 to detect obstacles, such as other vehicles.

[0043] The vehicle control system 20 may further be connected to an actuator 33. The actuator may include a steering actuator connected to the steering control system 22 to enable the steering control system to steer the vehicle, and a braking actuator connected to the brake control system 23 to enable the brake control system to brake the vehicle.

[0044] Additionally, as mentioned above, the vehicle control system 20 may include a vehicle-to-vehicle communication interface 32 for communicating directly with vehicle-to-vehicle communication interfaces 42, 52, 62 of other vehicles 40, 50, 60 at the mine site to exchange information between the vehicles. Notably, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication may be independent of the central radio network used to communicate with the centralization platform 10.

[0045] In one embodiment, information exchanged between the vehicles 30, 40, 50, 60 includes localization information and future mission information.

[0046] In particular, the position measurement information provided by an autonomous vehicle via vehicle-to-vehicle communication interface 32 may include the current position, heading, and speed of the autonomous vehicle.

[0047] The future mission information may include route information about a trajectory to be followed by the vehicle. In particular, the route information may include information about a route that the autonomous vehicle will follow in the immediate future. The route information may include a current location and / or a certain distance and / or travel time from a current time.

[0048] In one embodiment, the route information may be used by the collision avoidance system 26 of the autonomous vehicle to avoid collisions with other vehicles.

[0049] Collision avoidance system 26 may use predefined braking and yielding rules to avoid a collision. For example, if collision prediction system 25 predicts a collision based on a predetermined trajectory currently being followed by the autonomous vehicle and route information received by other vehicles via vehicle-to-vehicle interface 32, collision avoidance system 26 may use predefined braking and yielding rules to avoid the collision.

[0050] FIG. 5 shows a first autonomous vehicle 30 traveling along a first predetermined trajectory 35 along a first road 73 on a mining site 70, and a second autonomous vehicle 40 traveling along a second predetermined trajectory 45 along a second road 72 on the mining site 70.

[0051] 5 , a first road 73 and a second road 72 merge into a third road 71 at an intersection 80. Due to a hill 74 located between the first road 73 and the second road 72, the first autonomous vehicle 30 and the second autonomous vehicle 40 can only notice each other based on sensor perception just before the intersection 80. In such a case, the distance x to the intersection 80 may be too short for the vehicles to avoid a collision.

[0052] FIG. 6 illustrates the same situation as FIG. 5, but using vehicle-to-vehicle communication 90 between the first autonomous vehicle 30 and the second autonomous vehicle 40. The vehicle-to-vehicle communication 90 is used to exchange position and route information for a given trajectory followed by the first autonomous vehicle 30 and the second autonomous vehicle 40. Thereby, a potential collision between the vehicles can be predicted early enough to modify the behavior of at least one of the first autonomous vehicle 30 and the second autonomous vehicle 40 to avoid the collision. Such a collision can also be avoided, especially in the case of an outage of the central radio network used for communication between the vehicles and the centralization platform 10. Prior art efforts, in contrast, use a central radio network at the mine site to avoid these situations. The concepts of the present disclosure use vehicle-to-vehicle communication in addition to any wireless network-based scheme that comes to mind, to more precisely communicate with the vehicle. This makes it resistant to high frequency outages, latency and blind spots.

[0053] In particular, based on the route information and the predicted collision, the first autonomous vehicle 30 and the second autonomous vehicle 40 apply predefined yielding rules, e.g., the second autonomous vehicle 40 arriving from the left hand side will yield to the first autonomous vehicle 30 arriving at the intersection from the right hand side. Thus, based on the vehicle-to-vehicle data exchange, the vehicles may autonomously change their behavior to avoid the predicted collision, i.e., without receiving a corresponding command or mission update from the centralized platform 10.

[0054] Therefore, the second autonomous vehicle 40 autonomously replans its predetermined trajectory into a new replanned trajectory 45' and stops at a waiting position 81 until the first autonomous vehicle 30 has passed through the intersection.

[0055] In one embodiment, predefined braking and yielding rules may be equally applied to predicted collisions without information received via vehicle-to-vehicle interface 32 .

[0056] In one embodiment, the vehicle-to-vehicle interface 32 may not be used to negotiate behavior rules between autonomous vehicles, but may only be used to transmit information about the intended behavior of the vehicles to which other vehicles may react based on predefined rules.

[0057] The path information provided by the autonomous vehicle may include path information based on at least one of a predetermined trajectory received from a centralized platform and a replanned trajectory provided by the collision avoidance system 26 to avoid a collision predicted by the collision prediction system 25 with the vehicle detected by the detection system 24.

[0058] 6, the second autonomous vehicle may transmit a replanned trajectory 45' to the first autonomous vehicle 30. As a result, the first autonomous vehicle 30 may follow a trajectory 35' that does not include any countermeasures for collisions after receiving the replanned trajectory 45'. For example, the first autonomous vehicle 30 may not slow down at an intersection.

[0059] In an embodiment, the autonomous vehicle detection system 24 may fuse information used to detect other vehicles with information received from other vehicles via a vehicle-to-vehicle communication interface to augment the sensor's perception of the other vehicles.

[0060] In particular, the autonomous vehicle detection system 24 may fuse sensor information about the position, heading and / or speed of other vehicles with information about the position, heading and / or speed of the vehicle received from the vehicle via the vehicle-to-vehicle communication interface to provide improved values ​​for the position, size, magnitude, heading and / or speed of the vehicle that can be used to predict a collision with the vehicle.

[0061] As described above, in one embodiment, the system may further include a plurality of manned vehicles, the manned vehicles also equipped with a vehicle-to-vehicle communication interface for directly communicating with at least one of the autonomous vehicles at the mine site to exchange information between the vehicles.

[0062] In one embodiment, the vehicle control system 20 of the autonomous vehicle 30 may further comprise a classification system 27 for classifying vehicles according to their type.

[0063] In one embodiment, the information exchanged between the vehicles may include classification information, and the classification system 27 of the autonomous vehicle may determine the type of other vehicles in its vicinity based on the classification information received from that vehicle. The method may be configured to determine based on the

[0064] In one embodiment, the classification system 27 of the autonomous vehicle may be configured to determine the type of other vehicles in its vicinity based on sensor information received from at least one sensor of the autonomous vehicle.

[0065] In one embodiment, the type defines whether the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle or a manned vehicle, such that the classification system 27 can distinguish between autonomous and manned vehicles.

[0066] In one embodiment, the autonomous vehicle may include a management system 36 for managing its behavior with respect to other vehicles in its vicinity, and the management system 36 may be configured to use a first set of rules for other vehicles of a first type and a second set of rules for other vehicles of a second type, the first type and the second type being determined by the classification system 27.

[0067] For example, the first type of vehicle may be an autonomous vehicle and the second type of vehicle may be a manned vehicle, such that the management system 36 may be configured to behave differently depending on whether a vehicle in its vicinity is an autonomous vehicle or a manned vehicle.

[0068] In one embodiment, the classification system may be configured to classify the manned vehicles according to their type, where a first type of vehicle may be a first type of manned vehicle and a second type of vehicle may be a second type of manned vehicle. Thus, the management system 36 may be configured to behave differently depending on whether a vehicle in its vicinity is a first type of manned vehicle or a second type of manned vehicle.

[0069] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary set of manned vehicles that an autonomous vehicle 30 may encounter at a mining site, such as a light vehicle 50, a bulldozer 60, a grader 60', an excavator 60", or a drill 60"'. Additionally, an autonomous vehicle 30 may encounter personnel 55 equipped with handheld devices. Such handheld devices may also be equipped with vehicle-to-vehicle capabilities. In the context of this disclosure, personnel 55 equipped with handheld devices equipped with vehicle-to-vehicle capabilities are also considered to be manned vehicles.

[0070] The light vehicles 50 and personnel 55 may be classified as a first type of manned vehicle and the bulldozers 60, graders 60', excavators 60" or drills 60'" as a second type of manned vehicle, such that different rules may apply to these categories or types.

[0071] Further, in one embodiment, management system 36 may be configured to use first, second and third sets of rules for other vehicles of first, second and third types. In particular, the first and second types may be a first type of manned vehicle and a second type of manned vehicle, and the third type may be an autonomous vehicle.

[0072] In one embodiment, management system 36 may be configured to manage at least one of overtaking and intersection handling of other vehicles. In particular, the autonomous vehicle's overtaking and / or intersection handling of other vehicles in its vicinity may depend on the vehicle type determined by classification system 27.

[0073] For example, overtaking may be prohibited for a first type of manned vehicle (such as a light vehicle 50) but allowed for a second type of manned vehicle (such as a bulldozer 60, a grader 60', an excavator 60" or a drill 60'").

[0074] In one embodiment, the centralized platform is configured to transmit a list of vehicles moving on the mine site to the autonomous vehicles 30 for on-board storage in corresponding electronic storage devices 29. It can be done.

[0075] Additionally, autonomous vehicle 30 may be configured to update inventory 29 stored on-board based on information received directly from other vehicles via vehicle-to-vehicle interface 32. Thus, if the autonomous vehicle identifies another vehicle based on information received directly from the other vehicle via vehicle-to-vehicle interface 32, the autonomous vehicle may check whether the vehicle is included in inventory 29. If not, the autonomous vehicle may update inventory 29.

[0076] Additionally, autonomous vehicle 30 may be configured to update inventory 29 stored on-board based on sensor information. Thus, when detection system 24 detects another vehicle based on signals received from sensors 34, it may check whether the vehicle is included in inventory 29. If not, it may update inventory 29.

[0077] The autonomous vehicles may be further configured to notify the centralized platform of an updated inventory 29.

[0078] In one embodiment, the centralized platform may be configured to store and transmit to the autonomous vehicle 30 for on-board storage in the electronic storage device 28 a map of the mine site, including the road network.

[0079] Further, the collision prediction system 25 of the autonomous vehicle 30 may be configured to determine roads in the road network that are used by other vehicles in its vicinity based on at least one of sensor information and information received from other vehicles via a vehicle-to-vehicle interface.

[0080] By determining which roads are used by other vehicles, the collision prediction system 25 improves prediction results.

[0081] For example, if a road is a two-way road, other vehicles traveling in approximately the same direction as the autonomous vehicle on the same two-way road are less likely to collide with the autonomous vehicle.

[0082] In such situations, vehicle-to-vehicle may be used to augment sensor perception to improve collision prediction by the collision prediction system 25 of the first vehicle and to prevent erroneous interaction (e.g., stopping) with the second vehicle by the collision avoidance system 26 when the vehicle sensors of the first vehicle detect a second vehicle that appears to be traveling toward the first vehicle based on sensor data. By exchanging information via vehicle-to-vehicle, the collision prediction system 25 of the first vehicle may be able to more reliably determine that the second vehicle does not in fact pose a threat to the trajectory of the first vehicle, following its trajectory on the opposite side of the two-way road, as exchanged via vehicle-to-vehicle.

[0083] Such a situation may occur especially on two-way roads with slight curvature. If a sensor of a first vehicle, such as a lidar sensor, detects a second vehicle coming straight toward the first vehicle, the collision prediction system 25 of the first vehicle may predict a collision based on the sensor data and the collision avoidance system 26 may suggest stopping the first vehicle. However, the collision prediction system 25 of the first vehicle will know based on the vehicle-to-vehicle information received from the second vehicle that the second vehicle is following a curved trajectory and there is no risk of a collision.

[0084] Furthermore, if other vehicles are traveling on roads that have an intersection with the road the autonomous vehicle is traveling on, the likelihood of a collision is higher if no measures are taken.

[0085] Therefore, the management system 36 determines based on the site plan 28 that the vehicle is proceeding. Depending on the road, a vehicle may be configured to use different behaviors with respect to nearby vehicles.

[0086] An embodiment of a method for operating an autonomous vehicle at a mining site comprises the following steps: sending a mission from a centralized platform 10 to said autonomous vehicle 30; autonomously controlling, by the autonomous vehicle trajectory control system 21, the autonomous vehicle 30 along a predetermined trajectory defined by the mission; receiving information directly from other vehicles operating on the mine site via a vehicle-to-vehicle communication interface of the autonomous vehicle; It may comprise:

[0087] In one embodiment, the method further comprises: - predicting whether there is a risk of a collision based on information received from the other vehicles proceeding on the mining site via the vehicle-to-vehicle communication interface; replanning the predetermined trajectory to avoid the collision; The device may further include:

[0088] The method may use the system described above. Moreover, the method may comprise the further steps and features described above with respect to the system.

[0089] The present disclosure includes a second embodiment of a system for controlling a plurality of autonomous vehicles 30, 40 at a mining site 70, the second embodiment including similar functional components to those described above. Accordingly, the second embodiment will be similarly described with reference to Figures 1-3.

[0090] In a second embodiment, the system further comprises: a centralized platform 10 configured to store a map 12 of the mining site, including the road network, and a list 13 of vehicles moving on said mining site 70, and configured to determine and communicate missions to said vehicles 30, 40; A plurality of autonomous vehicles 30, 40, the autonomous vehicles comprising: an interface 31 configured to communicate with said convergence platform 10 to receive a predetermined mission; a track control system 21 configured to autonomously control the vehicles 30, 40 according to the predetermined mission; a detection system 24 configured to detect other vehicles by evaluating sensor information received from at least one sensor 34 of said vehicle; a collision prediction system 25 configured to predict a collision with the other vehicle detected by the detection system 24; Equipped with.

[0091] In a second embodiment, the centralized platform 10 may be configured to communicate a map 12 of the mine site to the autonomous vehicles 30, 40 for on-board storage, and the collision prediction system 25 of the autonomous vehicles may be configured to determine roads in the road network used by other vehicles in the vicinity based on at least one of sensor information and information received from the other vehicles via the vehicle-to-vehicle interface 32.

[0092] Further, the centralized platform may be configured to communicate the inventory to the autonomous vehicle for on-board storage.

[0093] All features described above with respect to the first embodiment may be equally applied to the second embodiment.

[0094] The present disclosure further includes an autonomous vehicle 30 configured to travel around a mining site, the mining site comprising a centralized platform 10 configured to store an inventory 13 of vehicles traveling around the mining site 70 and to determine and communicate missions to the autonomous vehicles.

[0095] In one embodiment, the autonomous vehicle 30 includes: an interface 31 configured to communicate with said convergence platform 10 to receive a predetermined mission; a trajectory control system 21 configured to autonomously control the autonomous vehicle according to the predetermined mission; a detection system 24 configured to detect other vehicles by evaluating sensor information received from at least one sensor 34 of the autonomous vehicle; a collision prediction system 25 configured to predict a collision with the other vehicle detected by the detection system; a vehicle-to-vehicle communication interface 32 for directly communicating with at least one of the other vehicles traveling on the mine site; It may comprise:

[0096] In one embodiment, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication interface 31 may be configured to exchange at least one of vehicle type and mission information.

[0097] In one embodiment, autonomous vehicle 30 may be configured as described above with respect to the system.

[0098] A more detailed embodiment of the system is described below.

[0099] Autonomous Control The mission plan to be distributed from the centralized platform 10 to the vehicle control system 20 of the autonomous vehicle 30 includes the high level path required to accomplish the requested mission. This may include road assignments to follow, detailed route assignments for map following instructions, location of (loading) points, and unloading locations. In addition, target speeds along the route are provided, including any necessary intersection information, such as stopping and yielding rules. The vehicle control system 20 may be informed by the centralized platform about relevant vehicles that the autonomous vehicle 30 may encounter while performing the mission.

[0100] On-board mine site configuration database The centralized platform 10 maintains a mine site configuration database including a map 12 and an inventory 13 of the mine site.

[0101] During start-up, the vehicle control system 20 is provided with a copy of the mine site configuration database by the centralized platform 10 and the mine site configuration database is stored on board the vehicle in the vehicle control system 20 database as a map 28 and inventory 29 of the mine site.

[0102] During operation, the vehicle control system 20 may accept updates to the mine site configuration database from the centralized platform 10 .

[0103] The mine site configuration database stored on the vehicle is i. Map of the mine a) A surface model of all operational areas, including roads, loading areas, unloading areas, maintenance areas, and other drivable areas. b) All road segments, intersections, road types (one-way, two-way), and maximum road speeds Road network including c) Location information, including location type and entry / exit coordinate information; d) Maps of the mine, in particular three-dimensional maps of the mine site. ii. Inventory (information on equipment operating in the autonomous operation zone) a) Autonomous vehicle fleet information b) Manned equipment and their types (OHT, loading equipment, repair equipment, light vehicles, etc.) may be defined.

[0104] Two-way traffic management With the complete road network stored on-board the vehicle, it may be possible for the vehicle control system to use its own perception capabilities, without using vehicle-to-vehicle spacing, to know that a detected moving vehicle is in a valid lane and is not a threat.

[0105] The vehicle control system may match a detected approaching object with a probable portion of the road network, allowing the vehicle control system to classify the approaching object as not being a threat even if it is located within the field of view of the perception sensor.

[0106] Additionally, at least some vehicles are equipped with vehicle spacing to augment sensor awareness. Not all assets may have vehicle spacing.

[0107] In particular, the vehicle control system utilizes vehicle-to-vehicle information to handle oncoming traffic. Oncoming traffic can be evaluated as being on-route or off-route based on its available vehicle-to-vehicle information. A handling of oncoming traffic in the route can be determined based on the available vehicle-to-vehicle information.

[0108] Intersection Management The vehicle control system may use perception, predefined rules for intersections, and known locations and trajectories of other assets in the network to avoid collisions and / or unexpected moving vehicles.

[0109] Vehicle-to-vehicle communication Vehicle control systems may use vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications to exchange information with other manned and autonomous systems in their vicinity.

[0110] The vehicle control system may send and receive information via the vehicle-to-vehicle interface 32 .

[0111] The vehicle control system may provide information via the vehicle-to-vehicle system at a predetermined rate, and the information may be provided continuously without being queried by or in response to a request by other vehicles.

[0112] The information sent by the vehicle control system of an autonomous vehicle via vehicle-to-vehicle communication includes the following pieces of information: i. Fused position measurements of attitude and motion of autonomous vehicles a. Latitude / Longitude (WGS84 coordinates) b. Direction of travel c.Speed ​​and direction ii. Future Mission Information a. Interpolated route for a particular distance (including any route replanning due to ODOA) b. ETA for each point along the route iii. Message Timestamp may include one or more of:

[0113] The vehicle control system receives the following pieces of information from other autonomous assets via vehicle-to-vehicle: i. Fused position measurements of attitude and motion of autonomous vehicles a. Latitude / Longitude (WGS84 coordinates) b. Direction of travel c.Speed ​​and direction ii. Future Mission Information a. Interpolated route for a particular distance (including any route replanning due to ODOA) b. ETA for each point along the route iii. Message Timestamp The signal may receive one or more of:

[0114] The vehicle control system receives the following pieces of information from the non-autonomous or manned assets via vehicle-to-vehicle: i. Asset Number / Identifier ii. Asset location iii. Asset Velocity iv. Asset Trend v. Asset Safety Bubble Radius vi. Message Timestamp The signal may receive one or more of:

[0115] Vehicle-to-vehicle communication may be utilized by vehicle control systems with the following goals:

[0116] Perception enhancement The vehicle control system may fuse vehicle-to-vehicle information with perception-based object detection information. The vehicle control system may blend vehicle-to-vehicle communication with perception-based object detection to facilitate object identification and classification.

[0117] A vehicle control system may supplement perception-based object detection with vehicle-to-vehicle communication by adding objects not detected by perception to the current set of detected objects.

[0118] The present disclosure thereby provides the idea of ​​augmenting sensor perception with vehicle-to-vehicle techniques for the purpose of enhancing obstacle detection and classification.

Claims

1. 1. A system for controlling a plurality of autonomous vehicles at a mining site, comprising: a centralized platform configured to store an inventory of vehicles moving on the mining site and configured to determine and communicate missions to the vehicles; a plurality of autonomous vehicles, the autonomous vehicles comprising: an interface configured to communicate with the centralized platform to receive a predetermined mission; a trajectory control system configured to autonomously control the autonomous vehicle in accordance with the predetermined mission; a detection system configured to detect other vehicles by evaluating sensor information received from at least one sensor of the vehicle; a collision prediction system configured to predict a collision with the other vehicle detected by the detection system; a vehicle-to-vehicle communication interface for directly communicating with at least one of the other vehicles at the mine site to exchange information between the vehicles; A system comprising:

2. The information exchanged between the vehicles includes positioning information and future mission information. The system of claim 1 .

3. the future mission information includes route information about a trajectory to be followed by the vehicle, the route information being used by a collision avoidance system of the autonomous vehicle; The system of claim 2.

4. the predetermined mission includes a predetermined trajectory to be followed by the autonomous vehicle, the autonomous vehicle further comprising a collision avoidance system configured to autonomously replan the predetermined trajectory embedded in the vehicle if the collision prediction system predicts a collision to provide a replanned trajectory that avoids the collision. The system of claim 3.

5. the route information exchanged by the vehicles includes route information of the replanned trajectory; The system of claim 4.

6. The detection system of the autonomous vehicle fuses the sensor information used to detect other vehicles and information received from other vehicles to enhance sensor perception of the other vehicles. The system of claim 1 .

7. The vehicle further comprises a plurality of manned vehicles, the manned vehicles comprising: a vehicle-to-vehicle communication interface for communicating directly with a vehicle-to-vehicle communication interface of at least one other vehicle in the fleet of vehicles at the mine site for exchanging information between the vehicles; The system of claim 1 .

8. the autonomous vehicle comprising a classification system for classifying vehicles according to their type; The system of claim 1 .

9. the information exchanged between the vehicles includes classification information, and the classification system of the autonomous vehicle is configured to determine the type of other vehicles in its vicinity based on the classification information received from the vehicle. The system of claim 8.

10. 10. The system of claim 8, wherein the classification system of the autonomous vehicle is configured to determine a type of other vehicles in its vicinity based on sensor information received from at least one sensor of the autonomous vehicle.

11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the type defines whether the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle or a manned vehicle.

12. the autonomous vehicle comprises a management system for managing its behavior with respect to other vehicles in its vicinity, the management system being configured to use a first set of rules for other vehicles of a first type and a second set of rules for other vehicles of a second type, the first type and the second type being determined by the classification system; The system of claim 8.

13. the classification system is configured to classify the manned vehicles according to their type, the first type of vehicle being a first type of manned vehicle and the second type of vehicle being a second type of manned vehicle; The system of claim 12.

14. The management system is configured to manage at least one of overtaking and handling of other vehicles at the intersection. The system of claim 12.

15. The centralized platform is configured to communicate the inventory of vehicles moving on the mining site to the autonomous vehicles for on-board storage, and the autonomous vehicles are configured to update the inventory stored on-board based on at least one of sensor information and information received from the other vehicles via a vehicle-to-vehicle interface. The system of claim 1 .

16. The centralized platform is configured to store and transmit to the autonomous vehicle for on-board storage a map of the mine site including a road network, and the collision prediction system of the autonomous vehicle is configured to determine roads in the road network used by other vehicles in the vicinity based on at least one of sensor information and information received from the other vehicles via the vehicle-to-vehicle interface. The system of claim 1 .

17. 1. A system for controlling a plurality of autonomous vehicles at a mining site, comprising: a centralized platform configured to store a map of the mining site including a road network and an inventory of vehicles moving on the mining site, and configured to determine and transmit missions to the vehicles; a plurality of autonomous vehicles, the autonomous vehicles comprising: an interface configured to communicate with the centralized platform to receive a predetermined mission; a track control system configured to autonomously control the vehicle in accordance with the predetermined mission; a detection system configured to detect other vehicles by evaluating sensor information received from at least one sensor of the vehicle; a collision prediction system configured to predict a collision with the other vehicle detected by the detection system, The centralized platform is configured to communicate a map of the mine site to the autonomous vehicle for on-board storage, and the collision prediction system of the autonomous vehicle is configured to determine roads in the road network used by other vehicles in the vicinity based on at least one of sensor information and information received from the other vehicles via a vehicle-to-vehicle interface. system.

18. the centralized platform is configured to communicate the inventory to the autonomous vehicle for on-board storage; 20. The system of claim 17.

19. an autonomous vehicle configured to travel through a mining site, the mining site comprising a centralized platform configured to store an inventory of vehicles traveling through the mining site and configured to determine and communicate missions to the autonomous vehicle; The autonomous vehicle includes: an interface configured to communicate with the centralized platform to receive a predetermined mission; a track control system configured to autonomously control the vehicle in accordance with the predetermined mission; a detection system configured to detect other vehicles by evaluating sensor information received from at least one sensor of the autonomous vehicle; a collision prediction system configured to predict a collision with the other vehicle detected by the detection system; a vehicle-to-vehicle communication interface for directly communicating with at least one of the other vehicles traveling on the mine site; An autonomous vehicle comprising:

20. the vehicle-to-vehicle communication interface is configured to exchange at least one of vehicle type and mission information; 20. The autonomous vehicle of claim 19.

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