35 results about "Hazard avoidance" patented technology

A hazard avoidance system for a vehicle utilizes data related to a location of a collision threat, conditions at the location, and vehicle operating parameters to select a light illumination routine that is optimal to attract the attention of and repel a collision hazard.

The present invention provides a fault tolerant bus architecture and protocol for use in an Integrated Hazard Avoidance System of the type generally used in avionics applications. In addition, the present invention may also be used in applications, aviation and otherwise, wherein data is to be handled with a high degree of integrity and in a fault tolerant manner. Such applications may include for example, the banking industry or other safety critical processing functions, including but not limited to environmental control.

An in-vehicle control apparatus performs a hazard avoidance process. The in-vehicle control apparatus includes an anomaly determination section, an alarm control section, and a hazard avoidance control section. The anomaly determination section determines whether a driver is under driving inability state during travel of the vehicle, based on information on monitoring of state of the driver. The alarm control section activates an alarm annunciator to issue an alarm outwardly from the vehicle when the driver is determined to be under driving inability state. After the alarm annunciator starts the alarm, the hazard avoidance control section fails to perform the hazard avoidance process when the alarm is stopped by a manipulation of the driver and performs the hazard avoidance process when a specified time elapses under state where the alarm is not stopped since the starting of the alarm.

A system and method for a navigation system including a hazard avoidance feature is disclosed. The system and method allows for professionals, civilians, vehicles, robots and computer systems to collaborate and share information regarding hazards, defects, obstacles, flaws, and other abnormalities that exist in any environment. Routes may be planned that avoid these hazards reducing lost time or frustration. Moreover, the system and method is configured for participants to detect, catalog, and share information related to obstacles.

An autonomous unmanned space flight system and planetary lander executes a discrete landing sequence including performing an initial velocity braking maneuver to remove velocity at altitude, coasting during which the planet surface is imaged and correlated to reference maps to estimate cross-track and along-track navigation errors and one or more lateral braking maneuvers are performed to reduce cross-track navigation error, and performing a terminal velocity braking maneuver(s) to reduce the along-track braking maneuver and remove the remainder of the velocity just prior to landing. A bi-propellant propulsion system provides a very high T / M ratio, at least 15:1 per nozzle. Short, high T / M divert maneuvers provide the capability to remove cross-track navigation error efficiently up to the maximum resolution of the reference maps. Short, high T / M terminal velocity braking maneuver(s) provide the capability to remove along-track navigation error to a similar resolution and remove the remaining velocity in a very short time window, approximately 3-15 seconds prior to touchdown. The propulsive efficiency frees up mass which can be allocated to a fuel to remove the unknown navigation errors, perform hazard avoidance and / or relocate the lander by flying it to another site or be allocated to additional payload.

The present application generally relates communications and hazard avoidance within a monitored driving environment. More specifically, the application teaches a system for improved target object detection in a vehicle equipped with a laser detection and ranging LIDAR system by simultaneously transmitting multiple lasers in an array and resolving angular ambiguities using angle sensitive detection techniques.

An in-vehicle control apparatus performs a hazard avoidance process. The in-vehicle control apparatus includes an anomaly determination section, an alarm control section, and a hazard avoidance control section. The anomaly determination section determines whether a driver is under driving inability state during travel of the vehicle, based on information on monitoring of state of the driver. The alarm control section activates an alarm annunciator to issue an alarm outwardly from the vehicle when the driver is determined to be under driving inability state. After the alarm annunciator starts the alarm, the hazard avoidance control section fails to perform the hazard avoidance process when the alarm is stopped by a manipulation of the driver and performs the hazard avoidance process when a specified time elapses under state where the alarm is not stopped since the starting of the alarm.

A system and method for GPS based navigation and hazard avoidance in a mining environment are described. The system includes a central application that has a dynamic roadmap definition module adapted to at least allow a user to arbitrarily define features in a geographical information systems database and import overhead imaging data corresponding to a geographical area in which said features are defined. The central application includes a remote position and attitude reception module adapted to at least receive data concerning the position of at least one remote vehicle, a transceiver module adapted for exchanging data with at least one remote vehicle; and a logging and tracking module adapted for at least logging said position of at least one remote vehicle over time. The system also has a remote application; and a communications link adapted for exchanging data between the central application and the remote application.

A source providing a nominal hazard that could cause ocular damage within a given range from the source, such as a first laser, is mitigated by an optical hazard avoidance device, such as a second laser, that stimulates voluntary, involuntary, or both voluntary and involuntary responses, either physiological or behavioral or both physiological and behavioral, within one or more hazard zones, such as by inducing gaze aversion within the viewer. The optical hazard avoidance device may include one or more interlocking devices or other devices for interrupting the firing of the source. For example, a visible laser beam induces gaze aversion, pupil contraction or a combination of gaze aversion and pupil contraction, reducing the dose rate or exposure of the ocular tissue to damaging radiation from a primary source, which may be combined with a motion sensor or human face detection device. In one example, the primary source is a UV Raman detector and the visible laser beam is selected to induce gaze aversion.

Landing hazard avoidance displays can provide rapidly understood visual indications of where it is safe to land a vehicle and where it is unsafe to land a vehicle. Color coded maps can indicate zones in two dimensions relative to the vehicles position where it is safe to land. The map can be simply green (safe) and red (unsafe) areas with an indication of scale or can be a color coding of another map such as a surface map. The color coding can be determined in real time based on topological measurements and safety criteria to thereby adapt to dynamic, unknown, or partially known environments.

A method, apparatus and program product utilize infeasible regions projected onto sets of substantially parallel feasibility planes extending through a subsurface region to perform anti-collision and other types of hazard avoidance analysis. Hazards, e.g., existing well trajectories, that intersect the feasibility planes, as well as any uncertainties associated therewith, may be represented as infeasible regions in the feasibility planes, such that an analysis of the feasibility of a proposed well trajectory may be determined in a computationally efficient manner through a comparison of the locations, within one or more feasibility planes, of the proposed well trajectory and any infeasible regions defined in such feasibility planes.

The present application generally relates communications and hazard avoidance within a monitored driving environment. More specifically, the application teaches a system for semi-transparent and flexible millimeter wave circuits and antennas using inexpensive PET substrate. The system facilitates the fabrication of millimeter wave circuits, transmission lines and antennas in various optically transparent platform where optical transparency is desired, for example in automotive radar in windows, windshield, and rear / side mirrors.

The present application generally relates communications and hazard avoidance within a monitored driving environment. More specifically, the application teaches a system for improved target object detection in a vehicle equipped with a laser detection and ranging LIDAR system by simultaneously transmitting multiple lasers at different wavelengths. The multiple lasers are detected and separated bywavelength in order to decrease acquisition time and / or increase point density.