Autonomous Vehicle Front Wheel Position Calculation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional motion planning and control systems for autonomous vehicles, which consider the rear wheels as the driving wheels and front wheels as turning wheels, result in unnecessary system delays due to asynchronous movement during turns.
Innovation Solution
A method that determines the position of the front wheels of an autonomous vehicle using GPS data and inertial measurement unit (IMU) directional data, allowing for planning and control operations based on the front wheels' position, thereby utilizing them as both driving and turning wheels, reducing system delay.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If the vehicle position is determined based on the rear axle position, then the conventional motion planning can be implemented, but system delay occurs due to asynchronous movement between front and rear wheels during turning
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by proactively calculating the front wheel position based on rear wheel position and vehicle orientation before motion planning occurs. This advance calculation allows the system to account for the spatial offset between front and rear wheels, enabling synchronized motion control that eliminates system delay while maintaining manageable complexity through mathematical transformation
2Productivity
If the front wheels are used as turning wheels while rear wheels are non-turning, then the vehicle can achieve turning motion, but the front and rear wheels move asynchronously causing planning inefficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary coordinate transformation system that mediates between the rear wheel position (from GPS) and the front wheel position (needed for planning). By calculating the front wheel position as an intermediate value using vehicle orientation and axel distance, the system achieves synchronized motion planning that improves efficiency while respecting the physical constraint that rear wheels are non-turning
Data Source
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AI summary
In one embodiment, a first position associated with a set of rear wheels of an autonomous vehicle is determined based on global positioning system (GPS) data received from a GPS source. A moving direction of the autonomous vehicle is determined based on directional data received from an inertial measurement unit (IMU) onboard. A second position associated with a set of front wheels of the autonomous vehicle is calculated based on the first position and the moving direction of the autonomous vehicle. A route segment of a route is planned based on the second position as a current position of the autonomous vehicle. Planning and control data is generated for the route segment. The autonomous vehicle is controlled and driven based on the planning and control data.