Electronic Map Updating for Self-Driving Facility Vehicles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Self-driving material-transport vehicles face challenges in maintaining an up-to-date electronic map of their environment, as the map becomes outdated due to changes in the surroundings, leading to inefficiencies and potential navigation errors.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for updating the electronic map by collecting image data at a self-driving vehicle's current position, comparing it with stored data to determine dissimilarity levels, and updating the map by replacing or adding nodes based on these comparisons, while also removing unnecessary nodes to maintain map efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the electronic map is continuously updated to reflect environmental changes, then the map accuracy is improved, but the map size and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the changed portions of the map by comparing current sensor data with stored map data, identifying and updating only dissimilar regions rather than refreshing the entire map. This selective extraction approach maintains map accuracy while preventing unnecessary growth in map size and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by updating only specific dissimilar regions of the map where environmental changes have been detected, rather than uniformly updating the entire map. This localized approach ensures accuracy in changed areas while maintaining efficiency and avoiding unnecessary complexity in unchanged areas.
2Reliability
If the electronic map is frequently updated, then the map remains current with environmental changes, but the processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the dissimilar regions that have changed in the environment, comparing current sensor data with stored map data and updating only those specific areas. This extraction approach ensures the map remains current with environmental changes while minimizing processing time by avoiding redundant comparisons of unchanged regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by performing incomplete but sufficient updates - only updating the portions of the map that have actually changed rather than performing full map updates. This partial action maintains map reliability while significantly reducing computational overhead and processing time.
3Measurement precision
If the map nodes are densely populated to capture environmental details, then the map resolution is improved, but the navigation efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by maintaining high-resolution map data only in dissimilar regions where environmental changes have been detected, while using coarser or previously stored data in unchanged areas. This approach preserves necessary map resolution for accurate navigation in changed regions while improving overall navigation efficiency by reducing the complexity of the entire map structure.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for updating an electronic map of a facility are disclosed. The electronic map includes a set of map nodes. Each map node has a stored image data associated with a position within the facility. The method includes collecting image data at a current position of a self-driving material-transport vehicle; searching the electronic map for at least one of a map node associated with the current position and one or more neighboring map nodes within a neighbor threshold to the current position; comparing the collected image data with the stored image data of the at least one of the map node and the one or more neighboring map nodes to determine a dissimilarity level. The electronic map may be updated based at least on the collected image data and the dissimilarity level. The image data represents one or more features observable from the current position.