Autonomous Vehicle Sensor Selection for Navigation in Denied Environments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles face challenges in navigation due to GPS denial, sensor failures, and interference, which can hinder mission success by relying on a preset group of navigation sensors and not adapting effectively to changing environments.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a navigation coordinator that ranks available sensors based on cost and importance for navigation and secondary tasks, dynamically selects sensors, and adjusts resource allocation to ensure accurate navigation, even in GPS-challenged environments, by using a sensor ranker, negotiator, and navigation filter to calculate and execute navigation commands.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a preset group of navigation sensors is used, then the navigation system is simple to implement, but it cannot adapt to sensor failures or GPS denial environments
Solution Approach 1:
The navigation system dynamically reconfigures sensor usage based on environmental conditions and task requirements. The sensor ranker continuously evaluates sensor availability and performance, adjusting the navigation solution in real-time to adapt to failures or GPS denial without requiring a complete system redesign.
Solution Approach 2:
Sensors are allocated flexibly across multiple functions including navigation, task execution, and environmental monitoring. The same sensor can serve navigation purposes when available and be reallocated to other tasks when not needed for navigation, maximizing resource utilization and adaptability.
2Measurement precision
If multiple sensors are used for navigation, then navigation accuracy is improved, but resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses only the necessary subset of sensors required to achieve adequate navigation accuracy rather than continuously using all available sensors. The sensor ranker determines the minimum set of sensors needed based on current navigation requirements, reducing unnecessary resource consumption while maintaining sufficient accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes operational parameters by adjusting which sensors are active based on environmental conditions, vehicle state, and task priorities. When navigation accuracy requirements are met with fewer sensors, the system reduces sensor usage to conserve resources while maintaining acceptable performance.
3Measurement precision
If high-accuracy sensors are prioritized for navigation, then navigation performance is improved, but other tasks may suffer from sensor unavailability
Solution Approach 1:
Sensor allocation is dynamically adjusted based on real-time assessment of navigation requirements versus task execution needs. When navigation is the primary concern, high-accuracy sensors are allocated to navigation; when tasks become priority, sensors are reallocated accordingly. This dynamic balancing ensures both navigation performance and task execution capability are maintained.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor ranker acts as an intermediary that mediates between navigation requirements and task execution requirements. It evaluates the importance of sensors for both purposes and makes balanced allocation decisions, ensuring that no single function monopolizes sensor resources to the detriment of others.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus to autonomously navigate a vehicle by selecting sensors from which to obtain measurements for navigation are disclosed. An example method to navigate a vehicle includes determining environmental data associated with an area in which the vehicle is to navigate; based on the environmental data, automatically ranking a plurality of sensors that are available to the vehicle by respective costs of using the sensors to generate a navigation solution; automatically determining a subset of the sensors from which to obtain measurements based on the ranking and based on comparisons of a) first importance values of the sensors for navigating the vehicle with b) second importance values of the sensors for performing a non-navigation task; obtaining measurements from the subset of the sensors; calculating a navigation command to navigate the vehicle; and executing a first navigation action to implement the navigation command.