Visual Position Indicators for GPS-Denied Vehicle Navigation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional systems for determining the location and orientation of automated vehicles are unreliable in environments where GPS signals are not detectable or remote connections are impossible, such as tunnels or urban canyons, due to limited availability of signage and metadata.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of visual codes, such as QR codes or barcodes, placed at predetermined locations along routes, which can be detected by vehicle sensors to determine precise geolocation and orientation, allowing for high-precision navigation independent of external communication networks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If GPS satellite signals are used for position determination, then location accuracy is improved, but the system becomes unreliable in environments where satellite signals are not detectable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces visual indicators with machine-readable codes as intermediary objects placed in the physical environment. These indicators serve as mediators between the vehicle's sensors and the position determination system, enabling location detection through code recognition rather than direct satellite signal reception. The indicators act as local reference points that the vehicle can detect and use to infer its position, thereby resolving the contradiction between maintaining high location accuracy and ensuring system reliability in GPS-denied environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a distributed network of visual indicators that copy or replicate position reference information throughout the environment. Instead of relying on distant satellite signals, the system places multiple coded indicators at known locations that serve as local copies of position reference data. The vehicle's sensor captures images of these indicators, and the processor decodes the visual patterns to determine position, effectively copying the satellite-based positioning function to ground-level indicators that are always accessible.
2Device complexity
If remote connection systems are used for navigation data, then system complexity is reduced, but the system becomes unusable when remote connections are impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a self-service positioning system where the vehicle determines its own position using locally available visual indicators and onboard processing capabilities. The vehicle's sensor captures images of indicators, and the processor independently decodes the visual patterns and calculates position information without requiring remote connections. This self-contained approach eliminates dependency on external communication infrastructure while maintaining navigation functionality, thereby resolving the contradiction between system simplicity and environmental adaptability.
3Reliability
If visual indicators with machine-readable codes are deployed throughout the environment, then position determination reliability is improved, but infrastructure cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs visual indicators with machine-readable codes that serve multiple functions simultaneously. The indicators provide position reference information through code decoding, serve as visual markers for sensor detection, and can encode multiple pieces of information including location coordinates, orientation data, and environmental context. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate infrastructure components, thereby improving position determination reliability while limiting the increase in infrastructure complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution provides reliable high-precision geolocation and orientation in various environments, enhancing redundancy and failure resistance by leveraging multiple visual indicators, and enabling navigation without the need for wide-area networks or remote communication.
Implementation Method 1
detecting, by a sensor of a vehicle in a physical environment via any type of electromagnetic radiation, including but not limited to visible light, a first object in the physical environment
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of this technical solution can include detecting, by a sensor of a vehicle in a physical environment via visible light, a first object in the physical environment, detecting, by the sensor via the visible light, a first feature a having a digital encoding and located at a surface of the first object, decoding, by a processor of the vehicle and based on the digital encoding, the first feature into a first indication of location corresponding to the first object, generating, by the processor of the vehicle during movement of the vehicle through the physical environment and based on the first indication of location, a location metric corresponding to the vehicle, and modifying, by the processor of the vehicle based on the location metric, operation of the vehicle to navigate the vehicle through the physical environment according to the location metric.