Systems and methods for interactive vehicle transportation networks

Abstract

A vehicle tracking device for tracking one or more vehicles at geographic locations in a transportation network through which they may travel comprises one or more IR sensors having a field of view and detecting IR radiation emitted or reflected from one or more vehicles at geographic locations within the field of view; a receiver receiving identification data uniquely identifying each of the one or more vehicles and position data indicative of an initial position of each of the one or more vehicles when the one or more vehicles entered the field of view at the geographic location; a processor determining current kinematic data of the one or more vehicles in at least two dimensions based on the IR radiation detected by the one or more IR sensors, the received unique identification data and the received position data; and a transmitter transmitting the determined current kinematic data of a particular one of the one or more vehicles to a remotely located kinematic data receiver.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to systems and methods for interactive vehicle transportation networks, e.g., involving autonomous vehicles. More specifically, but not exclusively, the present invention is directed to improvements in or relating to systems and methods for operating transportation networks involving ground or air vehicles that provide transportation of passengers or goods along, over, or near designated motorways and freeways, roads, railroads, or other routes within or between cities and urban areas. Some or all of the vehicles may be of any scale, ranging from fully autonomous to fully driver / pilot controlled, and may or may not be integrated with local, regional, or national traffic management systems. Such interactive systems and methods may not only track vehicles, but also relate to corresponding data management and / or communications regarding such vehicles. [Background technology]

[0002] As autonomous vehicles continue to be developed, traffic management systems must adapt to take advantage of their new capabilities. Specifically, when vehicles are able to control their own movements, some of the disadvantages of user control, such as driver or pilot reaction time, concentration, and fatigue, are eliminated. As a result, autonomous vehicles can react more quickly to environmental hazards, thereby safely enabling higher speeds and higher vehicle densities compared to user-controlled vehicles, which must apply factors such as thinking distance when considering safe stopping distances.

[0003] To achieve such traffic management, vehicles need access to accurate motion data about themselves and each vehicle in their vicinity so that they can act appropriately, including both the motion data of the specific vehicle performing the action and the motion data of other vehicles in their vicinity that may influence the decision on what action to take.

[0004] Current technology architectures rely on the principle that sensors onboard vehicles provide each vehicle with its own situational awareness, which allows the vehicle to infer its environment and make its own decisions.

[0005] In recent years, commercially available situational sensing and geolocation technologies, including RADAR (Radio Detection and Ranging), LIDAR (Light Imaging Detection and Ranging), GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems), EO (Electro-Optic) sensors, and IR (Infra-Red) sensors, have all been successfully reduced in mass, size, power consumption, thermal output, and susceptibility to environmental hazards, such as mechanical shock, vibration, and electromagnetic interference, to the point where they can essentially be integrated into commercial vehicles (e.g., buses, trucks, taxis, drones) and private vehicles (e.g., passenger cars and personal airplanes) and work together to provide situational awareness and enable driverless or pilotless vehicles. However, in safety-critical applications such as driverless or pilotless vehicles, all of these approaches to situational awareness based on multiple sensors and sensor fusion entail significant complexity. In the author's experience in defense and aerospace, this complexity inevitably drives up vehicle costs and increases the risk of safety hazards. Furthermore, adopting a common approach is becoming increasingly difficult, as standardization becomes more difficult. Despite significant investments by many large technology companies in driverless cars, progress has been slow over the past decade, and concerns about safety risks have grown to the point that the possibility of regulatory approval for driverless cars is in doubt.

[0006] Some known systems attempt to implement roadside, on-road, or above-road sensing equipment to detect, locate, track, and communicate with vehicles, for example, for traffic flow management purposes. However, these systems typically cannot achieve the real-time kinematic accuracy and reliability of detection required for safe autonomous navigation in traffic flows at currently legislated speeds and advisory spacings, let alone increased traffic volumes.

[0007] Taking traffic traveling on a motorway or freeway at a typical speed of 100 km / h (28 m / s) as an example, if the ground truth (i.e., physical reality) of the vehicle's longitudinal position is to be measured with an accuracy of 5 cm for every 50 cm of movement, the measurements must be repeated at that accuracy with a period of about 20 ms, which corresponds to a frequency of about 50 Hz. Existing roadside systems cannot achieve this accuracy and frequency.

[0008] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to address at least one or more of the above-mentioned problems. Summary of the Invention

[0009] According to a first aspect of this embodiment, there is provided a vehicle tracking device for tracking one or more vehicles at geographic locations in a transportation network in which the one or more vehicles may travel, the vehicle tracking device comprising: one or more Infra-Red (IR) sensors, the IR sensors having a field of view and configured to detect IR radiation emitted or reflected from the one or more vehicles at the geographic location within the field of view; a receiver configured to receive identification data uniquely identifying each of the one or more vehicles and position data indicative of an initial position of each of the one or more vehicles when the one or more vehicles entered the field of view at the geographic location; a processor configured to determine current kinematic data of the one or more vehicles in at least two dimensions based on the IR radiation detected by the one or more IR sensors, the received unique identification data, and the received position data; and a transmitter configured to transmit the determined current kinematic data of a particular vehicle of the one or more vehicles to a kinematic data receiver located remotely from the transmitter.

[0010] In some embodiments, the particular vehicle is a ground vehicle. In such embodiments, the vehicle tracking device may be provided with terrain mapping data, and the processor may be configured to determine current three-dimensional kinematic data based on one or more of the detected IR emissions, the unique identification data, previously determined kinematic data for each of the one or more vehicles, and the terrain mapping data. In another embodiment, the particular vehicle is an airborne vehicle.

[0011] In a further embodiment, the one or more vehicles include at least two vehicles, one of which is a ground vehicle and the other of which is an airborne vehicle, and the one or more IR sensors include at least two sensors, one IR sensor configured to detect IR radiation emitted or reflected from the ground vehicle and another IR sensor configured to detect IR radiation emitted or reflected from the airborne vehicle.

[0012] In yet another embodiment, the processor is configured to determine current kinematic data for each of the one or more corresponding vehicles using previously determined current kinematic data for the one or more vehicles as input to the processor. In some embodiments, the processor is configured to determine current kinematic data for the one or more vehicles at a frequency of at least 50 Hz.

[0013] In some embodiments, the receiver is further configured to receive data related to a ground space envelope or an air space envelope of the one or more vehicles, and the processor is configured to determine a relative position of the one or more vehicles using the ground space envelope or the air space envelope.

[0014] In some embodiments, the vehicle tracking device further comprises an IR emitter configured to emit IR radiation towards the one or more vehicles.

[0015] In a further embodiment, the transmitter is configured to transmit the determined current kinematic data to a kinematic data receiver of a particular vehicle. In some embodiments, the transmitter is configured to transmit the determined current kinematic data for each of the one or more vehicles to a kinematic data receiver of each of the one or more vehicles. In another embodiment, the transmitter is configured to transmit the determined kinematic data to a remotely located Traffic Management System (TMS). In a further configuration of the above embodiment, the processor may be further configured to generate a control signal for controlling the particular vehicle of the one or more vehicles based on the determined current kinematic data for the at least one of the one or more vehicles, the control signal including instructions that, when executed by the particular vehicle, cause a change in speed or position of the particular vehicle, and the transmitter is further configured to transmit the control signal to the particular vehicle.

[0016] In an embodiment of this aspect, at least one of the one or more IR sensors is configured to detect IR radiation emitted from or reflected from a fixed geographic reference point, and the processor is further configured to determine a position of the vehicle tracking device relative to the fixed geographic reference point and use the determined position of the vehicle tracking device in determining the current kinematic data of the one or more vehicles.

[0017] In a further embodiment, the current kinematic data of the one or more vehicles determined by the processor includes at least the geographic position of the corresponding vehicle over time. In yet another embodiment, the vehicle tracking device is configured to monitor entry points having fixed locations and receive data related to the fixed locations at a particular time as initial positions of each of the one or more vehicles. The processor may be further configured to generate a pull request to be sent by the transmitter, requesting the one or more vehicles to transmit the unique identifier data and initial position data.

[0018] In a further aspect of the present embodiment, there is further provided a vehicle tracking system for tracking one or more vehicles, the vehicle tracking system including a plurality of vehicle tracking devices according to any of the configurations of the first aspect arranged in a network, wherein a transmitter of a first vehicle tracking device is configured to transmit the current kinematic data determined at the first vehicle tracking device and unique identification data of the one or more vehicles to a second vehicle tracking device of the plurality of tracking devices, and a receiver of the first vehicle tracking device is configured to receive the current kinematic data determined at a third vehicle tracking device of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices and unique identification data of the one or more vehicles from the third vehicle tracking device.

[0019] The processor of the second vehicle tracking device is further configured to receive current kinematic data for at least one of the one or more vehicles determined locally at the second device from the first vehicle tracking device and compare it to the current kinematic data determined at the first vehicle tracking device to determine whether the locally determined current kinematic data and the received kinematic data match. In such a case, the second vehicle tracking device may receive results of data comparisons between at least two other vehicle tracking devices, and the processor of the second tracking device may be configured to use voting to identify tracking devices that are behaving inconsistently.

[0020] In yet another embodiment of this aspect, at least two of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices are arranged so as to be geographically adjacent to one another, and the IR sensors of the adjacently positioned vehicle tracking devices have partially overlapping fields of view.

[0021] In some embodiments of this aspect, the vehicle tracking system further includes a remote communication device, the remote communication device including a remote data receiver configured to receive remote data from a wide area communication network and a remote data transmitter configured to transmit the remote data to one or more of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices, the one or more of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices configured to receive the remote data and transmit the received remote data to at least one of the one or more vehicles. The remote communication device may be configured to transmit the received remote data to each of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices. The remote communication device may be further configured to transmit the received remote data to each of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices in parallel. A current vehicle tracking device of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices may be further configured to receive the remote data transmitted from the remote communication device directly or via another one of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices and transmit the received remote data to a further one of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices.

[0022] In some of the above embodiments, the remote communication device may be further configured to receive local data from one or more of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices and transmit the local data to the wide area communication network.

[0023] In yet another configuration of the above embodiment, a first vehicle tracking device of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices is configured to transmit the determined current kinematic data of the vehicle tracking device to the remote communication device, and the remote communication device is configured to receive the determined current kinematic data from the first vehicle tracking device of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices. In such a configuration, a second vehicle tracking device of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices may be configured to receive the determined current kinematic data from the remote communication device. The remote communication device may be further configured to transmit the determined current kinematic data to a remotely located interaction device local to the system. The remote communication device may be communicatively coupled to a Traffic Management System (TMS) and configured to transmit the determined current kinematic data to the TMS. The remote communication device may be configured to receive the determined current kinematic data from the TMS. The remote data receiver may include a satellite communication receiver. The remote data receiver may include a OneWeb satellite communication receiver. The remote data receiver may include a 4G or 5G wireless communication receiver. The remote data receiver may include a wired network communications receiver.

[0024] The remote data may include a control signal for controlling a particular vehicle of the one or more vehicles based on the determined current kinematic data for the at least one of the one or more vehicles, the control signal including an instruction that, when executed by the particular vehicle, changes a speed or position of the particular vehicle, and the transmitter of a particular vehicle tracking device in proximity to the particular vehicle may be further configured to transmit the control signal to the particular vehicle.

[0025] In some embodiments, the remote communication device includes a plurality of remote communication devices, each of which is located at a location geographically distant from other ones of the plurality of remote communication devices and is configured to transmit the remote data to one or more of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices located within a geographic area proximate to the location of the remote communication device.

[0026] In some embodiments of this aspect, the system further includes a local communications device, the local communications device including a local data receiver configured to receive local data from one or more of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices and a local data transmitter configured to transmit the local data to a remotely located device over a wide area communications network, the one or more of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices configured to receive local data from at least one of the one or more vehicles and transmit the received local data to the local communications device. The local data may include one or more of vehicle diagnostic and prognostic data, driver status data, driver health data, driver or passenger activity data, and vehicle telemetry data. The local data may include any data originating from a vehicle, its contents, or occupants. In some embodiments, the one or more vehicles are airborne vehicles, and a first subset of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices is configured to track one or more airborne vehicles traveling at a first altitude, and a second subset of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices is configured to track one or more airborne vehicles traveling at a second altitude.

[0027] In a further aspect of this embodiment, a method is provided for tracking one or more vehicles at geographic locations within a transportation network in which the one or more vehicles can travel, the method including: providing a tracking device having a field of view; receiving identification data uniquely identifying each of the one or more vehicles and location data indicative of an initial location of each of the one or more vehicles at the geographic location; detecting IR radiation emitted or reflected from the one or more vehicles at the geographic location; determining current kinematic data for the one or more vehicles based on the detected IR radiation, the received unique identification data for each of the one or more vehicles, and the location data; and transmitting the determined current kinematic data for a particular one of the one or more vehicles to a remote receiving location. In some embodiments, the remote receiving location may be physically separate from the vehicle tracking device while being in the same general geographic location. In other embodiments, the remote receiving location may be in a different geographic location from the vehicle tracking device.

[0028] In some configurations of this aspect, the transmitting step includes transmitting the current kinematic data to at least one other vehicle tracking device among a plurality of tracking devices at the remote receiving location. The transmitting step may further include transmitting the current kinematic data to a specific vehicle at the remote receiving location. Note that the term "current kinematic data" covers not only current values ​​of kinematic variables such as speed, position, momentum, and acceleration, but also recent historical data related to the vehicle, such as the above variable parameters for a short period prior to transmission (e.g., kinematic variables recorded every 40 seconds over a 10-second, or 1-minute, or 10-minute period).

[0029] In a further configuration of this aspect, the method further includes providing a plurality of vehicle tracking devices disposed within a network, wherein a first vehicle tracking device of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices, in use, transmits the current kinematic data determined at the first vehicle tracking device and unique identification data of the one or more vehicles to a second vehicle tracking device of the plurality of tracking devices, and the first vehicle tracking device, in use, receives the current kinematic data determined at a third vehicle tracking device of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices and the unique identification data of the one or more vehicles from the third vehicle tracking device, and the method further includes receiving, at a remote communications device, remote data from a wide area communications network and transmitting the remote data to at least one of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices, and the at least one vehicle tracking device, in use, receives the remote data and, in use, transmits the received remote data to at least one of the one or more vehicles.

[0030] In yet another embodiment of this aspect, the method further includes providing a plurality of vehicle tracking devices arranged in a network, wherein a first vehicle tracking device of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices, in use, transmits the current kinematic data determined at the first vehicle tracking device and unique identification data of the one or more vehicles to a second vehicle tracking device of the plurality of tracking devices, and the first vehicle tracking device, in use, transmits the current kinematic data determined at a third vehicle tracking device of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices and unique identification data of the one or more vehicles. and receiving kinematic data of the one or more vehicles and unique identification data of the one or more vehicles from the third vehicle tracking device, the method further comprising receiving, at a local communications device, local data from one or more of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices and transmitting the local data to a remotely located device over a wide area communications network, wherein the one or more of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices, in use, receives local data from at least one of the one or more vehicles and, in use, transmits the received local data to the local communications device. The transmitting step may include transmitting the determined kinematic data to a remotely located Traffic Management System (TMS).

[0031] The above-mentioned features of the embodiments can be combined in various ways and, if not specifically mentioned, can be added in the following specific descriptions of embodiments of the invention. For example, the further optional features described above in relation to the embodiments according to the first and second aspects of the invention in which the remote communication device includes a remote data receiver and a remote data transmitter can equally be used in the above-mentioned embodiments according to the third and fourth aspects of the invention in which the local communication device includes a local data receiver and a local data transmitter. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0032] In order that the present invention may be more readily understood, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings in which: [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a vehicle tracking device in a usage scenario. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the vehicle tracking device of FIG. 1 in another usage scenario. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is an isometric view of a vehicle being tracked by the vehicle tracking device of FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the vehicle tracking device of FIG. [Figure 5A] FIG. 5A is a flow diagram illustrating a method of operation of the vehicle tracking device of FIG. [Figure 5B] FIG. 5B is a flow diagram illustrating another method of operation of the vehicle tracking device of FIG. [Figure 5C] FIG. 5C is a flow diagram illustrating yet another method of operation of the vehicle tracking device of FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is an isometric view of a vehicle tracking system including a plurality of the vehicle tracking devices of FIG. 1 in a usage scenario. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is an isometric view of the vehicle tracking system of FIG. 6 in another usage scenario. [Figure 8A] FIG. 8A is an isometric view of the vehicle tracking system of FIG. 6 in yet another usage scenario. [Figure 8B] FIG. 8B is an isometric view of the vehicle tracking system of FIG. 6 in yet another usage scenario. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of operation of the vehicle tracking system of FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is an isometric view of a vehicle tracking system with a remote communication device according to one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0033] Specific embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0034] It should be understood that tracked vehicles, as referred to herein, may refer to a variety of moving mechanical objects, including objects moving on the ground or in the air. As a non-exhaustive list, these vehicles may include cars, trucks, motorcycles, drones, and small aerial vehicles. These vehicles may also be configured to be manually operated by a user, autonomous, or a combination of the two, i.e., semi-autonomous.

[0035] Referring initially to FIG. 1 , a vehicle tracking apparatus 10 is shown for detecting one or more vehicles 12 and determining various kinematic data regarding the detected vehicles 12. It should be understood that, although the term "appratus" is used throughout this specification, this term should be interpreted as synonymous with "device." The vehicle tracking apparatus 10 is shown positioned on a roadway 14, securely attached to existing roadway infrastructure 16, and configured to monitor vehicles 12 that enter a fixed field of view of the vehicle tracking apparatus 10. The roadway infrastructure 16 to which the vehicle tracking apparatus 10 is attached may include lampposts, traffic lights, gantries, traffic monitoring devices, and bridges. It should be understood that these are examples, and the vehicle tracking apparatus 10 may be attached to other existing roadway infrastructure 16. Alternatively, the vehicle tracking apparatus 10 may comprise a dedicated support structure to which the vehicle tracking apparatus 10 may be attached.

[0036] The vehicle tracking device 10 is configured to receive data that uniquely identifies a vehicle 12 that enters its field of view. Such unique identification data may include the vehicle's vehicle registration. The vehicle tracking device 10 is further configured to receive data indicating the initial location of the vehicle 12, either relative to itself or as an absolute location, once the vehicle 12 enters the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10. Alternatively, all of these locations may simply be provided as absolute coordinates, such as the vehicle's latitude and longitude. The vehicle tracking device 10 is then further configured to use the received unique identification data along with the initial location data to associate the unique identification data with the initial location data. Further details illustrating how this may be accomplished are provided below with reference to FIG. 3.

[0037] It should be noted that the term "initial position" used throughout this specification means the position of the vehicle. 12 The vehicle is located when it first enters the functional field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10. 12 It should be understood that the term "vehicle tracking device 10" refers to the position of the vehicle in the field of view of the adjacent vehicle tracking device 10. Furthermore, in embodiments (described below) in which multiple vehicle tracking devices 10 are used in a networked system, the initial position of the vehicle received by the current vehicle tracking device may be the last tracked position of the vehicle in the field of view of the adjacent vehicle tracking device from which the vehicle is exiting. Given that the fields of view of two vehicle tracking devices are typically adjacent to each other or slightly overlap each other, the last sensed vehicle position in the field of view of the first vehicle tracking device may be the last sensed vehicle position in the field of view of the first vehicle tracking device as the vehicle enters the field of view of the adjacent second vehicle tracking device 10. 12 can provide a very good indication of the location of

[0038] Vehicle tracking device 10 is further configured to receive IR radiation emitted or reflected by vehicles 12 within the field of view of vehicle tracking device 10. Vehicle tracking device 10 is configured to determine various kinematic data of vehicle 12 based on the received IR radiation. Such kinematic data may consist of position, velocity, acceleration, or other kinematic characteristics of vehicle 12. In some embodiments, the kinematic data determined by vehicle tracking device 10 is used along with the unique identifier data and initial position data to associate the received data with the detected IR radiation.

[0039] Once the vehicle 12 enters the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10, the vehicle tracking device 10 may be configured to constantly monitor the current kinematic data of the vehicle 12 until the vehicle 12 leaves the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10. Thus, once the vehicle 12 enters the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10 and the unique identifier information and initial position data are received, the vehicle tracking device 10 is configured to specifically monitor the gradual movement of the vehicle 12 by receiving successive IR emissions from the vehicle at regular time intervals. The vehicle tracking device 10 can use each detected IR emission to determine the vehicle's position, and the combination of successive position determinations allows the calculation of other kinematic data, such as speed and acceleration. The position measurements at regular time intervals may be used to determine whether the detected vehicle 12 is moving not only longitudinally (i.e., along the road) but also laterally (i.e., changing lanes). The length of the regular time interval between successive detected IR emissions may be used to determine the latency and accuracy of the calculated kinematic data. For example, if IR radiation is detected with an accuracy of 5 cm at a period of 20 ms (a frequency of approximately 50 Hz), this means that a measurement will be taken every 50 cm of movement of a vehicle traveling at 100 km / h. This is considered very accurate for vehicle control and navigation purposes, and also allows for the vehicle's speed, acceleration / deceleration rates, or other useful kinematic data to be quickly and accurately calculated. These figures should be considered merely illustrative, as lower accuracy and latency requirements can be substituted if they prove to be sufficient in practice, and higher accuracy and latency requirements can be substituted if they prove to be necessary in practice.

[0040] The vehicle tracking device 10 may be further configured to transmit the determined current kinematic data to one or more detected vehicles 12. The transmitted kinematic data may include any one of the kinematic data determinations by the vehicle tracking device 10. The provision of the kinematic data allows the detected vehicle(s) 12 to adjust the kinematic quantities (e.g., speed or heading) of the associated vehicle(s) 12 according to the received kinematic information. In some embodiments, the vehicle tracking device 10 is configured to transmit only the determined current kinematic data for the vehicle 12 with which it is associated. In such embodiments, the vehicle 12 can adjust the kinematic quantities based on this knowledge (e.g., decrease or increase speed, move within a lane if the vehicle is indicated as drifting into another lane, etc.). In further embodiments, the vehicle tracking device 10 is configured to transmit the determined kinematic data for multiple detected vehicles 12 to each vehicle. In such embodiments, each vehicle 12 can then adjust its kinematic quality using knowledge of both its own kinematic data and the kinematic data of other vehicles 12 in its vicinity. As an example, a first vehicle 12 is provided with current kinematic data indicating that the speed and position of a second vehicle 12 directly in front of the first vehicle allows the first vehicle to safely approach the second vehicle 12.

[0041] The current kinematic data is transmitted to one or more vehicles 12, which may operate partially or fully autonomously, or with input from the driver or pilot of each vehicle 12 or a remote controller. The format of the transmission by the vehicle tracking device 10 may be configured to appropriately meet the needs of the receiving vehicles 12. In further embodiments of the present invention, the vehicle tracking device 10 is configured to further transmit control signals to the one or more vehicles 12 to cause the vehicles to take a specific action. The control signals may be formed based on the current kinematic data calculated for the one or more vehicles 12. As an example, if two vehicles 12 detected within the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10 are determined to be within a predetermined distance of each other based on the calculated velocities of the two vehicles 12, the vehicle tracking device 10 generates a control signal that is transmitted to one of the vehicles 12, instructing the vehicle to accelerate or decelerate as appropriate.

[0042] In additional embodiments, the vehicle tracking system 10 is also configured to transmit the determined current kinematic data to local or regional Traffic Management Systems (TMSs) to provide a shared, common picture including highly accurate kinematic data of the vehicle 12 over a wider field spanning multiple IR tracking sensors. This provides the TMS with live, accurate data for each vehicle 12, allowing the TMS to augment the determined current kinematic data provided to one or more vehicles 12 about their immediate location with advisory or enforcement information handled by the onboard systems of the one or more vehicles 12 regarding traffic management. This information may be provided to the one or more vehicles 12 via the vehicle tracking system 10 or by other appropriately configured systems and networks.

[0043] It should be understood that the vehicle tracking device 10 may be securely mounted at a variety of heights. The height at which the vehicle tracking device 10 is mounted typically determines the ground envelope within the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10. That is, a vehicle tracking device 10 mounted at a higher position may have a wider area within its field of view than a vehicle tracking device 10 mounted at a lower position. Thus, the height at which the vehicle tracking device 10 is mounted will depend heavily on the field of view requirements. Typically, a vehicle tracking device 10 mounted at a height of 10 meters will need to have a field of view of 140° vertically (i.e., along the road) and 50° horizontally (i.e., across the road) to cover the ground envelope typically associated with a motorway or freeway lamppost.

[0044] In further embodiments of the vehicle tracking device 10, it may be desirable to be able to change the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10 during use, e.g., at installation, to cover a required ground envelope. For example, it may be desirable to move the field of view so that the vehicle tracking device 10 can view different roadways on a highway. In such embodiments, the vehicle tracking device 10 is configured to rotate about at least one axis to adjust the ground envelope within the field of view, and possibly configured with adjustable optics to change the field of view, thereby providing the device 10 with variable ground envelope coverage within its field of view. In such embodiments, the device 10 is configured to take into account the current position and orientation of the vehicle tracking device 10 when determining current kinematic data for one or more vehicles 12.

[0045] When multiple vehicles 12 are present within the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10, the vehicle tracking device 10 may be configured to receive relevant data and IR emissions from each vehicle 12 and simultaneously calculate current kinematic data for each vehicle 12 in accordance with embodiments described herein. The vehicle tracking device may also be used to detect IR emissions from entities other than vehicles, such as pedestrians, bicyclists, or animals, enhancing the tracking device's ability to support safe vehicle operation in environments where pedestrians or bicyclists may lawfully be present, or where pedestrians or animals should not be present. The field of view of the tracking device may be extended to cover pavements or sidewalks adjacent to the roadway to enable pedestrians / animals to be tracked.

[0046] In some cases, the vehicle tracking device 10 may operate in an environment where not all vehicles within its field of view have the ability to emit or reflect IR radiation detected by the vehicle tracking device 10. In such cases, these vehicles may be restricted to a particular, perhaps slowest, lane by physical barriers, road signs, on-board lane tracking controls, or a combination of these or other methods. Furthermore, in some situations, one vehicle may block the IR radiation or reflection from another vehicle. For example, a small car may be traveling closely behind a large truck as they approach the sensor. In such cases, the IR sensor may be fixed at a higher position or traffic flow may be restricted by conventional means to keep similar-sized vehicles in the appropriate lane. Furthermore, the vehicle tracking device 10 may be configured to receive IR radiation from multiple angles, thereby allowing it to receive IR radiation even when the radiation is blocked from the vehicle tracking device's field of view at a particular angle. In this regard, the vehicle tracking device may include multiple different IR sensors positioned at different locations, e.g., at different heights. In such embodiments where emissions are detected from multiple angles, the vehicle tracking device 10 may be configured to compare the detected emissions to verify the accuracy of the emissions.

[0047] Referring now to FIG. 2, an alternative usage scenario for the vehicle tracking device 10 described in FIG. 1 is shown. In this embodiment, the vehicle tracking device 10 is shown mounted on existing roadway infrastructure. However, in this scenario, the vehicle tracking device 10 is configured to monitor an airborne vehicle 20. It should be understood that the above-described embodiments may be suitably adapted for monitoring airborne vehicles rather than terrestrial vehicles. In other embodiments, the tracking device may be mounted on a vehicle, such as a ship, train, airborne vehicle, or spacecraft, to accurately track other vehicles, such as other airborne vehicles, airborne drones, or other spacecraft, and thereby assist in complex operations such as landing an airborne vehicle on a ship, landing a drone on a train, or docking a spacecraft. Further discussion of how vehicle tracking devices can be attached to existing roadway infrastructure is provided below.

[0048] It should be understood that in the usage scenario of FIG. 1 , the vehicle tracking device is configured to monitor ground vehicles 12 that are generally limited to traveling along predetermined routes (i.e., urban or rural roads and highways). In contrast, the usage scenario of FIG. 2 contemplates that the monitoring aerial vehicle 20 does not have such physical limitations and may require the vehicle tracking device 10 to be mounted in a location other than purely road-based infrastructure. Accordingly, in a usage scenario such as that shown in FIG. 2 , the vehicle tracking device 10 is configured to be securely mounted to existing infrastructure, whether near the roadside or not. Alternatively, the vehicle tracking device 10 may include a dedicated support structure to which the vehicle tracking device 10 can be mounted. Additional considerations regarding such configurations are discussed in more detail with reference to FIG. 4 . While it is contemplated that the vehicle tracking device 10 for monitoring aerial vehicles 20 may be mounted in a location outside of purely road-based infrastructure, it should be understood that the aerial vehicle 20 may also be configured to travel along existing road and rail infrastructure in a manner similar to the example of ground vehicle 12. Consequently, even when monitoring aerial vehicles 20, the vehicle tracking device 10 may be configured to be mounted to the same existing roadside / railside infrastructure as described above.

[0049] While the usage scenarios in FIGS. 1 and 2 are shown separately, it should be understood that a single vehicle tracking device 10 configured to monitor both ground vehicles 12 and airborne vehicles 20 may be provided. This is achieved by providing sensors oriented in different directions (i.e., with different fields of view) to monitor the two types of vehicles. In such a scenario, the vehicle tracking device 10 is configured to transmit only current kinematic data determined for the airborne vehicles 20 to the one or more airborne vehicles 20, and similarly, to transmit only current kinematic data determined for the ground vehicles 12 to the one or more ground vehicles 12. Additionally or alternatively, the vehicle tracking device 10 may instead be configured to transmit current kinematic data determined for the airborne vehicles 20 to one or more ground vehicles 12, and vice versa. This advantageously allows the ground vehicles 12 and the airborne vehicles 20 to adjust their positions. For example, this may be used for ground-to-air battery charging, where an aerial vehicle operating on battery power can dock with a battery charging truck or train. It may also be used in a delivery truck or train scenario, with a fleet of aerial delivery drones traveling with the delivery truck or train to a delivery area and then splitting off to make door-to-door deliveries and return. It may also be used in a pickup drone scenario, where a package is picked up and delivered to a long-haul truck or train. Another benefit of sharing aerial vehicle data with ground vehicles, and vice versa, is that it creates physical space at the ground vehicle's location over which the aerial vehicle can travel. This is a safety configuration that ensures that no ground vehicle is below the aerial vehicle if it loses altitude or crashes, minimizing the risk of a collision. It should be understood that these usage scenarios are for illustrative purposes only, and that such embodiments are intended to be useful in many other applications. Further details regarding these embodiments are described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 4.

[0050] Referring to FIG. 3, an example of a ground vehicle 12 that the vehicle tracking device 10 of FIG. 1 is configured to detect is shown. FIG. 3 illustrates the vehicle 12 mounted with IR emitters 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E located on an upward-facing surface of the vehicle 12. While five emitters 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E are shown in FIG. 3 for illustrative purposes only, it should be understood that any suitable number of emitters may be used to accomplish the functionality of the vehicle tracking device 10. It should also be understood that the emitters may be fixed to the front, rear, or sides of the vehicle. Their use in relation to the vehicle's ground space envelope will be discussed below.

[0051] The vehicle 12 is also provided with a transmitter 32 and a receiver 34 (or combined transceiver) configured to transmit and receive radio signals, respectively. The vehicle 12 is configured to transmit a radio signal to the vehicle tracking device 10 when it comes within view of the vehicle tracking device 10. The radio signal includes the vehicle's 12's unique identification data as well as data indicating the vehicle's 12's initial relative position with respect to the vehicle tracking device 10, or data indicating the vehicle's absolute position. Providing this initial position can be particularly useful when the vehicle is unknown to the system, i.e., at an entry point to the system. However, it is not expected that the network of sensors will require this information once the vehicle is being tracked by the system. The information that can be received from a vehicle once it is known to the network is described below.

[0052] Vehicle 12 may typically be configured to transmit data indicating the relative positions of IR emitters 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E relative to a ground envelope 36 of vehicle 12. Ground envelope 36 represents the vehicle's two-dimensional footprint, which represents the space that vehicle 12 occupies on the roadway while traveling. When IR radiation emitted by IR emitters 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E is detected by vehicle tracking device 10, the radiation can be used, along with information about the ground envelope, to determine the two-dimensional space occupied by vehicle 12. In this manner, vehicle tracking device 10 does not need to fully resolve an image of the vehicle in order to safely and reliably determine the vehicle's proximity to other vehicles. In some embodiments, the ground envelope further includes a certain volume surrounding the vehicle to serve as a safety zone around the space occupied by the vehicle. Additionally, providing the relative positions of IR emitters 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E with respect to ground envelope 36 can also aid in determining orientation kinematic data that enables vehicle tracking device 10 to determine the orientation of associated vehicle 12 on a roadway (i.e., whether it is precisely aligned along the roadway or whether it is angled to change position across the roadway). In embodiments where airborne vehicle 20 is being tracked, ground space envelope 36 is not appropriate. In such cases, airborne vehicle 20 can be configured to provide an airborne space envelope. In some embodiments, airborne space envelope may represent a two-dimensional airborne vehicle footprint that represents the two-dimensional space that airborne vehicle 20 occupies in the air while in flight. In further embodiments, airborne space envelope may represent a three-dimensional airborne vehicle footprint that represents the three-dimensional space that airborne vehicle 20 occupies in the air while in flight.

[0053] FIG. 3 shows IR emitters 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E arranged in a specific formation. It should be understood that in addition to the variable number of IR emitters 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E, the pattern in which they are arranged may likewise be variable. In some embodiments of the present invention, the vehicle tracking device 10 is configured to associate a specific pattern of IR emitters with a specific type of vehicle (e.g., large truck, passenger car, drone, motorcycle, etc.). When a specific spatial pattern of IR emissions is detected, the vehicle tracking device 10 is configured to recognize the type of vehicle being detected. Such a pattern prevents false identification due to matching adjacent vehicles. Standard configurations for specific vehicle types may include, for example, a triangular array of three IR emitters for automobiles and a domino array of five IR emitters for trucks and vans. These configurations help enable unambiguous detection and determination of kinematic data (e.g., position, velocity, acceleration, deceleration, orientation, etc.). Information related to the type of vehicle 12 within the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10 may be transmitted to one or more vehicles 12 detected within the field of view of the tracking device. Additionally, in embodiments in which the vehicle tracking system 10 is configured to generate control signals, the vehicle tracking device 10 is configured to use information related to the type of vehicle being detected to determine the content or type of control signal to be generated. For example, if two adjacent vehicles 12 are determined to be located near each other, the control signal generated by the vehicle tracking device 10 will typically be different for trucks and cars due to differences in associated stopping distances.

[0054] In some embodiments, IR emitters 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E are replaced with IR reflectors, which is used when vehicle tracking device 10 includes one or more IR emitters configured to emit IR radiation into a field of view of vehicle tracking device 10 and detect IR radiation reflected by IR reflectors on one or more vehicles 12 to track the one or more vehicles 12.

[0055] Referring to FIG. 4, a schematic diagram of the vehicle tracking device of FIG. 1 is shown in more detail. The vehicle tracking device 10 initially includes a receiver 40 configured to wirelessly receive data transmitted in accordance with the above-described embodiments. Specifically, the receiver 40 is configured to at least receive unique identification data of one or more vehicles 12 within the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10 and receive data indicative of the initial relative position of the one or more vehicles 12 with respect to the vehicle tracking device 10. The receiver 40 may be configured to wirelessly receive data transmitted from the one or more vehicles 12 via an external communications network 42. The receiver 40 may be configured to receive this data via low-latency radio frequency communications. Alternatively, the receiver 40 may receive this data using any suitable form of communications that enables it to receive the data from the one or more vehicles 12. In some embodiments, the receiver 40 is further configured to receive data originating from sources other than the one or more vehicles 12, such as other vehicle tracking devices 10 or a centralized traffic management system (not shown). Such data is again transmitted via the external communications network 42. In some embodiments, receiver 40 is configured to receive data via wired communication where appropriate, i.e., when receiver 40 is configured to receive data from a fixed location (such as a centralized traffic management system or an adjacent tracking unit).

[0056] In some embodiments of the present invention, the vehicle tracking device 10 is configured to monitor a predetermined area or "entry point" whose location is known to the vehicle tracking device 10 (e.g., by storing the location in the vehicle tracking device's memory 48). In such embodiments, the vehicle tracking device 10 may not need to receive information from the one or more vehicles 12 regarding the initial location of the one or more vehicles 12. In such embodiments, the vehicle tracking device 10 may be configured such that the initial location of a particular vehicle 12 is always a predetermined location known to the vehicle tracking device 10 as described above. In further embodiments, the vehicle tracking device 10 is configured to monitor several locations (e.g., multiple lanes) within the entry point, each having a predetermined known location. In such embodiments, the vehicle tracking device 10 may monitor the vehicle 12. 12 When the vehicle enters the entry point, it moves to one of multiple pre-defined positions. 12 The method for making such a selection is described in more detail with reference to the "association" procedure described below. An embodiment of such an entry point may be represented as a toll booth, and the vehicle 12 is configured to stop at a specific location known by the vehicle tracking device 10. In some embodiments, the vehicle 12 does not need to be stationary when approaching a known location.

[0057] In additional or further embodiments, the vehicle tracking device 10 may also be configured to determine the unique identification data of one or more vehicles 12 rather than receiving it from each vehicle 12. This allows the vehicle tracking device 10 to 12This may be achieved by providing sensors (not shown in the accompanying drawings) that can determine a unique identifier (e.g., the vehicle's license plate / number plate) of a vehicle, or that can identify and classify the vehicle (e.g., using image processing) and assign a unique identifier for the purpose of more general vehicle location monitoring. Such sensors may be Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras, or sensors that can identify and classify a vehicle's unique identifier (e.g., the vehicle's license plate / number plate) for the purpose of more general vehicle location monitoring. 12 The vehicle tracking device 10 may include other suitable cameras or sensors capable of uniquely identifying, or detecting and assigning a unique identifier to, one or more vehicles 12. Such embodiments may be used in combination with the embodiments described above in which the vehicle tracking device 10 is configured to monitor pre-defined areas or "entry points" whose locations are known to the vehicle tracking device 10. In such cases, the vehicle tracking device 10 may not need to receive any data transmissions from the vehicle or vehicles 12; the initial location determination and assignment, and unique identification determination, are performed entirely by the vehicle tracking device 10. However, if information related to the geospatial envelope is also received by the vehicle tracking device 10, this may need to be provided by each vehicle 12.

[0058] Additionally, the vehicle tracking device 10 may include one or more IR sensors 44 configured to detect IR radiation, specifically, IR radiation emitted or reflected from IR emitters or reflectors 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E of one or more vehicles 12 being tracked according to the above-described embodiments. While only one IR sensor 44 is shown in FIG. 4 , this is for illustrative purposes only, and it should be understood that in some scenarios, it may be beneficial to include multiple IR sensors 44. For example, multiple IR sensors 44 may be provided, each with a different field of view directed toward the road or, for example, a road intersection. This allows for a dedicated IR sensor 44 to be provided for each lane of the road. Alternatively, multiple IR sensors 44 may be provided according to the above-described embodiments, with one or more of the IR sensors 44 configured to monitor the road and one or more of the IR sensors 44 configured to monitor the sky. In this manner, a single vehicle tracking device 10 may be configured to monitor both airborne vehicles 20 and ground vehicles 12 according to the above-described embodiments. The same configuration may be applied to, for example, an aircraft carrier, where both moving and approaching airborne vehicles on the deck are tracked. The IR sensor 44 may be configured to detect IR radiation within a predetermined wavelength range determined by a user of the vehicle tracking device 10. Specifically, the predetermined wavelength range may correspond to a wavelength range emitted or reflected by one or more vehicles 12. This allows the vehicle tracking device 10 to reduce detection of IR noise that may be emitted from sources other than the one or more vehicles 12 being tracked.

[0059] The vehicle tracking device 10 of this embodiment further includes a processor 46, which is communicatively connected to the receiver 40 and the one or more IR sensors 44. The processor 46 is configured to receive data received by the receiver 40 according to the above embodiment, as well as information related to detected IR emissions received by the one or more IR sensors 44. The processor 46 is further configured to track the one or more vehicles 12 based on the received data and the detected IR emissions. This tracking includes calculating various kinematic data related to the one or more vehicles 12. Specifically, the processor 46 is configured to at least determine the location of the source of the IR radiation. This may be determined, for example, by processing the IR image in the sensor or by determining the angle at which the IR radiation entered the IR sensor 44 and combining this with known information relating that angle to a particular location on the roadway. The information received by processor 46 may include any relevant information that enables the processor to determine the location of the source of the IR radiation (e.g., the time the radiation is received, the angle at which the IR radiation enters the IR sensor 44, etc.).

[0060] The processor 46 is configured to receive unique identification data for one or more vehicles 12 within the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10, receive data indicating the initial relative position of the one or more vehicles 12 with respect to the vehicle tracking device 10, and correlate this data with information related to the detected IR radiation received by the one or more IR sensors 44. In this manner, the processor 46 can correlate a particular IR radiation with the unique identifier of the vehicle 12 that emitted or reflected the IR radiation. This correlation may include comparing the initial position data received by the receiver 40 with the determined location of the source of the received IR radiation to establish whether the two locations match. If the two locations match, the processor 46 is configured to associate the received IR radiation with the unique identifier data of the vehicle 12 whose initial position data matches the location of the source of the IR radiation. If a match occurs, the processor 46 may be configured to indicate the currently identified vehicle 12 as having a particular location according to the initial position data and / or the source of the IR radiation. In some embodiments, a match is determined when the initial position data and the location of the IR emissions are within an error range of each other. In embodiments in which a single vehicle includes multiple IR emitters or reflectors 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E, processor 46 is configured to associate the IR emissions received from the multiple IR emitters or reflectors 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E with a unique identifier of the vehicle 12 that emitted or reflected the IR emissions. This may be achieved similarly to the embodiments described above, but in addition, the received unique identification may include information indicating the initial position data for each of the multiple IR emitters or reflectors 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E, and the total number of IR emitters or reflectors 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E on vehicle 12.

[0061] In some embodiments, the vehicle tracking device 10 may be configured to monitor an area or “entry point” where locations are pre-defined and known to the vehicle tracking device 10, and may serve as initial location data for the vehicle 12. As described above, such locations may be stored in the memory 48 of the vehicle tracking device 10. In these embodiments, once the processor 46 associates the detected IR emissions with unique identification data, the initial location of the vehicle 12 is assigned as being a pre-defined location known to the vehicle tracking device 10. This location may be retrieved by the processor 46 from the memory 48 as appropriate. In further embodiments, in which the vehicle tracking device 10 is configured to monitor several locations (e.g., multiple lanes) within the entry point, each of which has a known pre-defined location, the processor 46 is configured to determine which of the multiple pre-defined locations should be assigned as the initial location of the vehicle 12. This may be accomplished by comparing the origin location of the received IR emissions to each of the pre-defined locations and assigning the initial location based on the comparison. In some embodiments, this assignment is performed if the comparison of the origin location of the received IR emissions with the pre-defined locations is within an error range of each other. In other embodiments, this assignment is performed by comparing all of the preset locations with the origin location of the received IR radiation and assigning the initial location as the preset location that is closest to the origin location of the received IR radiation. The above examples are provided for illustrative purposes only, and any suitable comparison method may be implemented to achieve the required functionality.

[0062] After associating a vehicle 12 with one or more particular detected IR emissions in accordance with the above-described embodiments, the processor 46 is configured to store information about the association in a memory 48 to which the processor 46 is communicatively coupled. The information stored in the memory 48 includes a unique identifier for the associated vehicle 12 as well as its determined location. The information stored in the memory 48 may further include any other kinematic data determined in accordance with the embodiments described herein. The memory 48 may be configured to be later accessed by the processor 46 to retrieve information related to the previously associated vehicle or vehicles 12. This retrieval may be used to determine other kinematic data for the vehicle or vehicles 12 in accordance with the embodiments described herein.

[0063] Upon receiving information related to the detected IR radiation received by one or more IR sensors 44, the processor 46 may be further configured to determine whether the detected IR radiation was emitted or reflected by a vehicle 12 having a unique identification associated with the previously detected IR radiation. This is accomplished by retrieving information from the memory 48 related to the determined location of the vehicle 12, stored according to the above-described embodiment, and comparing it to the location of the origin of the currently detected IR radiation. If the processor 46 determines that the origin of the current IR radiation is sufficiently close to the previously determined location of the vehicle 12 after a known time interval, the processor 46 is configured to associate the currently detected IR radiation with this vehicle and indicate the origin of the currently detected IR radiation as the new location of the vehicle 12. Determining whether the origin is sufficiently close may be accomplished by calculating a position difference between the origin of the IR location and the previously determined location of the vehicle 12, and if the difference is less than a predetermined threshold, the processor 46 associates the origin of the IR radiation as the new location of the vehicle 12. The predetermined threshold may be set by a user. The predetermined threshold may also be based on other factors, such as the speed of the vehicle 12 and the refresh rate of the IR sensor 44. This new position may then be stored in memory 48. In some embodiments, this new position overwrites the previously determined position. In other embodiments, the new position is stored along with a timestamp in addition to one or more previously determined positions, recording all positions the vehicle 12 has been in since it was first detected. In such embodiments, the origin of the IR emission is compared to the most recent position of the vehicle 12 according to the timestamp when determining whether a subsequent emission is relevant to the record of the vehicle 12. The processor 46 may be configured to perform this determination as frequently as the IR sensor 44 receives emissions. As mentioned above, the length of the fixed time interval between successively detected IR emissions may be used to determine the latency and accuracy of the calculated kinematic data. For example, if IR emissions are detected at a period of 8 ms (a frequency of approximately 120 Hz), this represents a 20 cm movement of the vehicle.This is considered highly accurate for vehicle control and navigation purposes, and also allows for the rapid and accurate calculation of vehicle speed, acceleration / deceleration rates, or other useful kinematic data. These figures should be considered exemplary only, as lower levels of accuracy or latency can be substituted if required and prove sufficient in practice, and higher levels of accuracy or latency can be substituted if required and prove necessary in practice.

[0064] The processor 46 may be further configured to retrieve information from the memory 48 associated with a particular vehicle to calculate additional kinematic data for the vehicle 12. Specifically, the processor may be configured to retrieve multiple positions of a particular vehicle 12 and their associated timestamps (known as a vehicle track record over a period of time) to calculate the velocity and / or acceleration of the vehicle 12. The velocity and acceleration may be calculated in two dimensions (i.e., along the road and across the road). This calculation may be performed according to techniques known to those skilled in the art and need not be described further herein. By calculating this additional kinematic data, more information may be determined regarding the vehicle 12, which may additionally be used for more precise control of the vehicle 12 when the information is provided to the vehicle 12. The calculated kinematic data may be further stored in the memory record of the associated vehicle 12.

[0065] In further embodiments of the present invention, the processor 46 is further configured to generate control or warning signals to be executed by one or more vehicles 12 to cause the vehicles to take a particular action. The control signals may be formed based on current kinematic data calculated for the one or more vehicles 12 in accordance with the above embodiments. In such embodiments, the processor 46 is configured to retrieve kinematic data from the memory 48 for all vehicles 12 within the field of view of the tracking device 10 to determine the action to be taken. As an example, if two vehicles 12 detected within the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10 are determined to be within a predetermined distance of each other based on the calculated velocities of the two vehicles 12, the processor 46 will generate a control or warning signal to be sent to one of the vehicles 12 to inform the vehicle to accelerate or decelerate as appropriate.

[0066] In some embodiments, the processor 46 is configured to instruct the memory to delete stored information associated with the vehicle 12 when the vehicle 12 moves out of the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10 .

[0067] In embodiments in which vehicle tracking device 10 is configured to receive information indicative of the positions of IR emitters 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E relative to ground envelope 36 of vehicle 12, processor 46 may be further configured to combine this information with information received by one or more IR sensors 44 related to detected IR emissions to determine the position / orientation of ground envelope 36 of vehicle 12. In some embodiments, the position of ground envelope 36 is determined as a relative position with respect to vehicle tracking device 12 and / or as an absolute position of ground envelope 36.

[0068] In these embodiments, if the vehicle 12 to which the ground envelope 36 is associated has not been previously associated, calculation of the location of the ground envelope 36 is performed as part of the initial association step. Once correlation of the detected IR emissions with the vehicle 12's unique identification data is performed to indicate the initial location of the vehicle 12, the processor 46 further combines the initial location data of each of the IR emitters 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E with information regarding the relative location of each of the IR emitters 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E with respect to the ground envelope 36. In this manner, the initial location of the ground envelope 36 is generated, and information indicative of the two-dimensional space that the vehicle 12 will initially occupy is generated without the need to fully resolve the image of the vehicle 12. As described in the above embodiments, the ground space envelope may also include a certain amount of space surrounding the vehicle 12 to serve as a safety zone around the space occupied by the vehicle 12. Once the initial position of ground envelope 36 is determined, this information is stored in memory 48 in a manner similar to that described above with respect to the initial positions of IR emitters 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E, in addition to the information of ground envelope 36 provided regarding the relative positions of IR emitters 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E with respect to ground envelope 36.

[0069] If the ground envelope 36 is calculated for a vehicle 12 with which unique identification information is already associated according to the above-described embodiments, the processor 46 may further retrieve the stored ground envelope 36 information from the memory 48. If the IR emissions are determined to be associated with a previously associated vehicle 12, the processor 46 retrieves information regarding the relative positions of the IR emitters 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E with respect to the previously stored ground envelope 36. This information may then be combined with the detected origins of the IR emitters 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E in a manner similar to that described above. Similarly, the new position of the calculated ground envelope 36 may be stored in the memory 48 along with the positions and associated timestamps of the IR emitters 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E.

[0070] Although the position / orientation of the ground space envelope 36 has been described as being calculated, it should be understood that other kinematic data (such as velocity and acceleration) may similarly be calculated for the ground space envelope 36 of the vehicle 12 and then stored in memory 48. Additionally, any of the vehicle tracking device 10 functionality described herein with respect to the ground envelope is also applicable to the air space envelope for an airborne vehicle.

[0071] The vehicle tracking device 10 may further include a transmitter 50 communicatively connected to the processor 46. The transmitter 50 may be configured to receive the determined kinematic data from the processor 46 and then transmit it to one or more vehicles 12 within the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10. The transmitter 50 may be configured to transmit this data via low-latency radio frequency communications. Alternatively, the transmitter 50 may transmit this data using any suitable form of communications that allows the data to be received by the one or more vehicles 12.

[0072] Transmitter 50 may be configured to transmit the determined kinematic data of a vehicle 12 only to the vehicle 12 with which it is associated. In such an embodiment, the data is received by the vehicle to self-adjust the position and / or velocity of that vehicle 12 based solely on its own kinematic data. To this end, each vehicle 12 may have a unique or locally unique communication frequency over which it can transmit and receive data. This information may be provided as part of the unique identification data, in accordance with the embodiments described above. In some embodiments, the communication channel may be encrypted to prevent unauthorized interception and interference of transmissions.

[0073] In further embodiments, transmitter 50 is configured to transmit the determined kinematic data of one or more vehicles 12 to a plurality of one or more vehicles 12. The data may be transmitted according to the embodiments described above. In such embodiments, the data is received by the vehicles to self-adjust the position, velocity, and / or acceleration of the vehicle 12 based on its own kinematic data and the kinematic data of nearby vehicles 12. For example, a vehicle 12 may be configured to receive kinematic data about itself and nearby vehicles, and based on all of this information, the acceleration or velocity and position of the vehicle 12 may be adjusted accordingly (e.g., if the vehicle 12 notices that another nearby vehicle is further away than a certain threshold distance, the vehicle 12 may be configured to adjust its position to reduce this distance, or vice versa).

[0074] Where kinematic data is transmitted as described above, in embodiments in which the position of the ground space envelope 36 of the vehicle 12 (and other associated kinematic data) is calculated, this kinematic data may likewise be transmitted in a similar manner.

[0075] In embodiments in which processor 46 generates control or warning signals, transmitter 50 is further configured to transmit the generated control or warning signals to one or more vehicles 12. In this embodiment, transmitter 50 is configured to transmit only the control or warning signals to the associated vehicle 12. This may be accomplished similarly to how kinematic data may be transmitted only to the associated vehicle 12, as described above.

[0076] In embodiments in which a control signal or warning is generated and kinematic information regarding the ground space envelope 36 of one or more vehicles 12 is provided and / or calculated, the control signal or warning may be generated based on the kinematic information of the ground space envelope 36. As previously mentioned, the vehicle's ground space envelope 36 may include a safety zone around the space occupied by the vehicle 12. Sending the control signal or warning based on the kinematic data of the ground space envelope 36 takes this safety zone into account. This may act to provide an additional safety mechanism to the system, ensuring that one or more vehicles 12 are maintained in safe proximity to one another. This may be particularly advantageous in mitigating small positioning errors of one or more vehicles 12.

[0077] In further embodiments, transmitter 50 may be configured to transmit the determined current kinematic data to local or regional Traffic Management Systems (TMSs) to provide a shared, common picture including highly accurate kinematic data of vehicle 12 over a wider field of view across multiple IR tracking sensors. The advantages of such transmission are described above. Receiver 40 may be configured to receive control, warning, or advisory information from a local or regional TMS and pass it on to vehicle 12 via transmitter 50. Alternatively, the TMS may provide control, warning, or advisory information to vehicle 12 by any other suitably configured mechanism.

[0078] If receiver 40 is configured to receive data from vehicles 12, the vehicle tracking device may further be configured to constantly generate a request signal for this data, sent by transmitter 50 to one or more vehicles 12, requesting the required data when a vehicle comes into view of vehicle tracking device 10. Alternatively, vehicles 12 may be configured to simply continuously broadcast this information, which is received by vehicle tracking device 10 when that vehicle 12 comes within range.

[0079] Further embodiments of the vehicle tracking device 10 may further include one or more IR emitters (not shown). These IR emitters may be provided in scenarios where one or more detected vehicles 12 each include one or more IR reflectors rather than an emitter. In such embodiments, the IR emitters of the vehicle tracking device 10 are configured to emit IR radiation in the direction of the detected vehicle 12, which is reflected by the IR reflectors of the vehicle 12 and detected again by the vehicle tracking device 10. This detected IR radiation may then be reused in accordance with the embodiments described above.

[0080] In a further embodiment, the vehicle tracking device 10 further includes an additional fixed IR emitter or reflector (not shown) located away from the IR sensor 44 but always within the field of view of the IR sensor. The IR sensor 44 continuously monitors the position of this fixed emitter / reflector and uses the detected offset from the fixed position to measure movement of other elements of the vehicle tracking device 10 due to environmental conditions (e.g., wind). The processor 46 is configured to calculate this offset based on the IR radiation received from the fixed IR reflector or emitter. If an offset is calculated, it can be used in calculating kinematic data for both ground and airborne vehicles to maintain tracking accuracy. This is particularly advantageous when adverse weather conditions that may result in movement of the vehicle tracking device 10 are expected, helping to prevent inaccurate kinematic data calculations.

[0081] In some embodiments of the vehicle tracking device 10, the processor 46 is further configured to calculate kinematic data in three dimensions. In such embodiments, the vehicle tracking device 10 is further configured to receive, via the receiver 40, or to previously store in the memory 48, three-dimensional terrain mapping data used to correlate a particular detected two-dimensional position with the terrain height at that location. This three-dimensional position data is stored and used in calculations, similar to the two-dimensional data described above. If the vehicle tracking device 10 is configured to detect and track an airborne vehicle, the vehicle tracking device 10 is also configured to receive altitude data from the airborne vehicle to confirm the three-dimensional position data. Because compact, low-power, and lightweight radar altimeters with performance characteristics compatible with the current embodiment (60 Hz measurement rate, 20 cm accuracy) are commonly available, this is contemplated by the current embodiment of the present invention. Alternatively, a horizontal 360-degree laser beacon may be placed on a fixed structure of appropriate height (e.g., the top of a tall building in an urban area) to provide an altitude homing reference signal for the airborne vehicle. Alternatively, the vehicle tracking device 10 may be configured to receive multiple emissions from multiple sensors on the airborne vehicle to perform a triangulation operation, thereby ascertaining three-dimensional position data. These methods, and possibly other methods, may be used in combination to maintain the height of the airborne vehicle at a required safe level.

[0082] Below are examples of receive and transmit rates and data requirements necessary to maintain accurate calculations, it being understood that these are given as examples only and the exact numbers may depend on the user's requirements.

[0083] The current recommended distance between vehicles traveling at 100 km / h on a road is based on stopping distance, which is the sum of thinking distance and braking distance in a 1:3 ratio. Current embodiments of the present invention allow for the elimination of thinking distance, thereby immediately increasing safe traffic volume by 25%. As confidence in the safety of the system and method increases, this envelope can be gradually increased to at least double, and potentially multiple, current traffic volumes. Similar considerations exist for rail traffic, where minimum spacing between trains significantly determines network capacity. Current embodiments of the present invention may allow for a reduction in minimum following distances.

[0084] On a typical motorway / freeway, the spacing between lampposts on which vehicle tracking devices 10 can be mounted is approximately 30 meters (m), the lampposts are approximately 10 meters high, and the roadway is approximately 11 meters wide. For all of this, the vehicle tracking device 10 typically needs to have a 140° longitudinal (along the roadway) and 55° lateral (across the roadway) field of view. Vehicle tracking devices 10 can be manufactured in standard configurations with adjustable settings for longitudinal and lateral fields of view during installation, allowing the standard vehicle tracking device 10 of the above-described embodiment to be deployed in a variety of situations. The vehicle tracking device 10 resolves all of the numerous vehicles within its field of view. On a three-lane roadway, there could be up to 20 small vehicles 12, all traveling with only 1 meter of distance between them (a limiting case that can only be achieved after gradually increasing traffic density and deploying and demonstrating the system). In this limiting case, approximately 60 IR emitters / reflectors on the vehicles 12 would be visible, and it is considered practical to resolve and analyze this number to create and communicate kinematic data for each vehicle 12.

[0085] The IR radiation emitted by a typical commercially available beacon is robust through normal atmospheres and weather conditions at the distances proposed in the system and method of this invention. For a vehicle tracking device 10 positioned at a height of approximately 10 meters and with a field of view of approximately 140 degrees by 55 degrees, a focal plane array CCD detector with approximately 4 megapixels (i.e., 2K by 2K pixels) can achieve an orientation accuracy of approximately 0.1 degrees, achieve a resolution of approximately 5 cm, and track up to 20 vehicles (i.e., 60 IR emitters in the field of view, all based on small vehicles with 1 meter longitudinal spacing). Tracking vehicles with the required accuracy at speeds up to 200 kilometers per hour requires a detection refresh rate of approximately 100 Hz. These parameters are achievable or approaching those of state-of-the-art IR tracking sensors (which are improving every year).

[0086] A 2D position accuracy of approximately 5 cm x 5 cm in a 30 m x 11 m field of view requires 18 bits of digital data. Thus, in the limiting case of 20 small vehicles 12 (60 emitters), each would have 18 bits of longitudinal / lateral position, which equates to 1080 bits. At 120 Hz, this generates a 110 Kbit / s data stream that is passed to the vehicles 12 via the communications equipment. For short-range transmission back to the antennas of vehicles in view, this is practical, and encryption devices or methods (not shown) can be added for added security.

[0087] It is envisioned that the means for transmitting data between the vehicle tracking device 10 and the vehicle 12 can be any of a number of wireless communication systems or technologies capable of transmitting the required data (estimated at 1080 bits in the above example) with a latency of approximately 1-2 ms. For example, this could be an integral part or "network slice" of evolving 5G digital mid-band or high-band network technology, with an air latency of less than 1 ms and a range of approximately or at least 10 m, fitting within the performance and design scope of the present invention. Alternatively, data transmission could be over a standard 802.11 WiFi wireless network, the latest version of which meets the desired latency and capacity requirements of the present invention, or over a new infrastructure system meeting the new 802.11p standard for high-speed mobile communications for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure networks used to support autonomous, semi-autonomous, and managed autonomous driving. Alternatively, it could be a dedicated data link designed for the same purpose. It is also envisioned that the means for transmitting data between the vehicle tracking device 10 and the vehicle 12 may be an integral part of 5G / 6G digital small cell network technology, having air latency of less than 1 ms and range from about 10 m, and meeting the performance and design scope of the present invention. Indeed, embodiments of the present invention may be a critical enabler of envisioned vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure networks used to support autonomous, semi-autonomous, and managed autonomous driving.

[0088] It should be understood that the above embodiments may be used to determine and transmit kinematic data for both ground and airborne vehicles, as desired.

[0089] 5A, there is shown a method 60 of operation of the vehicle tracking device 10 described in the above embodiments. Specifically, FIG. 5A relates to a method by which the vehicle tracking device receives unique identification data and associates it with received IR radiation.

[0090] Method 60 begins at step 62 by receiving transmitted unique identification data for one or more vehicles 12 within the field of view of the vehicle tracking device, as well as transmitted data indicating the initial relative position of the one or more vehicles 12 with respect to the vehicle tracking device 10. Alternatively, this initial position may be provided as absolute position coordinates, such as, for example, latitude and longitude coordinates. This data is received by receiver 40 in accordance with the embodiments described above. Method 60 then continues at step 64 by detecting IR radiation emitted or reflected from IR emitters or reflectors 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E of one or more vehicles 12 to be tracked in accordance with the embodiments described above. The IR radiation is detected by one or more IR sensors 44. While steps 62 and 64 are shown sequentially, it should be understood that the two transmissions may be received in the opposite order or simultaneously.

[0091] Following this, method 60 continues at step 66 by determining the origin of the detected IR radiation. This may be accomplished according to the embodiments described above and may be executed by processor 46. This step allows a location to be associated with the received IR radiation. Following this determination, vehicle tracking device 10 proceeds to associate the received IR radiation with the received unique identification data for one or more vehicles 12 at step 68. This may be accomplished by comparing the determined location of the IR radiation with the received initial location of vehicle 12 according to the embodiments described above. In some embodiments, multiple sets of IR radiation having different origin locations may be received simultaneously. In these embodiments, method 60 includes comparing the initial location of vehicle 12 with each set of IR radiation until a suitable radiation is found with which vehicle 12 can be associated. Once vehicle 12 is associated with the IR radiation, method 60 continues at step 70 by storing the unique identification data of vehicle 12 and the initial location of vehicle 12 in memory 48 according to the embodiments described above. The method then proceeds to end at step 72.

[0092] The method 60 above discusses associating detected IR emissions with transmitted data indicative of an initial position of one or more vehicles 12 relative to the vehicle tracking device 10. While the method 60 is described in the context of providing the positions of the IR emitters or reflectors 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E, it should be understood that in some embodiments, information regarding the ground space envelope 36 is further provided in accordance with the above-described embodiments. In such embodiments, once the association is performed in step 68, a calculation of the ground space envelope 36 of the vehicle 12 is further performed in accordance with the above-described embodiments using the provided ground space envelope 36 information, and this information is used in the association (i.e., the vehicle 12 may be configured to provide an initial position of its ground space envelope 36, and the vehicle tracking device 10 may be configured to compare this information with the calculated ground space envelope). This information may then be stored in step 70.

[0093] It should be appreciated that vehicle tracking device 10 may receive multiple sets of unique identification data and initial location data simultaneously. In such cases, method 60 is configured to repeat itself for each set of unique identification data and initial location data in parallel. Alternatively, method 60 may be configured to operate simultaneously for each set of unique identification data and initial location data.

[0094] Referring to Figure 5B, there is shown a further method 80 of operation of the vehicle tracking device 10 described in the above embodiments. Specifically, Figure 5B describes a method 80 in which the vehicle tracking device 10 associates IR emissions with a vehicle 12 that was previously detected and associated with the IR emissions.

[0095] Method 80 begins at step 82 by detecting IR radiation emitted or reflected from IR emitters or reflectors 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E of one or more vehicles 12 to be tracked according to the embodiments described above. Following this, method 60 continues at step 84 by determining the origin of the detected IR radiation, which may be accomplished according to the embodiments described above and may be performed by processor 46. This step allows a location to be associated with the received IR radiation.

[0096] Once the origin of the IR emissions has been determined, the method 80 continues at step 84 by retrieving the locations of previously identified vehicles from the memory 48 of the vehicle tracking device 10. This may include retrieving all previously stored data. Alternatively, the processor 46 may be configured to retrieve only a subset of this data. This may include retrieving only the most recent location stored for each vehicle 12. This may include retrieving filtered information, where the filter may specify to retrieve only information regarding vehicles whose locations are within a predetermined distance from the origin of the IR emissions.

[0097] Once the location is acquired, the method 80 continues at step 86 by determining to which of the vehicles 12 whose information was previously stored the IR emission relates. This may be accomplished by determining whether any of the acquired location data is sufficiently close to the origin of the IR emission, in accordance with the embodiments described above. Once this is completed, the method 80 continues at step 88 by associating the location of the origin of the IR emission with the vehicle identified at step 86. This association may include updating the current location of the identified vehicle 12 as the location of the origin of the IR emission. The method 80 continues at step 90 by storing the current location of the identified vehicle 12 in memory 48, in a memory record, in accordance with the embodiments described above. As previously mentioned, this storage may further include storing a timestamp of when the IR emission was received. The method then proceeds to end at step 92.

[0098] 5A, in embodiments where information for the ground space envelope 36 has been previously provided and stored in memory 48, if information is obtained in step 86, this may include obtaining the ground space envelope 46 information, which may then be used to calculate kinematic data for the ground space envelope 36, as described above, to determine which vehicle 12 the detected IR information relates to (i.e., the previously calculated position of the ground space envelope 36 for the vehicle 12 may be compared with the currently calculated ground space envelope 36 to determine which vehicle 12 the detected IR information relates to). Again, this new kinematic information may then be stored in memory 48 in step 92.

[0099] 5C, there is shown a method 100 of operation of the vehicle tracking device 10 described in the above embodiments. Specifically, FIG. 5C illustrates a method 100 by which the vehicle tracking device 10 determines and transmits kinematic data for one or more vehicles 12 within the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10.

[0100] The operational method 100 begins in step 102 by obtaining location data for a particular vehicle 12 within the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10. This may involve receiving IR radiation, determining its origin location, and associating it with the particular vehicle according to methods 60, 80 of Figures 5A and 5B described above. This may also involve obtaining location data from memory 48 for the particular vehicle.

[0101] Following this, the processor 46 determines kinematic data for the vehicle 12 using the acquired position information in step 104. In some cases, this involves simply determining the position of the vehicle 12 in one or two dimensions, in which case the acquiring and determining steps are the same. In other embodiments, the kinematic data involves calculating quantities such as velocity or acceleration in one or two dimensions, which requires acquiring multiple positions along with the times at which the positions were determined. In such embodiments, the processor typically acquires multiple positions and associated timestamps from memory 48. The acquisition of positions from memory 48 may be combined with IR emission origin data not already stored in memory 48. Calculating velocity and acceleration using position and time data is well known and will not be described further herein.

[0102] Once the necessary kinematic data has been determined, the determined data is stored in memory 48 of the vehicle tracking device 10 at step 106. Following this storage, the method 100 continues at step 108 by transmitting the determined kinematic data to one or more of the vehicles 12 according to the embodiments described above. This may include transmitting the data only to the relevant vehicle. This may also include transmitting the data to multiple vehicles 12 within the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10. In certain embodiments, the method may further include transmitting the kinematic data to a TMS at step 108. It should be understood that the method of transmitting data to the TMS may be the same as the method of transmitting data to the vehicle 12. Alternatively, the method of transmitting data may involve utilizing additional system infrastructure and methods. Such alternatives are described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 10 . The method of operation 100 then proceeds to the end at step 110.

[0103] In embodiments in which the processor is further configured to generate a control or warning signal to be transmitted to one or more vehicles 12, the method 100 includes an additional step between steps 106 and 108 in which a control or warning signal is calculated and determined according to the above-described embodiments. This control or warning signal may then be transmitted in step 108 in addition to or instead of the kinematic data.

[0104] In embodiments in which ground space envelope 36 information is provided, calculating the kinematic data for vehicle 12 in step 104 may include determining the kinematic data associated with ground space envelope 36 of vehicle 12 according to the embodiments described above. This data associated with ground space envelope 36 may then be stored in step 106 and transmitted in step 108.

[0105] 6, there is shown an isometric view of a vehicle tracking system 150 including multiple vehicle tracking devices 10 of the above-described embodiments for detecting one or more ground vehicles 12 and determining various kinematic data for the detected vehicles 12. Note that for clarity, not all of the vehicle tracking devices 10 are labeled in the figure. More specifically, the vehicle tracking system 150 shown in the figure includes multiple vehicle tracking devices 10 installed in an urban environment and configured to determine various kinematic data for the detected vehicles 12 over an area larger than the field of view (or "cell" 152) of any individual vehicle tracking device 10. In this manner, the vehicle tracking system 150 enables tracking of one or more vehicles 12 over a large area. Although vehicle tracking system 150 is shown installed in an urban environment where multiple obstacles may obstruct the view of vehicle tracking device 10 (e.g., buildings and road infrastructure), vehicle tracking system 150 may equally be used to track vehicles 12 over larger areas where such obstacles are not present, such as along stretches of road, such as highways or motorways, or along stretches of railroad tracks. Vehicle tracking device 10 of vehicle tracking system 150 may again be mounted to existing infrastructure, such as lampposts, traffic lights, gantries, buildings, etc.

[0106] The illustrated vehicle tracking system 150 includes multiple vehicle tracking devices 10, such as those described in the above embodiments, each within its own cell 152. The multiple cells 152 form a network and cover the area monitored by the vehicle tracking system 150. Each of the vehicle tracking devices 10 may include any of the above elements to achieve the desired functionality associated with those features. Specifically, each device 10 may include features that enable it to receive unique identification data for each vehicle 12, detect IR emissions, and calculate and transmit various kinematic data to one or more vehicles 12. It should be understood that each vehicle tracking device 10 in the vehicle tracking system 150 may include functionality from different embodiments to achieve different functions within each cell; i.e., each vehicle tracking device 10 in the system 150 need not include the same functionality. For example, one device 10 in the system 150 may be configured to monitor entry points into the system 150 and receive information from vehicles 12 or be provided with preset location information according to the above embodiments. Other devices 10 in the system 150 may not need such functionality because they do not monitor this entry location.

[0107] In the vehicle tracking system 150 of FIG. 6 , each vehicle tracking device 10 may be further configured to transmit the calculated kinematic data to one or more of the other vehicle tracking devices 10 in the vehicle tracking system 150. This may be achieved by appropriate configuration of the receiver 40, processor 46, and transmitter 50 of each vehicle tracking device, since the transmission range is similar to the transmission range between the tracking device and the vehicles 12 within its field of view. Alternatively, other communication mechanisms may be included, for example, there may be a wired connection between the vehicle tracking devices 10. Furthermore, each vehicle tracking device 10 may similarly be configured to transmit the vehicle's 12's unique identification data, along with the calculated kinematic data, to one or more of the other vehicle tracking devices 10 in the vehicle tracking system 150. In this manner, as a vehicle 12 passes through and exits the field of view of a particular vehicle tracking device 10, various data may be passed (or may have already been passed) to another vehicle tracking device 10 whose cell 152 the vehicle 12 is currently passing through. This data, similar to the data originally transmitted by the vehicle 12 to the vehicle tracking device 10, may be used to associate the received IR emissions with a vehicle 12 entering the first cell of the vehicle tracking system 150. When kinematic data is transmitted, any position data may be provided relative to the vehicle tracking device 10 that calculated it. Alternatively, when the position data is transmitted, it may be first processed to give the position of the vehicle 12 relative to the destination vehicle tracking device 10 rather than the source vehicle tracking device 10. Alternatively, the vehicle tracking device 10 receiving the position data may be configured to convert this data itself. Alternatively, the absolute positions (e.g., longitude and latitude coordinates) of one or more vehicles 12 may be transmitted.

[0108] In the vehicle tracking system 150 of FIG. 6 , each vehicle tracking device 10 may be further configured to transmit the calculated kinematic data to one or more of the other vehicle tracking devices 10 in the vehicle tracking system 150. This may be achieved by appropriate configuration of each vehicle tracking device's receiver 40, processor 46, and transmitter 50. Furthermore, each vehicle tracking device 10 may similarly be configured to transmit the vehicle's 12's unique identification data, along with the calculated kinematic data, to one or more of the other vehicle tracking devices 10 in the vehicle tracking system 150. In this manner, as a vehicle 12 passes through and exits the field of view of a particular vehicle tracking device 10, various data may be passed to another vehicle tracking device 10 whose cell 152 the vehicle 12 is currently passing through. This data, as well as the data originally transmitted by the vehicle 12 to the vehicle tracking device 10, may be used to associate the received IR emissions with the vehicle 12 entering the first cell of the vehicle tracking system 150. When kinematic data is transmitted, any position data may be provided relative to the vehicle tracking device 10 that calculated it. Alternatively, when the position data is transmitted, it may first be processed to give the position of the vehicle 12 relative to the destination vehicle tracking device 10 rather than the source vehicle tracking device 10. Alternatively, the vehicle tracking device 10 receiving the position data may be configured to convert this data itself. Alternatively, the absolute positions (e.g., longitude and latitude coordinates) of one or more vehicles 12 may be transmitted.

[0109] In embodiments in which each vehicle tracking device 10 is configured to transmit unique identification data and calculated kinematic data to other vehicle tracking devices 10, it is not necessary for each vehicle tracking device to receive unique identification data or any other data from the vehicle itself. In such embodiments, the system 150 is initially configured to receive unique identification data and initial position data from a vehicle 12 at a designated vehicle tracking device 10 in accordance with the above-described embodiment. This vehicle tracking device 10 is configured to monitor a designated “entry point” (or entry cell) as the vehicle enters an area monitored by the vehicle tracking system 150. Alternatively, such a vehicle tracking device 10 may be configured to monitor a pre-established, known location, as described in the above embodiment. Such initial position information and / or unique identification information may not need to be provided by the vehicle. Following this, the relevant information is transmitted to the other vehicle tracking devices 10 by the vehicle tracking devices that received data from the vehicle. In such embodiments, any vehicle tracking devices 10 that are not monitoring an entry cell do not receive this information from the one or more vehicles 12, but instead are configured to only receive transmitted information from the other vehicle tracking devices 10.

[0110] In further embodiments, the cell 152 monitored by each vehicle tracking device 10 is configured to overlap with other cells, such that there are points where one or more tracked vehicles 12 are within the field of view of multiple vehicle tracking devices 10. In such embodiments, the associated vehicle tracking devices 10 are each configured to calculate kinematic data for that one or more vehicles. In some embodiments, the calculated kinematic data for each vehicle is transmitted to each of the other vehicle tracking devices 10 in whose cell the one or more vehicles 10 are located, and the data are compared. The processor of each vehicle tracking device is then configured to compare the data and, using a voting algorithm, determine whether the data match, and if not, reject the inconsistent data so that it is not transmitted to the vehicle 12 (or other destination). This allows for a check of data consistency or continuity between each vehicle tracking device 10 and its first, second, and possibly third overlapping tracking devices, and, in the latter two cases, allows for the detection and exclusion of faulty tracking devices 10. This reduces the number of faults per vehicle mile by 1×10. -8 A "triple" or "quadruple" redundant architecture is formed that can achieve the necessary safety and integrity of the information provided to the vehicles better than a single unit, while at the same time allowing for high availability of information by tolerating and repairing tracking unit failures. Additionally, status information from the diagnostic or prognostic devices in each vehicle 12 can be sent back to the vehicle tracking devices 10, allowing nearby vehicles 10 or associated traffic management systems to be alerted to failures or predicted failures, particularly failed IR emitters, further improving the integrity of the overall system.

[0111] In further embodiments, the voting algorithm may be employed in an alternative manner to determine data consistency or continuity among multiple tracking devices 10 whose cells are adjacent or nearly adjacent but not overlapping. In such embodiments, the voting algorithm performs a comparison of the measured positions of one or more vehicles 10 by multiple vehicle tracking devices 10. Through this comparison, the voting algorithm can detect, to a very high level of completeness, inconsistent positions produced by one of the vehicle tracking devices 10, consistent with that described in the previous paragraph. As an example, a voting algorithm employed by a group of four adjacent vehicle tracking devices 10 may determine which one of the tracking devices 10 is inconsistent with the other three by a rolling pairwise comparison sent to the fourth tracking device. In such an example, the voting system may flag the erroneous device 10 as defective and ignore, overwrite, replace by interpolation, or otherwise address any measurements it makes until the defective device is repaired. The voting algorithm may also be configured to wait for multiple erroneous measurements to be determined before highlighting the device as faulty. While this example refers to the use of four vehicle tracking devices 10, it should be understood that the voting algorithm may be employed by any number of vehicle tracking devices 10, such as three, four, or more devices 10. In some embodiments, the vehicle tracking devices 10 using the voting algorithm "roll" along the system of vehicle tracking devices. (i.e., if the voting algorithm is among four devices 10, they vote among devices numbered 1 through 4, then numbers 2 through 5, numbers 3 through 6, and so on.) As a variation on this architecture, the vehicle tracking devices 10 can be arranged in groups of three, four, or more, with a fixed voting algorithm among three, four, or more, and consistency checks can be tracked both within the groups of three or four and during handovers between groups.In some embodiments, there may be adjacent or near-adjacent cells in some parts of the network and overlapping cells in other parts, such as in locations with higher road safety risks. Such adjacent and overlapping embodiments allow fewer vehicle tracking devices 10 to be used over an extended area, while still allowing multiple vehicle tracking devices 10 to monitor a common area.

[0112] The embodiment of the vehicle tracking system 150 in FIG. 6 illustrates an example in which the vehicle tracking system 150 is configured to detect and determine kinematic data of a ground vehicle. However, the vehicle tracking system 150 may similarly be configured to monitor an airborne vehicle 20. An example of such a configuration is shown in FIG. 7, where the system is again deployed in an urban environment. Again, for clarity, not all vehicle tracking devices 10 and airborne vehicles 20 are labeled. It should be understood that this configuration includes the same features and functionality of the vehicle tracking system 150, except that the vehicle tracking system 150 is configured to monitor IR emissions or reflections received from above, rather than below, the system 150. Each vehicle tracking device 10 in the vehicle tracking system 150 has a field of view, or "sky cell," in this configuration. In this embodiment, the tracking system for the airborne cell must be oriented non-vertically toward the north (south in the Southern Hemisphere) to avoid solar glare. Adjacent sky cells, forming "airborne lanes," must be safely separated from oncoming traffic.

[0113] Further examples of how an upward-facing vehicle tracking system 810 can be configured to create an aerial corridor for vehicles such as delivery / collection drones are shown in Figures 8A and 8B. In this configuration, the vehicle tracking devices have a narrower field of view and can be positioned to create an aerial corridor at a high altitude, for example, above an electrified railroad track. Alternating or multiple linking of vehicle tracking devices is also possible to create multiple aerial corridors at different altitudes. In Figure 8A, even-numbered tracking devices create a corridor 811 at, for example, an altitude of 300 feet, and odd-numbered tracking devices create a corridor 812 at, for example, 150 feet, with the fields of view of the IR sensors on the rail gantries configured to form adjacent or slightly overlapping cells in the air at those altitudes. In this way, alternating the vehicle tracking devices 810 in the system creates two different aerial corridors. Each vehicle tracking device can also include upward-facing IR emitters, a predetermined number of which are visible to an IR sensor appropriately mounted on the aerial vehicle 820. Because the IR emitters are spaced at regular intervals, this provides yet another means for the airborne vehicle to monitor and control its altitude by direct triangulation. The IR emitters can also be used to create "runway lights" to create "landing strips" alongside tracks that are visible to the airborne vehicle's IR sensors. This can be useful for normal operation, but would be particularly useful for creating safe landing zones 813 for airborne vehicles that have, for example, experienced a breakdown or are low on fuel. In this way, the infrastructure system established in accordance with the present embodiment enables safe, regulated flight of autonomous airborne vehicles.

[0114] While the two ground and airborne monitoring configurations are shown as separate embodiments, it should be understood that the two embodiments may be combined into a third embodiment in which airborne and ground vehicle monitoring is achieved simultaneously. This is achieved by appropriately configuring the vehicle tracking device 10 embodiments described above. Furthermore, the vehicle tracking system 150 may be configured to detect and calculate only the kinematic data of either ground vehicles or airborne vehicles at a particular location. By way of example, this may be achieved by providing the vehicle tracking device 10 with either an upward-facing or downward-facing IR sensor 44, depending on whether it is desired to detect airborne or ground vehicles within the field of view of the particular vehicle tracking device 10. In this manner, if a particular type of monitoring is not required in a particular area, redundant components may be eliminated. Figure 7 also illustrates a horizontal 360-degree laser beacon 160 that provides a horizontal wide-area reference signal that an airborne vehicle can use to maintain accurate altitude.

[0115] 9, a method 170 of operation of the vehicle tracking system 150 is shown. Specifically, method 170 relates to how a vehicle tracking device 10 of the vehicle tracking system 150 in one cell 152 receives information from another vehicle tracking device 10 in another, typically adjacent, cell 152 and uses this to determine kinematic data of a vehicle 12 that enters its field of view. It should be understood that when a vehicle enters a network of cells, initial data acquisition and kinematic data determination by a first vehicle tracking device 10 in a cell may be accomplished using the relevant steps of method 60 of FIG. 5A, and method 170 relates to the procedure followed by vehicle tracking devices 10 subsequent to the first vehicle tracking device 10.

[0116] Method 170 begins in step 172 by receiving identification data, kinematic data (position, velocity, acceleration, deceleration, orientation, or other useful kinematic data), and vehicle geometry data transmitted from an upstream adjacent vehicle for each vehicle entering its field of view. This occurs similarly to step 62 of FIG. 5A, in which information is received from vehicle 12, insofar as the relevant data is received from its upstream adjacent vehicle tracking device 10 via receiver 40. In this case, the initial position data transmitted for vehicle 12 may include the position calculated by the upstream adjacent vehicle tracking device 10.

[0117] Method 170 continues in step 174 by detecting IR radiation emitted or reflected from IR emitters or reflectors 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E of one or more vehicles 12 to be tracked according to the above-described embodiments. The IR radiation is detected by one or more IR sensors 44. While steps 172 and 174 are shown sequentially, it should be understood that the two transmissions may be received in the opposite order or simultaneously.

[0118] Following this, method 170 continues at step 176 by determining the origin of the detected IR emissions. This may be accomplished according to the embodiments described above and is performed by processor 46. This step allows a location to be associated with the received IR emissions. Following this determination, vehicle tracking device 10 proceeds to associate the received IR emissions with the unique identification data received for one or more vehicles 12 at step 178. This is accomplished by comparing the determined location of the IR emissions with the received vehicle 12 location data according to the embodiments described above. In some embodiments, multiple sets of IR emissions having different origin locations are received simultaneously. In these embodiments, method 170involves comparing the received location of vehicle 12 with each of the set of IR emissions until a suitable emission is found with which vehicle 12 can be associated. Once vehicle 12 is associated with an IR emission, method 170 continues in step 180 by storing unique identification data for that vehicle 12 and the initial location of that vehicle 12 in memory 48 according to the embodiments described above.

[0119] It should be appreciated that vehicle tracking device 10 may simultaneously receive multiple sets of unique identification data and initial location data. In such cases, method 170 may be configured to iterate concurrently for each set of unique identification data and initial location data. Alternatively, method 170 may be configured to operate concurrently for each set of unique identification data and received location data.

[0120] The operational method 170 continues in step 182 by determining kinematic data for the vehicle 12 using the acquired information. In some cases, this involves simply determining the position of the vehicle 12 in one or two dimensions, in which case the acquiring and determining steps are the same. In other embodiments, determining the kinematic data involves calculating quantities such as velocity or acceleration in one or two dimensions, which requires acquiring multiple positions along with the times at which the positions were determined. In such embodiments, the processor typically acquires multiple positions and associated timestamps from memory 48. The acquisition of positions from memory 48 may be combined with IR emission origin data not already stored in memory 48. Calculating velocity and acceleration using position and time data is well known and will not be described further herein.

[0121] Once the necessary kinematic data has been determined, the determined data is stored in memory 48 of vehicle tracking device 10 in step 184. Following this storage, method 170continues in step 186 by transmitting the determined kinematic data to one or more of the vehicles 12, according to the embodiments described above. This may include transmitting the data only to the relevant vehicle. This may include transmitting the data to multiple vehicles 12 that are within the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10, or that are out of the field of view but within communication range between the vehicle tracking devices. In embodiments in which the kinematic data is transmitted to a TMS, step 186 also includes transmitting the kinematic data to the TMS.

[0122] Following this, the method 170 continues at step 188 by determining whether the vehicle 12 for which kinematic data was determined is leaving the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10. This determination may include comparing the determined position of the vehicle 12 with a known end position of the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10. If the vehicle 12 is within a predetermined range of this end position, it may be determined that the vehicle is leaving the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10. If it is determined not, the method 170 returns to step 174 to detect new IR emissions to be associated with the vehicle 12. If it is determined that the vehicle 12 is leaving the field of view of the tracking device 10, the method 170 proceeds to transmit, in step 190, identification and kinematic data about the leaving vehicle 12 to the adjacent downstream IR tracking sensor. The method then proceeds to end in step 192.

[0123] In embodiments intended to provide kinematic data for multiple vehicles 12 within the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10 to one or more vehicles 12 that are within the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10, or that are outside the field of view but within communication range between the vehicle tracking devices, it should be understood that the method 170 of FIG. 9 can be modified to accomplish this. Such modifications may include, in step 182, the processor 46 being configured to simultaneously determine kinematic data for multiple vehicles 12 within its field of view. This may include retrieving data associated with all vehicles within the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10 from memory 48, as determined according to the embodiments described above. Associated kinematic data may then be calculated for each of these vehicles 12 and thereafter stored according to step 184. The kinematic data for all vehicles 12 within the field of view may then be transmitted to one or more vehicles 12 in step 186. It should also be understood that only a subset of the calculated kinematic data may be transmitted to each vehicle 12. This subset may be determined based on vehicles that are near the vehicle 12 to which the data is being transmitted. For example, if there are ten vehicles within the field of view of the vehicle tracking device 10, there may only be four in the immediate vicinity of a particular vehicle 12 (i.e., one in front, one behind, and one on each side). In this example, the vehicle tracking device 10 may be configured to provide kinematic data only to the particular vehicle 12, relating to the vehicle 12 itself and the four vehicles in its immediate vicinity. Furthermore, the vehicle 12 itself may have left the field of view of the tracking device 10, but the following vehicle may not yet be in the field of view of the next tracking device in the direction of travel. In this case, the tracking device will continue to provide the following vehicle's kinematic data to the vehicle 12 until the following vehicle leaves its field of view.

[0124] Method 170 of FIG. 9 relates to a process in which kinematic data is only transmitted to other vehicle tracking devices 10 when a vehicle is passing outside the field of view of a particular tracking device 10. However, in some embodiments, a vehicle tracking system 150 is configured to constantly transmit calculated kinematic data to other vehicle tracking devices 10 in the system 150. This may be used when a voting system is employed to verify whether determined kinematic data is accepted by multiple devices 10 and prevent the transmission of erroneously calculated data. In such embodiments, method 170 may be adapted in step 186 to simultaneously transmit kinematic data to other vehicle tracking devices 10 when it is transmitted to a vehicle 12. This may be transmitted to all other devices 10 in the system 150, or only to a subset (e.g., adjacent upstream and downstream devices 10). In such embodiments, steps 188 and 190 may be omitted if it is not necessary to determine whether a vehicle is passing outside the field of view of a particular device 10. Alternatively, these steps may still be performed to notify adjacent downstream devices 10 that data regarding a particular vehicle 12 is no longer being received from the device 10 .

[0125] It should be understood that the method 170 of Figure 9 may be suitably modified to account for various modifications of each vehicle tracking device 10 in the vehicle tracking system 150. In particular, information regarding the ground space envelope 36 may be utilized in a manner similar to that described above to determine the position of the vehicle 12.

[0126] Referring now to FIG. 10 , a vehicle tracking system 200 is shown that includes multiple vehicle tracking devices 10 of the above-described embodiments for detecting one or more ground vehicles 12 and determining various kinematic data for the detected vehicles 12. Note that for clarity, not all vehicle tracking devices 10 are labeled in the figure. Additionally, the vehicle tracking system 200 further includes a remote communication device 202 (schematically shown in FIG. 10 as a radio tower) configured to receive remote data from a wide area communication network and to transmit the received remote data to one or more of the vehicle tracking devices 10. The one or more vehicle tracking devices 10 that receive the remote data are further configured to transmit the remote data to one or more vehicles within the field of view 152 of each tracking device. It should be understood that the vehicle tracking system 200 may include any one or more of the features described with respect to the vehicle tracking device 160 of FIG. 6 to achieve the associated functionality of those features.

[0127] In certain situations, it may be beneficial to be able to communicate data remotely from a vehicle to the vehicle. Such data may include data related to the operation of the vehicle (e.g., navigation data) or more general data, such as data for browsing the Internet on a device connected to the vehicle. Typically, data connections to vehicles are intermittent, especially in locations far from radio towers capable of transmitting such data to the vehicle (e.g., on highways), and may be subject to multipath reflections (especially common in urban areas with tall buildings) that introduce noise and distort the received signal. Providing the vehicle tracking system 200 of FIG. 10 allows for more reliable data transmission, even in such remote or densely populated locations. One such example of where such data needs to be provided relates to providing data from a TMS. The TMS may be located anywhere in the vehicle tracking system 200, and in some cases, the TMS may be located remotely from the vehicle tracking system 200. In such cases, providing a remote communication device 202 enables communication between the TMS and one or more vehicles despite the remote location. This is particularly advantageous where the TMS is typically located in a central location to receive information from multiple different transportation locations. The ability to provide a reliable communication link between the TMS and multiple different locations is made possible, among other things, by the provision of vehicle tracking system 200 of FIG.

[0128] Returning to FIG. 10, vehicle tracking system 200 is shown in the context of a six-lane highway. The functionality and performance characteristics of data transmission 153 between tracking device 10 and vehicle 12 are described in the preceding paragraphs as requiring a transmission latency on the order of 1-2 ms and a data transmission rate of approximately 1 Kbit every 10 ms to provide the tracking accuracy necessary for safety-critical vehicle control. Similar requirements apply to transmissions 154 between tracking devices 10. It should be understood that the description of the operation of the vehicle tracking system for tracking one or more local vehicles has been described in detail above and will not be repeated here for ease of reading.

[0129] The remote communication device 202 is shown located near one or more of the vehicle tracking devices 10 of the vehicle tracking system 200. It should be understood that the remote communication device 202 may be an item of equipment located remotely from one or more of the tracking devices 10, or may be located within the vehicle tracking device 10 in certain circumstances. The remote communication device 202 includes one or more receivers (not shown) configured to receive remote data from a remote device over a wide area communication network. Such data may be received via wired or wireless means. The remote communication device 202 further includes one or more transmitters (not shown) configured to transmit the remote data to one or more of the vehicle tracking devices 10 via wired or wireless means. One or more of the vehicle tracking devices 10 is provided with a receiver configured to receive the transmitted remote data. This may be the same receiver 40 mentioned previously or may be an additional, dedicated receiver. The one or more vehicle tracking devices 10 further include one or more transmitters configured to transmit the remote data to one or more vehicles within the field of view of the vehicle tracking device. This may be the same transmitter 50 mentioned previously, or may be an additional dedicated transmitter. Specifically, by way of example, the remote communication device 202 may be equipped with a satellite communication receiver for communicating with the satellite 204. In some cases, this satellite receiver may specifically include a OneWeb satellite communication receiver. Additionally or alternatively, the remote communication device 202 may be provided with a 4G or 5G communication receiver.

[0130] In some usage scenarios, the remote communication unit 202 is configured to transmit remote data to each of one or more vehicle tracking devices 10 in parallel, i.e., each of the one or more vehicle tracking devices 10 in the vehicle tracking system 200 is configured to receive transmissions from the remote communication unit 202 independently of each other. In other usage scenarios, the remote communication unit 202 is configured to communicate directly with one specific vehicle tracking device 10 and transmit remote data only to that one vehicle tracking device 10. That vehicle tracking device 10 that receives the remote data is then configured to transmit the remote data to other vehicle tracking devices 10. This procedure may be repeated until the remote data has been transmitted to all vehicle tracking devices 10 in the vehicle tracking system 200. In some usage scenarios, data transmission between vehicle tracking devices 10 continues until the data is transmitted to a vehicle tracking device 10 that is within communication range of the vehicle 12 that is the intended recipient of the data.

[0131] In a further usage scenario, the remote communication unit 202 is further configured to receive local data from one or more vehicle tracking devices 10. This data may include kinematic data determined by one or more vehicle tracking devices 10. The data may further include requests for remote data from a wide area communication network. In this usage scenario, one or more vehicle tracking devices 10 are configured to receive requests for remote data from one or more vehicles within the field of view of the associated vehicle tracking device 10 and subsequently transmit these requests to the remote communication unit 202. The aforementioned transmitters and receivers of the remote communication unit 202 and one or more vehicle tracking devices 10 may be suitably configured to receive and transmit these requests. Alternatively, additional dedicated transmitters and receivers may be provided for this purpose. In some usage scenarios, the remote communication unit 202 is also configured to transmit any received kinematic data to one or more vehicle tracking devices 10. This enables the remote communication unit 202 to transmit remote kinematic data determined by a particular vehicle tracking device 10 to another vehicle tracking device 10. This may be used in addition to, or instead of, the above-described methods for transmitting determined kinematic data between vehicle tracking devices 10.

[0132] In scenarios where the remote communication device 202 is configured to receive local data as described above, the remote communication device 202 may be further configured to transmit this data to a remote device located remotely from the vehicle tracking system 200. This may include a TMS, or any device configured to receive and transmit data, such as a web server.

[0133] 10 shows one remote communication device 202, it should be understood that the vehicle tracking system 200 may include multiple remote communication devices 202, with each device 202 located at geographically distant locations. The spacing of the remote communication devices 202 may be determined by the range and performance requirements of the data being transmitted. In this manner, data transmission over a large geographic area may be possible while minimizing the amount of communication equipment required to provide access to a wide area network.

[0134] Turning to the example where the remote communications device 202 is configured to transmit and receive data from a TMS according to the embodiments described above, the performance attributes of the communications with the TMS depend on the corresponding functionality and performance characteristics of the broader overall system 200. Transmissions to the TMS may be for monitoring purposes only, or the TMS may monitor and provide traffic management advisories and warnings, or the TMS may provide closed-loop control back to vehicular traffic (according to the embodiments described above for providing control signals). Each of these use cases places increasing performance demands on the systems and technologies employed (higher data rates, lower latency, and improved data integrity).

[0135] Figure 10 illustrates numerous methods available for transmitting data from multiple vehicle tracking units to a TMS and receiving advisory, warning, control, or other information. Transmission 154 (which may be wired or wireless) between adjacent or nearby tracking units may be extended so that groups of tracking units (every group of 20 in Figure 10) are linked 192 to TMS communication units 202 mounted at extended intervals along roadways or throughout urban environments. The configuration may be serial (data accumulates from one unit to the next and then passes to the TMS communication unit) or parallel (each unit passes directly to the TMS communication unit 202), depending on performance and possibly other requirements.

[0136] The roadside TMS communication device 202 can then communicate with the TMS, with several different communication technology classes available being shown in Figure 10. The communication link to the TMS can be via wired communication 194, or via wireless means, e.g., long range WiFi such as a 4G or 5G link, or via a wireless data link 193, or via satellite communication 195, e.g., a low earth orbit or geostationary satellite system 204.

[0137] These technology classes have latency capabilities ranging from a few milliseconds to 500 milliseconds, with capacity capabilities ranging from 10 Mbps to 1 Gbps. While the configuration of FIG. 10 is most likely to be efficient and effective, the specific technologies previously described for tracking unit-to-vehicle and tracking unit-to-tracking unit transmissions are equally relevant here. Network slices of 4G LTE / 5G networks may provide all the necessary communication links. However, these technologies often remain sparsely populated over long-distance routes, favoring the option of linking directly from roadside, city, and urban stations 202 to low-earth orbit satellite communication systems 195, 204, such as OneWeb. This system has potential latencies of 50 ms and more than adequate data rate capacity.

[0138] 10 illustrates communication between the remote communication device 202 and the TMS via multiple different communication systems, as described above, it being understood that additional communication systems with other remote devices (highlighted above) may be provided, such that there is a dedicated communication channel between the TMS and the remote communication device 202 (in accordance with the embodiments described above), and separate communication channels between the remote communication device 202 and the other remote devices.

[0139] As discussed above, the embodiment of FIG. 10 enables the flow of data between one or more vehicles 12 and a remote device over a wide area communications network through the use of one or more appropriately configured vehicle tracking devices 10 and a suitably configured remote communications device 202 according to any of the embodiments described above. In particular, the above embodiment enables the transmission of local data from one or more vehicles 12 to a remote device in this manner. While the above embodiment describes such local data in the context of requesting remote data from a wide area communications network, it should be understood that the system of FIG. 10 may be further configured to allow different types of local data from the vehicles to be received by the remote device. Such local data may typically include data regarding the interior and exterior conditions of the vehicle, data regarding the vehicle's driver / pilot / passenger, and environmental conditions in the vehicle's vicinity.

[0140] As described above, each vehicle tracking device 10 includes one or more receivers 40 configured to receive wireless communications from a vehicle 12. In some embodiments, these receivers 40 are configured to receive different types of local data that may be transmitted to a remote device in accordance with the above-described embodiments. In alternative embodiments, additional dedicated transmitters and receivers are provided in the vehicle tracking device 10 for this purpose.

[0141] The transmission of local data enabled by the embodiment of FIG. 10 allows this data to be provided to any number of data collection systems configured to receive data over a wide area communication network. These systems are thus provided with a convenient method for receiving real-time and non-real-time data from one or more vehicles 10. Furthermore, because precise location data is available for each of one or more vehicles 10 using the vehicle tracking device 10 and system 150 described in the above embodiments, the received local data may advantageously include this location data in addition to other information described above and below. The combination of this location data with other information can provide the data collection system receiving this information with sufficient data to perform more detailed analysis than currently known systems. In other embodiments, the precise location data provided by the vehicle tracking device 10 and system 150 may not be necessary, although less precise location data may still be useful. In such scenarios, the local data may also include GPS data (or other location data) for the vehicle.

[0142] Below are examples of different types of local data that can be transmitted and usage scenarios: Vehicle diagnostic and prognostic data, for both ground and airborne vehicles, is transmitted to vehicle manufacturers, maintenance and emergency breakdown / recovery organizations. This data allows manufacturers to determine the lifespan of vehicle components and allows breakdown recovery organizations to determine that a breakdown has occurred and where the broken-down vehicle is located. The precise location data provided by vehicle tracking device 10 and system 150 allows for more accurate determination of vehicle location for these purposes. Vehicle tracking history, combined with driver control input data (vehicle movement) and autonomous control data, for both ground and air vehicles, used by maintenance, insurance, and rental / leasing agencies. Again, the precise location data provided by the vehicle tracking device 10 and system 150 improves the quality of data received for these purposes. Driver state data (controlling, monitoring, alert, awake, asleep) for manned ground vehicles. Such state data may be used to determine the driver's state of alertness when piloting / driving the vehicle and may be used to determine whether a warning needs to be displayed to the driver. Similarly, the data may be used to determine portions of a vehicle route, such as highways, where driver attention is typically reduced (due to route characteristics), and may be used to modify route infrastructure to increase driver attention (thereby improving driver safety while traveling along the route). Driver health data (e.g., a smartwatch or smartphone monitoring human vital parameters). In scenarios where driver health data is acquired by sensors that are not part of the vehicle, each vehicle may be configured to receive data from the external sensors before transmitting the data according to the above embodiments. Driver / passenger behavior data (e.g. what they are doing on their phone / laptop / car control / entertainment system) as a function of location / journey stage / time of day etc. Accurate progress of package delivery. Used by logistics companies for both ground and air vehicles. Currently, delivery companies typically cannot provide accurate vehicle location data or rely on the use of mobile devices in the vehicle to determine the vehicle's proxy location. Specifically, the use of mobile devices is disadvantageous because the location data recorded is typically inaccurate and these devices can easily be turned off or lose reception, preventing the vehicle's proxy location from being transmitted.

[0143] Vehicle telemetry data used to determine road conditions. Vehicle telemetry data may be transmitted indicating when a vehicle passes over a poor portion of road (e.g., a pothole), along with the exact location of the pothole. This information may be transmitted to maintenance infrastructure hardware, which records the location and presence of the pothole. In some cases, repeated indications of the presence of a pothole from multiple vehicles may provide more accurate data regarding the pothole's location. Similarly, in the case of an air corridor (route), there may be localized low visibility issues or other hazards that can be monitored locally and transmitted to the TMS to alert airborne vehicles approaching the location of the hazard.

[0144] All of this local data regarding activity specifically related to ground or airborne vehicles is provided to the vehicle tracking system 150, which acts as a conduit for providing that information to a remotely located interaction device, such as a server, via a wide area network. However, this data may also be stored by the vehicle tracking system on one or more of the remote communication devices 202. The data may then be uploaded to a central server using wide area network communication links for collation and analysis as needed. The upload periodicity is determined as a function of the amount of storage available on each remote communication device 202.

[0145] Although the implementation of different functions of several exemplary embodiments and devices of the present invention has been described in detail, it should be understood that those skilled in the art can easily adapt the basic configuration of the system to perform the described functions without the need for a detailed explanation of how this is achieved. Thus, in this specification, some functions of the system are described in different places without the required detailed implementation explanation, in recognition of the ability of those skilled in the art to implement the functions in the system.

[0146] Furthermore, it will be understood that the features, advantages, and functions of different embodiments described herein may be combined where context permits.

Claims

1. 1. A vehicle tracking device for tracking one or more vehicles at geographic locations in a transportation network over which the one or more vehicles may travel, comprising: one or more Infra-Red (IR) sensors having a field of view and configured to detect IR radiation emitted or reflected from the one or more vehicles at the geographic location within the field of view; a receiver configured to receive transmitted data including identification data uniquely identifying each of the one or more vehicles and location data indicative of an initial location of each of the one or more vehicles when the one or more vehicles entered the field of view at the geographic location; a processor configured to determine current kinematic data of the one or more vehicles in at least two dimensions based on the IR emissions detected by the one or more IR sensors, the received unique identification data, and the received position data, the processor configured to use previously determined current kinematic data for the one or more vehicles as input to the processor to determine current kinematic data for each of the one or more corresponding vehicles; a transmitter configured to transmit the determined current kinematic data of a particular vehicle of the one or more vehicles to a kinematic data receiver located remotely from the transmitter. A vehicle tracking device characterized by:

2. The particular vehicle is a ground vehicle.

2. The vehicle tracking device according to claim 1.

3. The vehicle tracking device is provided with terrain mapping data, and the processor is configured to determine current three-dimensional kinematic data based on one or more of the detected IR emissions, the unique identification data, previously determined kinematic data for each of the one or more vehicles, and the terrain mapping data.

3. The vehicle tracking device according to claim 2.

4. The particular vehicle is an airborne vehicle.

2. The vehicle tracking device according to claim 1.

5. The one or more vehicles include at least two vehicles, one of which is a ground vehicle and the other of which is an airborne vehicle, and the one or more IR sensors include at least two sensors, one IR sensor configured to detect IR radiation emitted or reflected from the ground vehicle and another IR sensor configured to detect IR radiation emitted or reflected from the airborne vehicle.

2. The vehicle tracking device according to claim 1.

6. The processor is configured to determine current kinematic data of the one or more vehicles at a frequency of at least 50 Hz.

2. The vehicle tracking device according to claim 1.

7. The receiver is further configured to receive data related to a ground or air space envelope of the one or more vehicles, and the processor is configured to determine a relative position of the one or more vehicles using the ground or air space envelope.

2. The vehicle tracking device according to claim 1.

8. an IR emitter configured to emit IR radiation toward the one or more vehicles.

2. The vehicle tracking device according to claim 1.

9. The transmitter is configured to transmit the determined current kinematic data to a kinematic data receiver for a particular vehicle.

2. The vehicle tracking device according to claim 1.

10. The transmitter is configured to transmit the determined current kinematic data for each of the one or more vehicles to a kinematic data receiver for each of the one or more vehicles.

2. The vehicle tracking device according to claim 1.

11. The transmitter is configured to transmit the determined current kinematic data to a remotely located Traffic Management System (TMS).

2. The vehicle tracking device according to claim 1.

12. The processor is further configured to generate a control signal for controlling the particular vehicle of the one or more vehicles based on the determined current kinematic data for the at least one of the one or more vehicles, the control signal including an instruction that, when executed by the particular vehicle, changes a speed or a position of the particular vehicle, and the transmitter is further configured to transmit the control signal to the particular vehicle.

10. The vehicle tracking device according to claim 9.

13. At least one of the one or more IR sensors is configured to detect IR radiation emitted from or reflected from a fixed geographic reference point, and the processor: determining a position of the vehicle tracking device relative to the fixed geographic reference point; using the determined position of the vehicle tracking device in determining the current kinematic data of the one or more vehicles. It is further configured as follows:

2. The vehicle tracking device according to claim 1.

14. The current kinematic data of the one or more vehicles determined by the processor includes at least the geographic position of the corresponding vehicle over time.

2. The vehicle tracking device according to claim 1.

15. The vehicle tracking device is configured to monitor entry points having fixed locations and receive data relating to the fixed locations at a particular time as an initial location for each of the one or more vehicles.

2. The vehicle tracking device according to claim 1.

16. The processor is further configured to generate a pull request to be transmitted by the transmitter, requesting the one or more vehicles to transmit the unique identifier data and initial location data.

2. The vehicle tracking device according to claim 1.

17. The one or more Infra-Red (IR) sensors have a field of view wide enough to cover human or animal movement adjacent to the transportation network.

2. The vehicle tracking device according to claim 1.

18. A vehicle tracking system for tracking one or more vehicles, comprising a plurality of vehicle tracking devices according to any one of claims 1 to 17 arranged in a network, wherein a transmitter of a first vehicle tracking device is configured to transmit the current kinematic data determined at the first vehicle tracking device and unique identification data of the one or more vehicles to a second vehicle tracking device of the plurality of tracking devices, and a receiver of the first vehicle tracking device is configured to receive the current kinematic data determined at a third vehicle tracking device of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices and unique identification data of the one or more vehicles from a third vehicle tracking device. A vehicle tracking system comprising:

19. The processor of the second vehicle tracking device is further configured to receive current kinematic data for at least one of the one or more vehicles determined locally at the second vehicle tracking device from the first vehicle tracking device and compare it to the current kinematic data determined at the first vehicle tracking device to determine whether the locally determined current kinematic data and the received kinematic data match.

20. The vehicle tracking system of claim 18.

20. The second vehicle tracking device receives results of the data comparison between at least two other vehicle tracking devices, and the processor of the second vehicle tracking device is configured to use the votes to identify tracking devices that are operating inconsistently.

20. The vehicle tracking system of claim 19.

21. At least two of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices are arranged so as to be geographically adjacent to one another, and the IR sensors of the adjacently located vehicle tracking devices have partially overlapping fields of view.

20. The vehicle tracking system of claim 18.

22. Further comprising a remote communication device, the remote communication device comprising: a remote data receiver configured to receive remote data from a wide area communication network; a remote data transmitter configured to transmit the remote data to one or more of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices; The one or more of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices are configured to receive the remote data and transmit the received remote data to at least one of the one or more vehicles.

20. The vehicle tracking system of claim 18.

23. The remote communication device is configured to transmit the received remote data to each of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices.

23. The vehicle tracking system of claim 22.

24. The remote communication device is configured to transmit the received remote data to each of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices in parallel.

24. The vehicle tracking system of claim 23.

25. a current vehicle tracking device among the plurality of vehicle tracking devices, receiving the remote data transmitted from the remote communication device directly or via another one of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices; Transmitting the received remote data to a further one of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices. It is configured as follows:

24. The vehicle tracking system of claim 23.

26. The remote communication device is further configured to receive local data from one or more of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices and transmit the local data to the wide area communication network.

23. The vehicle tracking system of claim 22.

27. A first vehicle tracking device of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices is configured to transmit the determined current kinematic data of the vehicle tracking device to the remote communication device, and the remote communication device is configured to receive the determined current kinematic data from the first vehicle tracking device of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices.

23. The vehicle tracking system of claim 22.

28. A second vehicle tracking device of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices is configured to receive the determined current kinematic data from the remote communication device.

28. The vehicle tracking system of claim 27.

29. The remote communication device is further configured to transmit the determined current kinematic data local to the system to a remotely located interaction device.

28. The vehicle tracking system of claim 27.

30. The remote communication device is communicatively coupled to a Traffic Management System (TMS) and configured to transmit the determined current kinematic data to the TMS.

30. The vehicle tracking system of claim 29.

31. The remote communication device is configured to receive determined current kinematic data from the TMS.

31. The vehicle tracking system of claim 30.

32. The remote data receiver includes a satellite communication receiver.

23. The vehicle tracking system of claim 22.

33. The remote data receiver includes a OneWeb satellite communications receiver.

33. The vehicle tracking system of claim 32.

34. The remote data receiver includes a 4G or 5G wireless communication receiver.

23. The vehicle tracking system of claim 22.

35. The remote data includes a control signal for controlling a particular vehicle of the one or more vehicles based on the determined current kinematic data for the at least one of the one or more vehicles, the control signal including an instruction that, when executed by the particular vehicle, changes a speed or a position of the particular vehicle, and the transmitter of a particular vehicle tracking device in proximity to the particular vehicle is further configured to transmit the control signal to the particular vehicle.

23. The vehicle tracking system of claim 22.

36. The remote communication device includes a plurality of remote communication devices, each of which is located at a location geographically distant from other devices of the plurality of remote communication devices and is configured to transmit the remote data to one or more of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices located within a geographic area proximate the location of the remote communication device.

23. The vehicle tracking system of claim 22.

37. Further comprising a local communication device, the local communication device comprising: a local data receiver configured to receive local data from one or more of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices; a local data transmitter configured to transmit the local data over a wide area communication network to a remotely located device; The one or more of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices are configured to receive local data from at least one of the one or more vehicles and transmit the received local data to the local communication device.

20. The vehicle tracking system of claim 18.

38. The local data includes one or more of vehicle diagnostic and prognostic data, driver condition data, driver health data, driver or passenger activity data, and vehicle telemetry data.

38. The vehicle tracking system of claim 37.

39. The one or more vehicles are airborne vehicles, and a first subset of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices is configured to track one or more airborne vehicles traveling at a first altitude, and a second subset of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices is configured to track one or more airborne vehicles traveling at a second altitude.

20. The vehicle tracking system of claim 18.

40. 1. A method for tracking one or more vehicles at geographic locations within a transportation network over which the one or more vehicles may travel, comprising: providing a tracking device having a field of view; receiving transmitted data including identification data uniquely identifying each of the one or more vehicles and location data indicative of an initial position of each of the one or more vehicles within the geographic location; detecting IR radiation emitted or reflected from the one or more vehicles at the geographic location; determining current kinematic data for the one or more vehicles based on the detected IR emissions, the received unique identification data for each of the one or more vehicles, and the position data, wherein current kinematic data previously determined for the one or more vehicles is used to determine current kinematic data for each of the one or more corresponding vehicles; and transmitting the determined current kinematic data for a particular vehicle of the one or more vehicles to a remote receiving location. A method characterized by:

41. The transmitting step includes transmitting the current kinematic data to at least one other vehicle tracking device of the plurality of tracking devices at the remote receiving location.

41. The method of claim 40.

42. The transmitting step includes transmitting the current kinematic data to a particular vehicle at the remote receiving location.

41. The method of claim 40.

43. and further comprising providing a plurality of said vehicle tracking devices arranged in a network, wherein a first vehicle tracking device of said plurality of vehicle tracking devices, in use, transmits the current kinematic data determined at said first vehicle tracking device and unique identification data of said one or more vehicles to a second vehicle tracking device of said plurality of tracking devices, and wherein said first vehicle tracking device, in use, receives the current kinematic data determined at a third vehicle tracking device of said plurality of vehicle tracking devices and unique identification data of said one or more vehicles from said third vehicle tracking device, the method comprising: receiving remote data from a wide area communication network at a remote communication device; transmitting the remote data to at least one of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices; The at least one of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices, when in use, receives the remote data and, when in use, transmits the received remote data to at least one of the one or more vehicles.

42. The method of claim 41 .

44. and further comprising providing a plurality of said vehicle tracking devices arranged in a network, wherein a first vehicle tracking device of said plurality of vehicle tracking devices, in use, transmits the current kinematic data determined at said first vehicle tracking device and unique identification data of said one or more vehicles to a second vehicle tracking device of said plurality of tracking devices, and wherein said first vehicle tracking device, in use, receives the current kinematic data determined at a third vehicle tracking device of said plurality of vehicle tracking devices and unique identification data of said one or more vehicles from said third vehicle tracking device, the method comprising: receiving, at a local communication device, local data from one or more of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices; transmitting the local data to a remotely located device over a wide area communication network; the one or more of the plurality of vehicle tracking devices, in use, receive local data from at least one of the one or more vehicles, and, in use, transmit the received local data to the local communication device.

42. The method of claim 41 .

45. The transmitting step includes transmitting the determined current kinematic data to a remotely located Traffic Management System (TMS).

41. The method of claim 40.

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