Control methods, drive units, control systems, automatically controlled vehicles

Abstract

To automatically control operation of a vehicle on the basis of the operation of the vehicle that is manually controlled.SOLUTION: A control method for automatically controlling operation of a vehicle on the basis of the operation of the vehicle that is manually controlled includes a control information collection step, a control point generation step, and a reproduction step. The control information collection step collects control information on a position and a speed on the basis of the operation of the vehicle by manual control, the control point generation step generates a plurality of control points on the basis of the control information, and the reproduction step automatically controls operation in the vehicle on the basis of the control points.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a control method, a control system, and an automatically controlled vehicle for automatically controlling the operation of a vehicle based on the operation of a manually controlled vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in order to reduce the burden on operators who operate work vehicles such as lawn mowers, technologies for automatically controlling these vehicles are known.

[0003] According to Patent Document 1, there is an autonomous driving type automatic lawn mower having various sensors including position detection means and drive wheels for motor control, and a control unit having a learning function. The control unit includes a drum control unit for controlling the drive wheels based on sensor information to move to a target point, a vehicle body balance unit for moving the axle according to the slope of the traveling road surface to maintain the balance of the vehicle body, a cutting unit for performing lawn cutting while following the cutting unit along the traveling road surface, and an arithmetic processing unit for performing various operations for controlling each unit based on sensor information and processing corresponding to the operations. A technique is disclosed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] The technology described in Patent Document 1 discloses a system that uses a teaching function to memorize a path derived from predetermined passage points and automatically operates a lawnmower based on that path. However, setting a path for each area where the lawnmower is to be operated is time-consuming, and in some areas, it is necessary to control the operation of the lawnmower with high precision. Therefore, there is still a high need for skilled operators to manually control the work vehicle, and there are challenges in accurately controlling the operation of the work vehicle.

[0006] Furthermore, when the area to be mowed is vast, such as a golf course, the mowing is performed by a large vehicle equipped with a mowing unit. Automating such a large lawnmower required solenoid valves to directly control the vehicle's steering, as well as sensors to detect the steering angle. Consequently, the cost of purchasing a dedicated vehicle separately for automation was incurred, posing a challenge to actual implementation.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and aims to solve the problem of providing a control method, a control system, and an automatically controlled vehicle that automatically control the operation of a vehicle based on the operation of a manually controlled vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To solve the above problems, the present invention provides a control method for automatically controlling the operation of a vehicle based on the operation of the vehicle which is manually controlled, comprising a control information collection step, a control point generation step, and a reproduction step, wherein the control information collection step collects control information relating to position and speed based on the operation of the vehicle which is manually controlled, the control point generation step generates a plurality of control points based on the control information, and the reproduction step automatically controls the operation of the vehicle based on the control points. This configuration allows for the recording of manual vehicle control (operation) by skilled personnel in a designated area as control points, and enables the automatic reproduction of the skilled personnel's actions based on those control points.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the invention comprises a detection step, the detection step detecting a straight line for motion control along a substantially straight path based on a plurality of positions included in the control information, and the reproduction step controlling motion along a straight path based on the straight line. This configuration allows for the detection of straight lines based on multiple locations and the automation of actions along straight paths.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a correction step is further provided, wherein the control information acquisition step acquires control information relating to the position at a first rate, and the correction step performs a correction process that adds the control information at a second rate which is a higher rate than the first rate. Furthermore, the control information includes the position according to the first rate and the angular velocity according to the second rate, and the correction step performs a correction process that estimates and adds the position between the positions according to the first rate based on the angular velocity according to the second rate. This configuration allows for the correction of low-rate positional information to a higher rate, thereby improving controllability.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle comprises a position information acquisition unit that acquires the position according to the first rate, and an inertial measurement unit that acquires the angular velocity according to the second rate. This configuration allows the measurement rate of the position information measurement unit to be corrected by the measurement rate of the inertial measurement unit.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, The control point generation step This generates the switching point between forward and reverse movement in the first vehicle as the control point. This configuration allows for the extraction of control information at crucial switching points in control systems.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a control point following the control point which is the switching point is generated based on the direction of the switching. This configuration improves controllability at the switching point.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the control point generation step generates control points by extracting and / or adding control information such that the positions are at predetermined intervals. This configuration allows for maintaining consistent controllability in areas where control points are densely packed and areas where control points are sparsely packed.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle is a lawnmower equipped with a lawnmower unit, the control information collection step collects control information relating to the raising and lowering operation of the lawnmower unit based on the operation of the vehicle by manual control, and the control point generation step generates control points based on the control information including the raising and lowering operation. This configuration allows for the automation of tasks performed by lawnmowers.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a drive unit that can be mounted on the vehicle drives the accelerator pedal, steering wheel, and lawn mowing unit of the vehicle, respectively, based on information contained in the control point. This configuration allows existing vehicles to be automated by installing a drive unit.

[0017] The present invention relates to a control system for automatically controlling the operation of a vehicle based on the operation of the vehicle which is manually controlled, and comprises a control information collection unit, a control point generation unit, and a reproduction unit, wherein the control information collection unit collects control information relating to position and speed based on the operation of the vehicle which is manually controlled, the control point generation unit generates a plurality of control points based on the control information, and the reproduction unit automatically controls the operation of the vehicle based on the control points.

[0018] The present invention is an automatically controlled vehicle based on the operation of a manually controlled vehicle, having a control information collection unit, a control point generation unit, and a reproduction unit. The control information collection unit collects control information regarding position and speed based on the operation of the vehicle by manual control. The control point generation unit generates a plurality of control points based on the control information. The reproduction unit automatically controls the operation of the vehicle based on the control points.

Effects of the Invention

[0019] According to the present invention, based on the operation of a manually controlled vehicle, by automatically controlling the operation of the vehicle, it is possible to improve the efficiency of information recording for automatic control of the vehicle, reproduce the control of the vehicle accurately, and contribute to the reduction of labor and costs related to the operation of the vehicle, and provide a control method, a control system, and an automatically controlled vehicle.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0020] The description of the drawings for explaining in detail one embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "one embodiment") is as follows. [Figure 1] Shows a configuration diagram of a control system according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] Shows an explanation of each variable of vehicle information according to one embodiment. [Figure 3] Shows a schematic explanatory diagram of automatic control using control points according to one embodiment. [Figure 4] Shows an overview of control point information according to one embodiment. [Figure 5] Shows an overview of the estimation process of the steering angle model according to one embodiment. [Figure 6] Shows an overview of a correction process according to one embodiment. [Figure 7] Shows a processing flowchart for control point generation according to one embodiment. [Figure 8] Shows a configuration diagram of a control system according to one embodiment. [Figure 9] Shows a configuration diagram of a control system according to one embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0021] This specification describes a control method, control system, and automated vehicle according to one embodiment, with the help of drawings. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiment, and various configurations can be adopted.

[0022] This specification describes the configuration and effects of a control system, but similar configurations, computer programs, and program recording media on which such programs are stored will produce similar effects. Using a program recording medium, the program can be installed on known computer devices. The series of processes according to one embodiment described below are provided as a computer-executable program and can be provided via non-transient computer-readable media such as CD-ROMs and flexible disks, as well as via communication lines.

[0023] Each functional component of the control system and each step of the control method achieve similar effects. Each functional component in the control system, control program, and control program recording medium is implemented by a computing device such as a CPU. Similarly, each step of the control method is implemented by a computing device.

[0024] The present invention aims to replicate the control of a vehicle by a skilled vehicle operator in an autonomous vehicle. The present invention is particularly suitable for realizing the automatic control of work vehicles performing tasks in specific areas. Such work vehicles require precise control by a skilled vehicle operator who is familiar with the terrain and work area of ​​the work zone. The operation performed by such a skilled operator can be stored in a memory device, and that operation can be reproduced using signals acquired from the memory device. This method is known as the teaching-playback method.

[0025] On the other hand, when the work area is vast, errors occur in the vehicle's working position, making it difficult to achieve precise work. In this invention, a control method employing a teaching-playback system can reduce such errors and achieve precise work movements.

[0026] In this embodiment, the work vehicle is described as a lawnmower, but it is not limited to this, and may be a snowplow, snow compactor, bulldozer, dump truck, excavator, wheel loader, grader, etc. Furthermore, the present invention is particularly effective when the work area is a large area such as a golf course.

[0027] <Embodiment 1> Figure 1 shows a diagram of the control system 100. Here, the control system 100 is comprised of an automated control vehicle 1. Each component (11-15), which will be described in detail later, may be mounted on one automated control vehicle 1.

[0028] The control system 100 includes a control unit 11 that includes a calculation device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a position information measurement unit 12, an inertial measurement unit 13, an actuator 14, an obstacle detection sensor 15, a lever position detection sensor 16, and a storage unit DB that serves as a database.

[0029] The control unit 11 is configured as a control unit that includes an arithmetic unit, a main memory device such as RAM (Random Access Memory), an auxiliary memory device such as flash memory, and input / output interfaces for various data, and is connected to the position information measurement unit 12, the inertial measurement unit 13, the actuator 14, the obstacle detection sensor 15, the lever position detection sensor 16, and the storage unit DB.

[0030] The control unit 11 can implement various functional components (101-106) that will be described in detail later, by executing a control program. The control program is stored in the auxiliary storage device or storage unit DB of the control unit 11.

[0031] The position information measurement unit 12 is configured as a module including a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) antenna. The position information measurement unit 12 measures the position of the automatically controlled vehicle 1 and transmits the measured position to the control unit 11, thereby enabling position recording and position-based control. The position information measurement unit 12 measures a timestamp, X position, and Y position as position information. Its positioning rate is defined as the first rate.

[0032] The inertial measurement unit 13 is configured as an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit). An IMU is a sensor module consisting of a gyro sensor, an acceleration sensor, and the like. The inertial measurement unit 13 measures the acceleration and angular velocity in the three axes of the automatically controlled vehicle 1 and transmits the measurement results to the control unit 11, thereby enabling recording of the measurement results, control according to the measurement results, and estimation of the direction of travel. The inertial measurement unit 13 measures inertial information including a timestamp, acceleration in the three axes (X, Y, Z), and angular velocity in the three axes (roll, pitch, yaw). The inertial information may also include estimated angles of the three axes estimated based on the acceleration and angular velocity.

[0033] The actuator 14 drives the accelerator pedal 141, the handle 142, and the lawn mowing unit 143, respectively, based on drive instructions from the control unit 11. The present invention is configured so that the components (11-15) including the actuator 14 can be attached to an existing lawn mower, and automatic control is achieved by directly operating the accelerator pedal 141, the handle 142, and the lawn mowing unit 143 of the lawn mower with the actuator 14.

[0034] The obstacle detection sensor 15 is composed of a range sensor, an infrared sensor, an image sensor, etc., and detects obstacles located around the automatically controlled vehicle 1. The obstacle detection sensor 15 transmits the information it has detected about the obstacle to the control unit 11, thereby enabling operation control in response to the obstacle.

[0035] The lever position detection sensor 16 detects lever operation for raising and lowering the lawn mowing unit 143. The lever position detection sensor 16 transmits the lever position to the control unit 11, thereby enabling the recording of raising and lowering control information, at least regarding the ON / OFF state of the lawn mowing unit 143. The raising and lowering control information includes a timestamp and a raising / lowering flag indicating whether the lawn mowing unit 143 is rising or falling. The raising / lowering flag is indicated, for example, as 1 for rising, 2 for falling, and 0 for doing nothing. The raising / lowering flag may also be a value corresponding to the height of the lawn mowing unit 143.

[0036] <Vehicle Information> The memory unit DB stores vehicle information, including the definition of variables such as the dimensions of each part of the automatically controlled vehicle 1. The vehicle information may be set according to the type of vehicle 1.

[0037] Figure 2 shows an explanatory diagram regarding the definition of variables included in vehicle information. In this embodiment, vehicle information includes a reference point BP which serves as the basis for controlling the automatic control vehicle 1, a position measurement point GP measured by the position information measurement unit 12, a wheelbase L which is the width between the front axle and the rear axle, the front wheel tread width T1, the rear wheel tread width T2, the distance D between the reference point BP and the position measurement point GP, the front wheel diameter d1, the front wheel radius r1, the rear wheel diameter d2, the rear wheel radius r2, the wheel width W, and the maximum steering angle θ. This vehicle information may be input from values ​​measured in advance, or it may be determined by the vehicle type.

[0038] <Control Information> The memory unit DB is connected to the control unit 11 and stores control information including position information, inertia information, lifting control information, and obstacle information. The memory unit DB also stores control point information for the automatic control of the automatic control vehicle 1 based on the control information. The memory unit DB may also be connected to the position information measurement unit 12, the inertia measurement unit 13, and the obstacle detection sensor 15, and may be configured to store control information based on their measurement results. The control information is combined based on timestamps collected by processes described in detail later and used to generate control point information.

[0039] The control information also includes speed, line attributes, and arc radius, which are calculated based on various other pieces of information.

[0040] Figure 3 shows an overview of automatic control in the automatically controlled vehicle 1 based on control point WP included in the control point information. In Figure 3, the automatically controlled vehicle 1 is automatically controlled and driven based on three control points WP1 to WP3. The straight line from control point WP1 to control point WP2 is determined as route GL2, and the straight line from control point WP2 to control point WP3 is determined as route GL4. If control points WP1 to WP3 are not straight lines, route GL3 is generated around control point WP2, which is in the middle of the line, by connecting routes GL2 and GL4 in an arc. When the entry route GL1 and route GL2 intersect, the automatically controlled vehicle 1 is driven in the order of routes GL2, GL3, and GL4, and can reach the destination control point WP3. Although only three control points WP are shown in Figure 3, automatic control based on control point information can be realized by setting multiple control points WP in succession. The automatically controlled vehicle 1 has a reference point BP set as the control reference, and the operation is controlled so that the reference point BP traces each route GL.

[0041] Each of the control points WP1 to WP3 has flags related to speed and the operation of the lawn mowing unit 143, and the automated control vehicle 1 passes through each of the control points WP and outputs control instructions to the actuator 14 based on the information regarding their operation, thereby automating the work.

[0042] Figure 4 shows an example of the data structure of control point information. The control point information includes a control point ID as identification information assigned to each control point WP, position (X,Y), speed, an elevation / depression flag for the lawn mowing unit 143, area attributes, line attributes, and arc radius. The control point information is data composed of a series of control points generated by the control point generation unit 105 based on the control information.

[0043] The area attribute indicates the presence or absence of obstacles detected by the obstacle detection sensor 15. The line attribute indicates whether the path of the automated vehicle 1 is at least a straight line or an arc. Within the work area, the automated vehicle 1 performs the work by moving back and forth along a straight line and by moving along an arc that forms an arc at the U-turn position of the back and forth movement. The arc radius indicates the radius of the arc line.

[0044] In the reproduction process, the control unit 11 outputs control instructions to each actuator 14 based on the control point information stored in the memory unit DB, thereby driving the accelerator pedal 141, the steering wheel 142, and the lawn mowing unit 143, and achieving automatic control.

[0045] The following describes each step in generating the control point information shown in Figure 4. The automated control vehicle 1 includes, as functional components, a control information collection unit 101, an estimation unit 102, a correction unit 103, a detection unit 104, a control point generation unit 105, and a reproduction unit 106, and these components execute the processing of each step.

[0046] <Control Information Acquisition Process> The control information collection unit 101 collects control information, including position information, inertia information, and lifting / lowering control information, for calculating control point information. The information collected here is based on the operation of the automatically controlled vehicle 1 by a skilled operator's manual control.

[0047] The control information includes position information measured by the position information measurement unit 12. The position information includes position (X,Y) and a timestamp. Position (X,Y) indicates the position at reference point BP and is calculated from the position of position measurement point GP and the distance D between reference point BP and position measurement point GP. The position information measurement unit 12 measures position information at a first rate. In this embodiment, the first rate is 5Hz, and position measurements are taken 5 times per second. However, the rate in the first rate is not limited to this.

[0048] The control information includes inertial information measured by the inertial measurement unit 13. The inertial information includes a timestamp, 3-axis acceleration (X, Y, Z), and 3-axis angular velocity (roll, pitch, yaw). The inertial information may also include estimated angles of the 3 axes estimated based on the acceleration and angular velocity. The inertial measurement unit 13 measures the inertial information at a second rate. In this embodiment, the second rate is 100 Hz, and a rate higher than the first rate is set. Note that the rate in the second rate is not limited to this, as long as it is higher than the first rate.

[0049] The control information includes lift-down control information indicating the raising and lowering operations of the lawn mowing unit 143. For example, the lift-down control information is stored with a timestamp, with "1" indicating an raising operation, "2" indicating a lowering operation, and "0" indicating no operation. The information may also include parameters corresponding to the height position of the lawn mowing unit 143, which allows for adjustment of the grass height after mowing. The lift-down control information is acquired by a lever position detection sensor 16 that detects the operation of the lawn mowing unit 143.

[0050] <Estimated process> The estimation unit 102 performs processing to estimate the speed, steering angle, and arc radius.

[0051] <Speed ​​estimation process> The estimation unit 102 estimates the speed v based on the control information acquired in the control information acquisition process. The estimated speed v is stored in the storage unit DB as the speed in the timestamp of the position information.

[0052] The velocity v is calculated based on the difference between consecutive positions measured by the first rate, as shown in equation (1). Here, the XY positions for calculating velocity v are denoted as x(k) and y(k), respectively, and the previously measured XY positions are denoted as x(k-1) and y(k-1), respectively.

[0053]

number

[0054] In equation (1), the velocity v is calculated as a positive velocity even when the automatically controlled vehicle 1 is moving backward. Therefore, as shown in equations (2) and (3), when the yaw angle θyg estimated from the position measured by the position information measurement unit 12 is reversed with respect to the yaw angle θy measured by the inertial measurement unit 13 (Δθ > π / 4), the velocity v is calculated as a negative velocity, assuming that the vehicle is moving backward. Note that the roll angle, pitch angle, and yaw angle can be calculated by integrating the angular velocities of the X, Y, and Z axes, respectively.

number

number

[0055] <Handle Angle Estimation Process> The estimation unit 102 estimates and outputs the steering control angle from the input angular velocity and velocity. The steering control angle represents the control angle at the steering wheel 142. The steering wheel 142 transmits its rotation to the steering system through rotation accompanied by the steering control angle. The steering system achieves the vehicle's turning motion by changing the wheel angle according to the steering control angle corresponding to the steering wheel angle. Here, the steering control angle and the steering control angle are not the same angle, and in order to estimate the steering control angle, it is necessary to correct the steering control angle and output it as the steering control angle.

[0056] The estimation unit 102 includes a steering angle model and a handle angle model. The steering angle model is a model (function) that takes the target angular velocity Wd and the current velocity V as inputs and outputs the target steering angle θsd, as shown in equation (4). The handle angle model is a model (function) that takes the target steering angle θsd as input and outputs the target handle angle θhd.

[0057]

number

number

[0058] The following describes the model estimation process for the steering angle model and the handle angle model. It is assumed that the estimation of the steering angle model and the handle angle model is performed in advance and stored in the memory unit DB. In the following description, an example is given in which the estimation unit 102 performs the estimation process for each model. However, the estimation process may be performed by an external device, and the resulting estimated model may be stored in the memory unit DB. In other words, there are no restrictions on the device on which the estimation process is performed in the model estimation process.

[0059] In the model estimation process, the estimation unit 102 manually controls the automatically controlled vehicle 1 and estimates the model using the measured results of the accelerator amount (speed), angular velocity, and steering angle during its operation. The angular velocity is measured and acquired by the inertial measurement unit 13.

[0060] In the model estimation process, the automated control vehicle 1 further includes an accelerator observation device, such as a sensor that observes the amount of accelerator pressure on the accelerator pedal 141, and a steering wheel observation device, such as a sensor that observes the steering wheel angle of the steering wheel 142. The accelerator observation device measures the amount of accelerator pressure using a position sensor or the like, or measures the vehicle speed using a speed sensor, and acquires the sensor value. The steering wheel observation device measures the amount of steering wheel rotation (steering wheel angle) and acquires the sensor value. Note that the speed may be a value calculated based on the difference of continuous position information measured by the position information measurement unit 12.

[0061] Figure 5 shows an example of the configuration of the steering angle model estimation process in the model estimation step. According to Figure 5, first, the estimation unit 102 inputs the velocity v and angular velocity w to the steering angle model and obtains the estimated steering angle as the output of the steering angle model. Next, the estimation unit 102 inputs the obtained estimated steering angle to the steering angle model and obtains the estimated steering angle as the output of the steering angle model. Here, the estimation unit 102 combines the obtained estimated steering angle with the current steering angle θ measured by the steering observation device. h The steering angle model is estimated using the estimation device. Specifically, the steering angle model is G -1 The function is represented by [formula], and the estimation unit 102 performs a process to adjust the coefficients in the function so that the estimated steering angle approaches the current steering angle θh. By repeatedly performing adjustments by the estimation device, the steering angle model is determined. The estimated steering angle and estimated handling angle are given by equations (6) and (7), respectively.

[0062]

number

number

[0063] In this embodiment, a known steering angle model was adopted, but the steering angle model may be adjusted by an estimation device based on the current steering angle measurement results.

[0064] The estimation unit 102 estimates the target steering angle using the steering angle model estimated by the model estimation process described above. The target steering angle is calculated in real time during the reproduction process of the automatically controlled vehicle 1 and used to adjust to the target steering angle. The actuator 14 controls the steering wheel 142 in response to control instructions that include the target steering angle, thereby realizing turning movements and other actions.

[0065] The target steering angle may be calculated in advance based on control information and stored in the storage unit DB as supplementary information to the control information. The estimation unit 102 inputs the speed calculated in the speed estimation process and the angular velocity measured by the inertia measurement unit 13 into the steering angle model and obtains the target steering angle as an output. The estimation unit 102 inputs the obtained target steering angle into the steering angle model and obtains the target steering angle as an output. The estimation unit 102 stores the estimated target steering angle in the storage unit DB, associating it with a timestamp as supplementary information to the control information. The control point generation unit 105 generates control point information including the target steering angle, thereby eliminating the need for real-time processing and suppressing, for example, a decrease in controllability due to processing delays.

[0066] <Arc radius estimation process> The estimation unit 102 estimates the arc radius of an arc-shaped path (arc line) based on position information and inertial information. Alternatively, the estimation unit 102 may estimate the arc radius based on the target handle angle along the arc line.

[0067] <Correction process> The correction unit 103 performs a correction process that adds control information regarding the position between consecutive position information measured by the position information measurement unit 12. Figure 6 shows an overview of the correction process in the correction unit 103. In Figure 6, the automatically controlled vehicle 1 travels along an arc-shaped path from position P(k) to position P(k+1), measuring the positions of reference points BP1 and BP2 based on the measurement results from the position information measurement unit 12. Note that the position may also be the position of position measurement point GP. If the correction process is not performed, the straight line GL1 between reference points BP1 and BP2 becomes the travel path during automatic control. As shown in Figure 6, the position information from the position information measurement unit 12 is measured at the first rate, and the accuracy of position control deteriorates as the distance between position measurement points increases. Also, since the distance between position measurement points differs depending on the speed of the automatically controlled vehicle 1 during the recording process, differences in controllability occur. Therefore, the correction unit 103 can improve the control accuracy of the automatically controlled vehicle 1 during automatic control by performing a correction process that adds a correction point CP based on an estimated position based on inertial information between reference points BP1 and BP2, which are multiple position control points based on the first rate.

[0068] The following describes the specific correction process performed by the correction unit 103. Step 1: The correction unit 103 draws a straight line between the vehicle's reference point BP at positions P(k) and P(k+1), divides the straight line equally by the number of data acquisitions N by the inertial measurement unit 13, and calculates the amount of movement d. The data acquisition rate of the inertial measurement unit 13 is defined as the second rate and is a higher rate than the first rate.

[0069] Step 2: The correction unit 103 takes the position P(k) of the reference point BP as the current position and calculates the correction position Pi(t) (t=1~N) by performing odometry calculations using the amount of movement d and the estimated angles (roll, pitch, yaw) estimated based on the inertial information from the inertial measurement unit 13, using the number of data acquisitions N. In Figure 6, the correction point CP1 has the correction position Pi(t).

[0070] Step 3: The correction unit 103 calculates the error e between the final interpolation position Pi(N) where t=N and the position P(k+1) of the reference point BP2.

[0071] Step 4: The correction unit 103 calculates a correction point CP2 having correction position P'i(t) by dividing the error e equally among the correction points CP1 having each correction position Pi(t) according to the number of data acquisitions N and allocating them equally.

[0072] Step 5: The correction unit 103 applies a correction velocity vi(t) to each correction point CP2 by linear approximation of the velocity v1 of reference point BP1 and the velocity v2 of reference point BP2.

[0073] Step 6: The control information collection unit 101 stores the correction position at correction point CP2 as control information in the storage unit DB. Therefore, by executing the correction process, the control information is updated to include the position information of the reference point BP based on the measurement by the position information measurement unit 12 and the correction point CP added based on the correction process.

[0074] Step 7: The control information collection unit 101 stores the lifting / lowering control information having the timestamp closest to the timestamp of the position information, associating it with the position information.

[0075] <Detection Process> The detection unit 104 detects the shape of a path as a line attribute based on the consecutive positions included in a plurality of control points. If the plurality of consecutive positions are aligned along a trajectory on an arc, the detection unit 104 detects it as an arc line and assigns the line attribute to it. Also, if the plurality of consecutive positions are aligned in a nearly straight line, the detection unit 104 detects it as a straight line and assigns the line attribute to it. The detection unit 104 detects it as a straight line if the estimated value of the arc radius shown below is greater than or equal to a predetermined radius, and as an arc line if it is less than the predetermined radius.

[0076] The estimation unit 102 estimates the radius of the arc if it is an arc line. A lower limit is set for the arc radius. The minimum turning radius that the automatically controlled vehicle 1 can turn is determined by the wheelbase L, tread width T, maximum steering angle θ, etc. Therefore, the lower limit of the arc radius is set to be at least greater than the minimum turning radius of the automatically controlled vehicle 1. The lower limit of the arc radius may be set arbitrarily depending on the vehicle type, or it may be set automatically based on vehicle information.

[0077] The correction unit 103 sets the estimated arc radius to the lower limit if it falls below the lower limit. The correction unit 103 also adds correction points on the arc line based on the lower limit arc radius.

[0078] The detection unit 104 adds the estimated arc radius or the corrected arc radius (lower limit) as supplementary information to the control information.

[0079] The correction unit 103 performs speed correction processing. The correction unit 103 corrects the speed on the arc line to a predetermined arc travel speed. The arc travel speed is set as the lower limit speed when the speed on the arc line is above a predetermined value. At the switching point between the straight line and the arc line, the correction unit 103 corrects the speed so that it becomes the average speed of the arc travel speed and the straight line travel speed. At the switching point between forward and reverse, the correction unit 103 corrects the speed so that the speed change is below a certain level. By correcting the speed in this way, the tracing accuracy around the arc line can be improved. In addition, the mechanical load caused by sudden speed changes can be reduced.

[0080] The control information collection unit 101 adds area attributes as supplementary information to the control information based on the detection information from the obstacle detection sensor 15. The area attributes are shown as data indicating at least the presence or absence of obstacles, but may also include data corresponding to the type of obstacle.

[0081] <Control point generation process> When control points WP become too dense, the load on each operating part, such as the actuator 14, increases. The control point generation unit 105 generates control points WP by performing an extraction process that extracts points containing control information located at a predetermined distance, such that the consecutive reference points BP and correction points CP are at a predetermined distance from each other.

[0082] The control point generation unit 105 generates control point information by extracting multiple control points, including position (X,Y), velocity, lifting flag, area attribute, line attribute, and arc radius, based on control information and its associated information. The control points may also include a target handle angle.

[0083] The control point generation unit 105 extracts the first reference point or correction point in the position information, and sequentially extracts reference points or correction points having position information at a predetermined distance from that point, thereby generating control points WP arranged at predetermined intervals. The predetermined interval can be set as appropriate according to the required control accuracy.

[0084] The control point generation unit 105 further extracts points that have positional information to serve as switching points for forward or backward movement, and uses these points as control points. The control point generation unit 105 then adds control points to the direction of the straight line or arc line that continues from the control points extracted here. This ensures a smooth connection to the subsequent lines.

[0085] Furthermore, the control point generation unit 105 extracts position information associated with the lifting / lowering flag as control points.

[0086] The control point generation unit 105 generates control point information consisting of multiple consecutive control points according to the process described above and stores it in the memory unit DB. This makes it possible to generate control point information as shown in Figure 4.

[0087] Figure 7 shows a flowchart of the process from the control information acquisition step to the control point generation step in this embodiment.

[0088] First, the control information collection unit 101 collects control information based on the operation of the vehicle by manual control (step S101). The control information collection unit 101 determines reference points based on the position information included in the control information (step S102). The estimation unit 102 calculates the speed based on the position information of the determined reference points (step S103). The correction unit 103 performs a correction process to add correction points including position information based on the position information of the determined reference points and the inertia information (step S104). The correction unit 103 assigns an elevating flag to the position information based on the elevating control information (step S105). The detection unit 104 detects straight lines and arc lines and assigns the arc radius as supplementary information to the control information (step S106). The correction unit 103 performs a correction process related to the speed (step S107). The detection unit 104 assigns line attributes as supplementary information to the control information (S108). The control information collection unit 101 adds area attributes as supplementary information to the control information based on the detection information (step S109). The control point generation unit 105 generates control point information based on the position, velocity, lifting flag, arc radius, line attributes, and area attributes obtained through the above-described process (step S110). The control point generation unit 105 stores the generated control point information in the storage unit DB and completes the process.

[0089] The order of processing from step S102 after the control information acquisition process to step S109 before the control point generation process is not limited to this, as long as the control information and incidental information necessary to ultimately generate the control points are obtained.

[0090] <Reproduction process> The automatically controlled vehicle 1 is automatically controlled in the target area based on control point information and performs work. First, the reproduction unit 106 travels while measuring its position (X,Y) with the position information measurement unit 12, and starts automatic control based on the control point information by detecting the position included in the control point information. The control unit 11 sequentially acquires the control instructions included in each control point of the control point information and outputs these control instructions to each actuator 14. Based on the control instructions, the actuators 14 control the operation of the accelerator pedal 141, the steering wheel 142, and the lawn mowing unit 143, respectively.

[0091] The reproduction unit 106 outputs the required accelerator amount for the accelerator pedal 141 according to the speed of the control point. The reproduction unit 106 outputs the steering control angle of the steering wheel 142 according to the position of the control point. The reproduction unit 106 outputs whether the lawn mowing unit 143 is raised or lowered according to the lifting / lowering flag of the control point.

[0092] The reproduction unit 106 inputs the angular velocity measured by the inertial measurement unit 13 and the velocity included in the control point information into the steering angle model and obtains the target steering angle as an output. The reproduction unit 106 inputs the target steering angle into the handle angle model and obtains the target handle angle as an output. The reproduction unit 106 outputs a control instruction including the acquired target handle angle to the actuator 14, and the actuator 14 controls the handle angle by driving the handle 142 based on the target handle angle, thereby realizing a turning operation in the automatically controlled vehicle 1.

[0093] Furthermore, the reproduction unit 106 may be configured to output the steering control angle based on the position and / or arc radius if the line attribute of the control point is an arc line. Also, if the control point includes a target steering angle, the reproduction unit 106 may output the steering control angle of the steering wheel 142 according to the target steering angle included in the control point.

[0094] The reproduction unit 106 may correct the speed according to the area attributes of the control point and output the required accelerator amount for the accelerator pedal 141 according to the corrected speed.

[0095] In the reproduction process, the automated vehicle 1 measures position information, inertia information, obstacle detection information, and lifting / lowering control information using the position information measurement unit 12, inertia measurement unit 13, obstacle detection sensor 15, and lever position detection sensor 16, respectively, and performs automated driving while correcting errors with the various information included in the control point information.

[0096] Thus, the present invention enables high-precision recording and reproduction of control information in existing lawnmowers using external measurement units and actuators.

[0097] <Embodiment 2> Figure 8 shows an example configuration of a control system 200 comprising an automatically controlled vehicle 21 and an information processing device 22. Components similar to those in Embodiment 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and their descriptions are omitted.

[0098] The automatic control vehicle 21 includes a control information collection unit 101 and a reproduction unit 106. The automatic control vehicle 21 has the same hardware configuration as in Embodiment 1. In Embodiment 2, it is preferable that the automatic control vehicle 21 is configured to include a communication device for communicating with the information processing device 22.

[0099] The information processing device 22 comprises a correction unit 103, a detection unit 104, an estimation unit 104, and a control point generation unit 105. Some of the functional components of the information processing device 22 may be those of the automatic control vehicle 1. The information processing device 22 is composed of a computer device and includes hardware components such as a CPU or other arithmetic unit, a main memory device such as RAM, an auxiliary memory device such as flash memory, a communication device for controlling information communication with external devices, and an input / output device as an information input / output interface.

[0100] The automatically controlled vehicle 21 collects control information using the control information collection unit 101 and transmits the control information to the information processing device 22. The control information may be transmitted wirelessly or transferred by reading it from a storage medium in the information processing device 22. The information processing device 22 generates multiple control points using the control point generation unit 105 based on the control information collected by the control information collection unit 101 of the automatic control vehicle 1, and stores them as control point information. The information processing flow for generating the control point information is the same as in Embodiment 1. The information processing device 22 either transmits the control point information to the automatic control vehicle 21, or hands over the recording medium containing the control point information to the automatic control vehicle 21. The automatically controlled vehicle 1 can achieve automatic control based on control point information using the reproduction unit 106.

[0101] As shown in Embodiment 2, the estimation step, correction step, detection step, and control point generation step for generating control point information can be performed in any device and will have the same effect.

[0102] <Embodiment 3> Figure 9 shows an example configuration of a control system 300 comprising a control information collection vehicle 31, an information processing device 32, and an automatic control vehicle 33. Components similar to those in Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals and their descriptions are omitted. The control system 300 shows different embodiments of the control information collection vehicle 31 that collects control information and the automatic control vehicle 33 that reproduces it.

[0103] The control information collection vehicle 31 includes a control information collection unit 101 as a functional component. The control information collection vehicle 31 includes at least a control unit 11, a position information measurement unit 12, an inertial measurement unit 13, an obstacle detection sensor 15, and a lever position detection sensor 16. When the control information collection vehicle 31 performs automatic control based on control point information, it may also include a reproduction unit 106 and an actuator 14. Furthermore, it is preferable that the control information collection vehicle 31 is configured to include a communication device for transmitting the measured control information to the information processing device 32.

[0104] The information processing device 32 includes a correction unit 103, a detection unit 104, an estimation unit 104, and a control point generation unit 105. The information processing device 22 is composed of a computer device having the same hardware configuration as in Embodiment 2. Some of the functional components (102-105) of the information processing device 32 may be provided by the control information collection vehicle 31 or the automatic control vehicle 33, and their functions may be realized by them.

[0105] The automatic control vehicle 33 includes a reproduction unit 106 as a functional component. The hardware configuration of the automatic control vehicle 33 is the same as that of the automatic control vehicle 1 of Embodiment 1 or the automatic control vehicle 21 of Embodiment 2, and includes an actuator 14 that outputs the operation of the automatic control.

[0106] The control information collection vehicle 31 collects control information using the control information collection unit 101 and transmits the control information to the information processing device 32. The control information may also be transferred by reading it from a storage medium into the information processing device 32. Based on the control information collected by the control information collection unit 101, the information processing device 32 generates a plurality of control points using the control point generation unit 105 and stores them as control point information. The information processing flow for generating control point information is the same as in Embodiments 1 and 2. The information processing device 32 transmits the control point information to the automatic control vehicle 33, or transfers the recording medium containing the control point information to the automatic control vehicle 33. The automatically controlled vehicle 33 can achieve automatic control based on the control point information acquired by the reproduction unit 106.

[0107] As shown in Embodiment 3, the recording of control information and its reproduction based on control point information may be implemented in separate vehicles. While it is preferable that the control information collection vehicle 31 and the automatic control vehicle 33 are of the same type, they may be of different types. In that case, the information processing device 32 can use values ​​corrected from the control information based on the vehicle information of the control information collection vehicle 31 and the automatic control vehicle 33 to generate the control point information. [Explanation of symbols]

[0108] 100 control systems 1. Automated control vehicle 11 Control Unit 12. Location Information Measurement Unit 13. Inertial Measurement Unit 14 Actuators 141 Accelerator pedal 142 Handle 143 Lawn mowing unit 15 Obstacle detection sensor 16 Lever position detection sensor DB storage unit 101 Control Information Collection Unit 102 Estimation part 103 Correction Unit 104 Detection unit 105 Control point generation unit 106 Reproduction Section 200 Control Systems 21 Automated control vehicles 22 Information Processing Devices 300 Control Systems 31 Control Information Collection Vehicle 32 Information Processing Devices 33 Automated control vehicles

Claims

1. A control method for automatically controlling the operation of a vehicle based on the operation of a manually controlled vehicle, It comprises a control information acquisition process, a control point generation process, and a reproduction process. The control information collection step collects control information regarding position and speed based on the operation of the vehicle by manual control. The control point generation step generates a plurality of control points based on the control information, The reproduction process automatically controls the operation of the vehicle based on the control points, The control point generation step is a control method that generates a control point at the switching point between forward and reverse movement in the vehicle, and generates a control point following the control point that is the switching point, based on the direction of the switching.

2. Equipped with a detection process, The detection step detects a straight line for motion control via a substantially straight path based on a plurality of positions included in the control information. The control method according to claim 1, wherein the reproduction step controls the operation along a straight path based on the straight line.

3. Further equipped with a correction process, The control information acquisition step collects control information relating to the position at the first rate, The control method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the correction step performs a correction process to add the control information using a second rate which is a higher rate than the first rate.

4. The control information includes the position according to the first rate and the angular velocity according to the second rate. The control method according to claim 3, wherein the correction step estimates the position between the positions determined by the first rate based on the angular velocity determined by the second rate and performs an additional correction process.

5. The aforementioned vehicle is A position information measurement unit that acquires the position according to the first rate, The control method according to claim 4, further comprising an inertial measuring unit for measuring angular velocity based on the second rate.

6. The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the control point generation step involves extracting and / or adding control information so that the positions are at predetermined intervals, thereby generating control points.

7. The aforementioned vehicle is a lawnmower equipped with a lawn mowing unit, The control information collection step collects control information related to the lifting and lowering operation of the lawn mowing unit based on the operation of the vehicle by manual control. The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the control point generation step generates control points based on control information including the lifting operation.

8. A control method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a drive unit that can be attached to the vehicle, A drive unit that drives the accelerator pedal, steering wheel, and lawn mowing unit of the vehicle, respectively, based on the information contained in the control point.

9. A control system that automatically controls the operation of a vehicle based on the operation of the vehicle which is manually controlled, It has a control information acquisition unit, a control point generation unit, and a reproduction unit, The control information collection unit collects control information regarding position and speed based on the operation of the vehicle by manual control. The control point generation unit generates a plurality of control points based on the control information, The reproduction unit automatically controls the operation of the vehicle based on the control points, The control point generation unit generates the switching point between forward and reverse movement in the vehicle as the control point, and generates the control point following the switching point based on the direction of the switching, in this control system.

10. An automatically controlled vehicle that is automatically controlled based on the operation of a manually controlled vehicle, It has a control information acquisition unit, a control point generation unit, and a reproduction unit, The control information collection unit collects control information regarding position and speed based on the operation of the vehicle by manual control. The control point generation unit generates a plurality of control points based on the control information, The reproduction unit automatically controls the operation of the vehicle based on the control points, The control point generation unit generates the switching point between forward and reverse movement in the vehicle as the control point, and generates control points following the switching point based on the direction of the switching, in an automatically controlled vehicle.

Images