Guided Vehicle Location Estimation With Virtual Attitude Beacons

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing dead-reckoning navigation systems for vehicles guided along curvilinear guides, such as railway tracks, require frequent recalibration by reading hardware beacons, leading to high maintenance costs and performance limitations, especially in heavy traffic areas, and existing methods do not accurately determine vehicle position without prior position information or account for deterministic attitude errors.

Innovation Solution

A device and method using virtual attitude beacons, which are stored along the guide, provide location estimation by comparing vehicle attitude measurements with stored virtual attitude beacon data, allowing detection and elimination of incorrect crossings, and recalibrate the navigation system without the need for hardware beacons.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If hardware beacons and readers are used for location recalibration, then location accuracy is improved, but maintenance costs and device complexity increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvelocation accuracyVSAvoidmaintenance complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates virtual copies of physical beacons by storing beacon data (coordinates, identifiers, attributes) in a database. These virtual beacons replicate the functionality of physical beacons for location determination without requiring physical presence, thereby reducing maintenance needs while maintaining location accuracy

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the mechanical/physical beacon system with an information-based system. Instead of relying on physical hardware beacons that require installation and maintenance, the system uses stored beacon data and signal processing to achieve location recalibration, substituting mechanical infrastructure with computational methods

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Measurement precision

If hardware beacons are deployed frequently along the guide, then location recalibration accuracy is improved, but installation and maintenance costs increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverecalibration accuracyVSAvoidinstallation cost

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates virtual representations of beacons in a database that can be accessed without physical deployment. These virtual beacons contain all necessary information (coordinates, identifiers, attributes) to perform recalibration functions, eliminating the need for frequent physical beacon installation while maintaining recalibration accuracy

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Solution Approach 2:

The system pre-stores beacon data including coordinates, identifiers, and attributes in a database before the vehicle reaches those locations. This preliminary preparation allows the vehicle to perform recalibration using stored information without needing to physically encounter or read physical beacons at each location

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Ease of manufacture

If dead-reckoning navigation is used without frequent recalibration, then maintenance costs decrease, but location accuracy deteriorates due to error accumulation

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemaintenance costVSAvoidlocation accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent enables continuous location determination and recalibration by using stored beacon data that is always available to the processing unit. The system can continuously compare vehicle position against the database of virtual beacons without interruption or need for physical beacon reading, maintaining constant location accuracy without frequent maintenance interventions

Inventive Principle:

Principle #20Continuity of useful action

Solution Approach 2:

The system continuously monitors vehicle position by comparing it against stored beacon coordinates and uses this feedback to maintain accurate location determination. The processing unit calculates position based on the relationship between vehicle coordinates and stored beacon data, providing continuous correction without requiring frequent physical recalibration events

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS12429337B2Device and method for estimating the location of a vehicle guided along a curvilinear guide

Publication Date: 2025.09.30 EXAIL

AI summary

This relates to a device and method for estimating the location of a guided vehicle along a guide, the device including: an attitude sensor of the guided vehicle providing values of attitude component measurements of the vehicle; a memory for storing virtual attitude beacon data including values of one or more of the attitude components of the virtual attitude beacon and at least one virtual attitude beacon attribute value, including at least one position attribute value of the beacon; and a processor configured to perform an activity of a virtual attitude beacon reader, le virtual attitude beacon reader comparing the stored virtual attitude beacon data and the vehicle attitude measurement values in order to detect an instance of a measurement value of the corresponding attitude component exceeding a value of an attitude component of the virtual attitude beacon data, the attitude component advantageously being the geographic heading.