Autonomous Off-Road Boundary Typing for Adaptive Vehicle Behavior
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous off-road vehicles face challenges in precisely navigating along guidance tracks that match the mapped boundary of a geographic area, due to varying conditions across different portions of the boundary requiring different operational behaviors.
Innovation Solution
A method where an autonomous off-road vehicle accesses a boundary definition that classifies each portion of the boundary into specific types, each associated with vehicle behavior limitations, allowing the vehicle to modify its behavior accordingly as it navigates within a threshold distance of each boundary portion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the autonomous vehicle follows a single unified path plan along the boundary, then the navigation path is simple to generate, but the vehicle cannot adapt to varying boundary conditions requiring different operational behaviors
Solution Approach 1:
The boundary is divided into multiple boundary portions, each with distinct characteristics and operational requirements. The path plan is segmented into multiple guidance tracks, with each guidance track corresponding to a specific boundary portion. This segmentation allows the vehicle to apply different operational behaviors to different sections of the boundary while maintaining overall system manageability.
Solution Approach 2:
Different operational behaviors are assigned to different boundary portions based on their specific characteristics. Each boundary portion has locally optimized guidance track parameters (such as offset distances, speeds, or operational modes) tailored to its unique conditions, allowing the vehicle to adapt its behavior locally rather than applying a uniform approach throughout the entire boundary.
2Measurement precision
If the vehicle maintains a fixed offset distance from the boundary, then the navigation is simple to control, but the vehicle cannot precisely match the guidance track to the mapped boundary across varying conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The offset distance between the vehicle and the boundary is made dynamic rather than fixed. The system automatically adjusts the offset distance based on the vehicle's position relative to different boundary portions. When the vehicle approaches a boundary portion with specific characteristics, the system dynamically modifies the guidance track offset to achieve precise boundary matching while maintaining automated control.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where the vehicle's current position and the characteristics of the upcoming boundary portion are continuously monitored. Based on this feedback, the path planning system adjusts the guidance track parameters in real-time to ensure precise boundary matching, automatically compensating for variations in boundary conditions without requiring manual intervention.
Data Source
AI summary
A definition of a boundary corresponding to a geographic area in which an autonomous off-road vehicle (AOV) operates is accessed. The boundary definition includes a classification of each of a plurality of portions of the boundary as being of one or more boundary types, each boundary type associated with one or more vehicle behavior limitations. The AOV navigates to a target portion of the boundary corresponding to the geographic area. The target portion of the boundary is classified as being one or more target boundary types. In response to being within a threshold distance of the target portion of the boundary, the AOV modifies a behavior of the AOV based on the one or more vehicle behavior limitations associated with the one or more target boundary types.