3879 results about "Route planning" patented technology

The present invention provides a system for coordinating multiple vehicles in a passageway environment (e.g., in underground mines). The system includes methods and apparatus for determining the global position and orientation of a vehicle in said passageway environment, and methods for planning routes and monitoring the travels of multiple vehicles in said passageway environment. A global position and orientation estimation system employs one or more odometric sensors and one or more range sensing devices. It works in three basic steps. In the first step, it records and processes sensor data that is descriptive of the passageway environment by moving the system through said passageway environment. In the second step, it generates a globally consistent map of said passageway environment. Finally, real-time localization is provided by employing odometric sensors and range sensing devices to determine the system's global position and orientation with respect to said globally consistent map, both initially and as it travels through the passageway environment. A route planning method accepts higher-level goals for a set of multiple vehicles in said passageway environment and generates a route plan for each vehicle that minimizes the travel time for the group of vehicles, while at the same time avoiding collisions between vehicles. Route plans are sent to the vehicles for implementation and a monitoring method tracks the global positions and orientations of the vehicles and ensures that both safety and efficiency are maintained.

The present invention combines the geographical coverage possible with fixed, pre-defined route segment costs (e.g. the legal speed limit) with, wherever possible, richer time dependent costs. A user of, for example, a portable navigation device, can therefore continue route planning as before to virtually any destination in a country covered by the stored map database, but wherever possible, can also use traffic data with time-dependent costs, so that the effect of congestion with any time predictability can be accurately taken into account as an automatic, background process. It leaves the user to simply carry on driving, following the guidance offered by the navigation device, without needing to be concerned about congestion that exists now, and whether it will impact his journey.

A method and system or determining a flight path for an aircraft between an initial point and a destination point are described. An airspace is divide into a set of grid cells, and a flight path is established between the initial point and the destination point. A cumulative threat risk value for each of the grid cells is calculated, and an allowable threat risk per grid cell is established based on a rule set. An intermediate point from which to deviate the flight path is identified based upon an analysis of the cumulative threat risk values of the grid cells, if the threat risk value of any of the grid cells intersecting the flight path exceeds the allowable threat risk. A deviation from the intermediate point to a new intermediate point is determined such that the new intermediate point has a cumulative threat risk value lower than or equal to the allowable threat risk per grid cell. The flight path is adjusted between the initial point and the destination point to pass through the new intermediate point, thereby providing a modified flight path.

A turn-by-turn navigation system includes a positioning module receiving position information and updating real time road information on a road where a car is currently located, a map database storing map information required for driving the car, a route planning / route guidance module receiving the real time road information and the map information and generating current guidance information and next guidance information, a turn-by-turn graphic user interface module receiving the current and next guidance information and generating current and next guidance images, and an image display unit displaying the current and next guidance images.

A method provides a sequence of travel instructions that reports fuel-efficient routes calculated with regard to vehicle specifications, geography of terrain, and complexity of travel route. An operator selects the desired starting and ending location via a client interface of a software application. When the user selects “most fuel efficient route,” the fuel-efficient route (FER) utility of the application prompts for entry of the make, model, and year of the operator's vehicle. If the FER utility is embedded in an in-car navigation system, the information about the vehicle characteristics is preprogrammed during installation (e.g., at the factory). The FER utility uses a number of metrics and the vehicle's characteristics, to generate an optimal route for efficient fuel consumption. The invention provides means for an operator of a route planning application to optimize the driving directions for optimally predicted fuel usage.

A route planning device includes: a search unit that searches for a plurality of facilities located near the minimum-cost route from a current position to the destination, where the battery can be charged; a guided route calculation unit that sets a waypoint on the minimum-cost route via which the moving object can be guided to each facility, and calculates a guided route from the waypoint to the each facility and a first power requirement indicating an amount of power required to travel through the guided route; and a facility designating unit that designates a target facility to which the moving object is to be guided, based upon third power requirements each calculated by adding a second power requirement, indicating an amount of power required to allow the moving object to travel from the current position to the waypoint, to the first power requirement and remaining power in the battery.

A self-driving vehicle with an integrated fully-active suspension system. The fully-active suspension utilizes data from one or more sensors used for autonomous driving (e.g. vision, LIDAR, GPS) in order to anticipate road conditions in advance. The system builds a topographical map of the road surface. Suspension and road data is delivered back to the vehicle in order to change autonomous driving behavior including route planning. Energy storage is regulated based on a planned route. Forward and lateral acceleration feel is mitigated through active pitch and tilt compensation. The fully-active suspension pushes and pulls the suspension in three or more operational quadrants in order to deliver superior ride comfort, handling, and / safety of the vehicle.

A route planning system for use in mobile telecommunications is disclosed. A user of a mobile station such as a wireless telephone, PDA, pager or computer, initiates a route planning service request and provides a destination telephone number. A switching center responsively initiates an asynchronous position request of a mobile positioning system, which identifies and stores the mobile station position. The switching center connects the mobile station to a route planning application server. The route planning application server obtains the mobile station position by querying the mobile positioning system. The route planning application server further obtains the destination telephone number and queries a location system to determine the destination position corresponding to the destination telephone number. The route planning application server in turn generates a route plan for travel from the mobile station position to the destination position and conveys the route plan to the user by any suitable means.

Methods and apparatus assist in planning routes through hollow, branching organs in patients to optimize subsequent endoscopic procedures. Information is provided about the organ and a follow-on endoscopic procedure associated with the organ. The most appropriate navigable route or routes to a target region of interest (ROI) within the organ are then identified given anatomical, endoscopic-device, or procedure-specific constraints derived from the information provided. The method may include the step of modifying the viewing direction at each site along a route to give physically meaningful navigation directions or to reflect the requirements of a follow-on live endoscopic procedure. An existing route may further be extended, if necessary, to an ROI beyond the organ. The information provided may include anatomical constraints that define locations or organs to avoid; anatomical constraints that confine the route within specific geometric locations; or a metric for selecting the most appropriate route. For example, the metric may define the closest route to the ROI such that the route satisfies all applicable anatomical, device, and procedural constraints.

Described is a navigation system. The navigation system comprises a route planning module and a route guidance module. The route planning module is configured to receive a request from a user for guidance to a particular destination. Based on a starting point, the route planning module determines a route from the starting point to the particular destination. The route guidance module is configured to receive the route, and based on the route and current location of the user, provide location-specific instructions to the user. The location-specific instructions include reference to specific visible objects within the vicinity of the user.

This disclosure outlines a method, which enables a vehicle driver to achieve increased fuel efficiency by implementing least-cost route planning based on terrain data and derived from advanced mapping, logging and location based services. Actual fuel efficiency is recorded and correlated by vehicle conditions, time of day and date, and then referenced to achieve the most accurate least-cost route plan for the intended destination.

A self-driving vehicle with an integrated fully-active suspension system. The fully-active suspension utilizes data from one or more sensors used for autonomous driving (e.g. vision, LIDAR, GPS) in order to anticipate road conditions in advance. The system builds a topographical map of the road surface. Suspension and road data is delivered back to the vehicle in order to change autonomous driving behavior including route planning. Energy storage is regulated based on a planned route. Forward and lateral acceleration feel is mitigated through active pitch and tilt compensation. The fully-active suspension pushes and pulls the suspension in three or more operational quadrants in order to deliver superior ride comfort, handling, and / safety of the vehicle.

Systems and methods are described for determining an optimal path and / or route to a destination for a vehicle. Embodiments of the systems and methods disclosed herein facilitate intelligent route planning to a desired destination by a vehicle. In certain embodiments, a path and / or route to a desired destination is determined that accounts for vehicle charging and / or refueling requirements. Disclosed systems and methods may further generate and distribute reservation information ensuring availability of vehicle charging and / or refueling stations along a selected route. Further embodiments disclosed herein may implement information targeting services in connection with intelligent route planning.

A GIS-based system that determines evacuation routes for specific areas requiring evacuation. Evacuation and safe areas are determined, and evacuation routes plotted, based on emergency-specific information as well as road flow and estimated time of travel for each section of road between the evacuation area and safe area. Routes, evacuation areas, and safe areas are dynamically calculated and recalculated based on additional data, either real-time, historical, or other data added to the system, to compute optimal initial routes and redirect evacuees if changes in the emergency situation occur.

The invention comprises, in its various embodiments and aspects, a method and apparatus for generating a dynamic mobility map. The method includes classifying a plurality of objects represented in a data set comprised of overhead imagery data; and classifying the objects through application of dynamic data pertaining to those objects. The apparatus includes a program storage medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by a computing device, perform such a method and a computing apparatus programmed to perform such a method. The method, in alternative embodiments, may be employed in generating dynamic mobility maps and in association with a ground vehicle to operate the vehicle or simulate the operation of the vehicle.

The invention relates to the technical field of mobile robot autonomous navigation and discloses a service mobile robot navigation method in a dynamic environment. The service mobile robot navigation method in the dynamic environment includes the following steps that firstly, position tracking of people can be achieved by utilizing multiple global cameras and robot vehicle-mounted laser sensors in an indoor environment; secondly, the moving mode of people under a specific indoor environment site is trained according to collected samples, and the moving trend of people is predicated; thirdly, a current position and a predicated position of people are merged with an environment static obstacle raster map, and a navigation risk probability map is generated; fourthly, a robot navigation movement controller of a global route planning-local obstacle avoidance control gradational structure is adopted to control robot navigation behavior, and safe and efficient navigation behavior of a robot under a complex dynamic environment where the robot coexists with people is ensured through controlling.

Route planning methods for use by a package delivery service provider are disclosed that satisfy a stochastic daily demand while taking advantage of drivers' route familiarity over time. A model for estimating the value of driver familiarity is disclosed along with both an empirical and a mathematical model for estimating the value of route consistency, along with a Core Area Route Design which involves the concepts of combinational optimization, meta-heuristic algorithms, tabu search heuristics, network formulation modeling, and multi-stage graph modeling. In one embodiment, a service territory is divided into unassigned cells associated with a grid segment involving prior driver delivery stops, and a driver from a pool of unassigned drivers is assigned to a route based on examining each driver's grid segment visiting frequency limit with respect to a minimum limit so as to optimize driver selection based on of each driver's familiarity with the route.

The invention discloses a robot which comprises a robot body and a remote interactive platform. The remote interactive platform is communicated with the robot body through a wireless communication network platform, the robot body comprises a moving device and a function module which is arranged above the moving device, the moving device comprises mechanical legs, a base plate, direct current brushless motors, direct current brushless motor drivers, driving wheels and universal wheels, the base plate is arranged at lower ends of the mechanical legs, the direct current brushless motors are arranged in the base plate, the driving wheels are connected with the direct current brushless motors, and the function module comprises a multiple-degree-of-freedom mechanical waist, a mechanical neck, a mechanical head, mechanical arms and mechanical hands. The robot is exquisite in structure, flexible in movement and high in simulation degree, portions of the robot can perform multiple-degree-of-degree movement, and the robot supports wireless remote control and information transmission and is capable of well achieving various functions of route planning, autonomous navigation, face recognition, man-machine conversation, guests receiving and the like.

An apparatus for providing improved route planning may include a processing element. The processing element may be configured to receive calendar information from at least one driver and at least one passenger that are each registered to a service having a routing functionality, and determine a transportation plan including a travel route based on the received calendar information.

The invention relates to a dispatching and route-planning method for multiple AGVs used for material transportation in a factory. The method comprises the following steps: (1) modeling material transportation scenes in a factory, including the travelling routes of AGVs, AGV charging points, loading and unloading points and standby zones for AGVs; (2) storing allocated tasks in a queue; (3) findingout one AGV closest to a current-task issuing site from a set of available AGVs; (4) calculating the shortest route from a current-task start point and a current-task stop point by using an A* algorithm; and (5) calling a time-window algorithm for maintenance of a time-window vector table of the shortest route obtained in the step (4). Compared with traditional A* algorithms, a heuristic functionin the A* algorithm used in the invention takes the traveling cost and turning cost of the AGVs on roads in a workshop into consideration, the time-window vector table of each route section is maintained, and whether conflicts exist in planned routes is determined by judging whether superposition exists; so the problems of collision conflicts, deadlock and the like of AGV route planning are effectively overcome.

An environment recognizing device and an environment recognizing method can draw an environment map for judging if it is possible to move a region where one or more than one steps are found above or below a floor, a route planning device and a route planning method that can appropriately plan a moving route, using such an environment map and a robot equipped with such an environment recognizing device and a route planning device. The robot comprises an environment recognizing section including a plurality of plane extracting section 401 adapted to compute plane parameters from a parallax image or a distance image and extract a plurality of planes including the floor surface, an obstacle recognizing section 402 adapted to recognize obstacles on the plurality of planes including the floor surface and an environment map updating section 403 adapted to draw an environment map (obstacle map) for each of the planes on the basis of the result of recognition of the obstacle recognizing section 402 and update the existing environment maps and a route planning section 404 adapted to plan a route on the basis of the environment maps. The route planning section 404 selects a plane as route coordinate when an obstacle is found on it in the environment map of the floor surface but not found in the environment map of the plane.

The invention discloses an unmanned perception based unmanned aerial vehicle route planning method for rapidly planning the vehicle driving route. According to the invention, based on the unmanned flight perception system, road video images around a target vehicle are photographed by utilizing an unmanned flight to be sent to a ground station; the ground station receives the video images and processes the video images so as to obtain the vehicle and road messages, route planning is carried out according to the vehicle position, and the route is transmitted to the unmanned aerial vehicle; and a computer module of the ground station calculates a flight control signal to control the unmanned aerial vehicle to follow the vehicle to proceed, and corrects the route in real time. According to the invention, based on an unmanned flight platform, the operation state is stable; and the road environment around the vehicle is photographed from a great height, the coverage area is wide, and the observed road traffic information is distinct and clear, so that the road distribution condition and the traffic condition around the target vehicle can be obtained rapidly, the reasonable route planning can be obtained, the route is more precise, and the road condition analysis is more timely and accurate.

In a route planning system and method for agricultural working machines, a defined working width is assigned to the agricultural working machines to generate driving routes in a territory, and dynamic adaptation of the planned driving route is carried out thereby ensuring that the driving route to be covered is flexibly adaptable to changing external conditions such as driving around obstacles, thereby largely relieving the operator of the agricultural working machine of the task of performing laborious steering maneuvers.

The present invention relates to a pilotless automobile system and an automobile. The pilotless automobile system comprises an environmental sensing subsystem, a data fusion subsystem, a route planning and deciding subsystem and a travel control subsystem. Surrounding environment information including image information and three-dimensional coordinate information is fused through the data fusion subsystem, obstacle information, lane line information, traffic sign information and dynamic obstacle tracing information are extracted, and the recognition capability and recognition precision of the surrounding environment information are improved. The route planning and deciding subsystem is used for planning a travel route according to the information extracted by the data fusion subsystem and travel destination information, the travel control subsystem is used for generating a control instruction according to the travel route and controlling the pilotless automobile according to the control instruction, and a high-safety-performance pilotless function is fulfilled.

For creating a route plan for a group of agricultural working machine systems for working a territory, the machine systems include route planning data determination devices and they exchange data with each other and, based on exchanged route planning data, one shared route plan is created for the particular territory. For controlling a group of agricultural working machine systems while it works a territory, one shared route plan—which has been created accordingly—is used, and a route planning system is provided for creating a route plan for a group of agricultural working machine systems to be used to work a territory.

The invention provides an improved VFH algorithm-based positioning and obstacle avoidance method and robot. According to the improved VFH algorithm-based positioning and obstacle avoidance method and robot, on the basis of an improved vector field histogram method and a scan matching algorithm, environmental information is acquired by the adoption of a laser range-finder sensor, and the pose error brought by speedometer is amended by the adoption of the polar coordinate scan matching algorithm. After robot positioning is finished, environmental information is rasterized, an obstacle is expanded according to the relationship between the robot and the obstacle and considering the sensing uncertainty of a movable robot and the real size of the robot, an original polar coordinate histogram is built, the free walking area and the obstacle avoidance area are acquired, a binary polar coordinate histogram is acquired through the definition of two threshold values, a shielding polar coordinate histogram is built through estimating the movement trail of the movable robot, and finally, the cost function is introduced to determine the best movement direction of the robot so as to solve the problem of shielding route planning of the movable robot in a home environment.