External 3D Terrain Mapping for Unmanned Ground Vehicle Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Unmanned ground vehicles face challenges in navigating unmapped and uneven terrains due to limitations of onboard sensors, which restrict their ability to perceive obstacles beyond their visual range and localize themselves relative to the terrain, making optimal path planning difficult.
Innovation Solution
Employing a motion capture sensor fixed at a vantage point external to the vehicle, such as a stationary platform or drone, to generate a three-dimensional map of the terrain and provide navigation signals for obstacle avoidance and path planning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If onboard sensors are used for obstacle identification and navigation, then the vehicle can operate autonomously, but the sensor perspective is limited to the vehicle's visual range and cannot perceive terrain beyond that range
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an external motion capture sensor system as an intermediary between the vehicle and the terrain. This external sensor system captures vehicle position and orientation data from a fixed vantage point, providing the vehicle with terrain perception capabilities beyond its own visual range. The external sensor acts as a mediator that expands the effective sensing range without requiring complex sensor arrays on the vehicle itself.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of placing sensors on the vehicle to perceive the environment (ego-mode sensing), the patent inverts the approach by placing sensors externally at a fixed vantage point that observe the vehicle. This inversion allows the external sensor system to capture a broader perspective of the terrain and vehicle position, effectively giving the vehicle vision beyond its own visual range.
2Measurement precision
If ego-mode sensors are used on the vehicle, then the vehicle can identify obstacles within visual range, but the vehicle cannot localize itself accurately relative to the terrain on unmapped and uneven terrains
Solution Approach 1:
The external motion capture sensor system serves as an intermediary that provides precise measurement of vehicle position and orientation relative to the terrain. By capturing data from a fixed vantage point, the external sensor system establishes a stable reference frame that enables accurate localization even on unmapped and uneven terrains where onboard sensors would struggle to find reference points.
3Productivity
If onboard sensors are used for navigation, then the vehicle can operate autonomously, but the vehicle is unable to plan an optimal path for traversing the terrain from one point to another
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional navigation approach by using external sensors to observe the vehicle rather than onboard sensors to perceive the environment. This inversion provides the navigation system with comprehensive terrain overview information from a fixed vantage point, enabling optimal path planning while maintaining autonomous operation. The external perspective allows the system to see the full terrain context needed for efficient route selection.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for navigating an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) includes obtaining, by a sensor spaced apart from the UGV and at least temporarily fixed relative to a stretch of land on which the UGV is to operate, a three-dimensional map of the stretch of land. A navigation signal is generated based on the three-dimensional map and a user-specified task. The navigation signal is transmitted to a controller operatively coupled to the UGV, and configured to receive a navigation signal and operate the UGV in accordance with the navigation signal.