Patent Application
20180088587
The present invention relates to a controlling method and system for an autonomous vehicle, and more particularly to a controlling method and system for controlling the traveling path using line tracking via a camera set and distance measurement via a rangefinder installed in the autonomous vehicle.
Autonomous vehicle technologies have advanced greatly in recent years. Many big Internet companies and most of the big car companies have allocated large resources to develop autonomous vehicle technologies to enable a driverless car to travel on public road at highway speed. Many navigation methods have been applied, in which most of them use global positioning system (GPS) combining a detailed local map to determine the track to travel.
However, GPS navigation system has its drawbacks. For instance, because of the high speed required, the vehicle employed many sophisticated sensors and powerful computers and complicated algorithm software to ensure the safety of the autonomous car and its surroundings. Furthermore, GPS related systems do not have enough resolution to navigate narrow roads and it does not work well for indoor applications or small and enclosed communities.
For these small and enclosed communities, such as vacation resorts or retirement communities, the speed required is generally low (less than 30 km/hr), and the surroundings are usually not complicated, autonomous vehicle is especially useful and making great economic sense if the infrastructure requirement is low.
To reduce the vehicle cost and infrastructure buildup, it is necessary to develop new navigation systems controlling the travelling path of an autonomous vehicle; a navigation method that does not require expensive sensors on the vehicles and requires very little infrastructure setup is strongly demanded. Additionally, for other methods such as those that follow tracks marked on the floor, it would be necessary to lay two tracks for both direction travels.
An aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a controlling method for an autonomous vehicle having a computing device, a rangefinder connected to the computing device and configured for measuring the distance in a lateral direction, and a camera set connected to the computing device and capable of capturing a plurality of images along a travel path of the autonomous vehicle. The controlling method includes identifying a line track in the plurality of images by the computing device via the camera set, and traveling the autonomous vehicle on a floor along the line track. When the autonomous vehicle is traveled relative to a wall, the line track is where the wall meets the floor, and the autonomous vehicle travels along the line track and parallel to the wall in a first predetermined distance determined by the computing device via at least one of the rangefinder and the camera set. When the autonomous vehicle is traveled where no walls are measured by the rangefinder and the camera set, the line track is a marking line on the floor, and the autonomous vehicle travels along the marking line in a second predetermined distance determined by the computing device via the camera set, and determining the travel path of the autonomous vehicle in response to a preset map installed in the computing device.
According to an embodiment of the controlling method of the present invention, the aforementioned controlling method further includes determining the travel path of the autonomous vehicle when an obstacle in the travel path is identified in the plurality of images by the computing device via the camera set, and returning to the travel path once the obstacle is not detected by the computing device.
According to an embodiment of the controlling method of the present invention, the aforementioned controlling method further includes identifying an opposing vehicle approaching toward the autonomous vehicle in an opposite direction which the autonomous vehicle is travelling in by the computing device via the camera set, and changing the travel path of the autonomous vehicle by shortening the predetermined distance relative to the wall by the computing device.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the rangefinder is an ultrasonic rangefinder, a laser rangefinder, or an optical rangefinder.
According to an embodiment of the controlling method of the present invention, in which the marking line is an adhesive tape, or a painted strip.
According to an embodiment of the controlling method of the present invention, in which the traveling velocity of the autonomous vehicle is less than 30 km/hr.
According to an embodiment of the controlling method of the present invention, in which the autonomous vehicle has at least two wheels.
According to an embodiment of the controlling method of the present invention, the aforementioned controlling method further includes positioning the autonomous vehicle in the preset map by a Wi-Fi positioning system relative to a plurality of access points.
According to an embodiment of the controlling method of the present invention, further includes positioning the autonomous vehicle in the preset map by a 3G or 4G positioning system relative to a plurality of mobile stations.
According to an embodiment of the controlling method of the present invention, in which the camera set includes at least two cameras disposed at a front side and a rear side of the autonomous vehicle, respectively.
According to an embodiment of the controlling method of the present invention, in which the field of view of each of the cameras of the camera set is at least 100 degrees.
According to an embodiment of the controlling method of the present invention, the aforementioned controlling method further includes recording a travel distance of the autonomous vehicle by the computing device, wherein the travel distance is measured by an odometer installed in the autonomous vehicle and connected to the computing device.
According to an embodiment of the controlling method of the present invention, the aforementioned controlling method further includes recording the travel direction of the autonomous vehicle by the computing device via a gyroscope or an accelerometer connected to the computing device.
According to an embodiment of the controlling method of the present invention, the aforementioned controlling method further includes calculating and recording the travel path of the autonomous vehicle by using the travel distance and the travel direction recorded in the computing device.
According to an embodiment of the controlling method of the present invention, in which determining the travel path of the autonomous vehicle in response to the preset map includes selecting a predetermined location in the preset map, and navigating the autonomous vehicle to the predetermined location by the computing device.
According to an embodiment of the controlling method of the present invention, the aforementioned controlling method further includes slowing down the autonomous vehicle when the travel speed thereof is greater than a predetermined speed by the computing device via an auto-breaking module connected to the computing device.
The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings.
Fig.6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an environment for two-way traffic of an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention; and
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts. It is not intended to limit the method or the system by the exemplary embodiments described herein. In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to attain a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” includes reference to the plural unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the terms “comprise or comprising”, “include or including”, “have or having”, “contain or containing” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the embodiments. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” to another element, there are no intervening elements present.
Referring to
The environment where the autonomous vehicle 100 travels in may or may not have a wall 400 detected by the camera set 220 and/or the rangefinder 230 and determined by the computing device 210. For instance, the rangefinder 230 may be an ultrasonic rangefinder, which emits ultrasonic waves laterally and receives the reflected ultrasonic waves to determine the lateral distance between the autonomous vehicle 100 and the wall 400 reflecting the ultrasonic waves. When there is no walls along the traveling path of the autonomous vehicle 100, there would be no reflected ultrasonic waves received by the ultrasonic rangefinder 230, which means that the object to be measured is out of range; the computing device 210 would then determine that there is no walls in the environment via the rangefinder 230. It can be also determined by applying image processing technologies with the camera set 220. For example, a wall-line intersection, the line track 500, may be formed when the wall 400 exists that meets with the floor 300, which can be identified by the computing device 210 via the camera set 220. Further, when no wall-line intersections are detected, the computing device 210 would determine that no walls exist in the current environment that the autonomous vehicle is traveling in.
Referring to
If the wall 400 does not exist, that is, when both the camera set 220 and the rangefinder 230 have detected no walls, step S350 would be triggered following step S330. The computing device 210 would start to search for the line track 500′ on the floor 300, where the line track 500′ may be a marking line, painted strip, magnetic tape, colored tape or any other line-shape means marked on the floor 300. The autonomous vehicle 100 will then be traveled along the line track 500′ in a second predetermined distance determined by the computing device 210 via the camera set 220.
In step S360, the travel path of the autonomous vehicle 100 can be determined by selecting one of the pre-set interest point in the preset map 211. The pre-set interest point may be manually selected by a user when entering the autonomous vehicle 100 on the preset map 211. The autonomous vehicle 100 may have a display (not shown) disposed inside showing the preset map 211 with the pre-set interest points, the pre-set interest points may be shown as pins or icons on the display, and the user may select one as a destination to travel to, and the computing device 210 will calculate a navigation path for traveling the autonomous vehicle 100. The computing device 210 calculates where to make a turn after a distance traveled.
A radar sensor or another rangefinder (not shown) may be installed at the front side of the autonomous vehicle 100, which is also connected with the computing device 100 as well and working together with the camera set 220, to detect a moving object like a passing pedestrian in order to avoid collision. This process is performed by initiating the auto-breaking module 240 by the computing device 210 while the computing device 210 detects a moving pedestrian passing in front of the autonomous vehicle 100 via the radar or the other rangefinder. Once the moving pedestrian has been detected, a signal indicating the moving pedestrian will be transmitted from the radar sensor or the other rangefinder to the computing device 210 to break the wheels 110.
Preferably, the autonomous vehicle 100 may contain a gyroscope or an accelerometer (not shown) connected to the computing device 210, to measure the orientation of the autonomous vehicle 100 while it travels. The data measured by the gyroscope or accelerometer may be stored in the computing device 210. What is more, the autonomous vehicle 100 may have an odometer (not shown) installed, indicating the distance traveled. The odometer is connected to the computing device 210, and the travel distance data measured will be transmitted to the computing device 210 as the autonomous vehicle 100 advances. The orientation and travel distance data transmitted to and stored in the computing device 210 are used to make a backup of the traveling path of the autonomous vehicle 100. Those data may also be used as a purpose of facilitating the investigation of car accidents.
Referring to
Further, when there is no wall at the moment the autonomous vehicle 100 meets the obstacle 700, the autonomous vehicle 100 bypasses the obstacle 700 randomly from the left side 610 or the right side 620 as determined by the computing device 210. In step S430, once the obstacle 700 has been bypassed, the autonomous vehicle 100 will be returned to the original travel path as determined by the computing device 210 prior to the obstacle being met.
In some embodiments, the controlling method of the present invention is also applicable to two-way traffic. Practically, vehicles opposing the traveling path of the autonomous vehicle 100 may occur, and the controlling method of the present invention is capable of overcoming this issue. Referring to
Firstly, by keeping a fix distance from a wall by cameras and rangefinder operating with computing device along a line track formed between wall and floor, and switching to another traveling mode as to travel along marking lines on floor while no walls are detected, this method is perfectly applicable for both indoor and outdoor applications.
Secondly, two-way traffic can be easily achieved by applying the controlling method of the present invention to an autonomous vehicle while facing opposing vehicles.
Thirdly, no central station or server for the system is needed, because all traveling paths are determined by the computing device installed in the autonomous vehicle.
Finally, any kind of line will work as the lines, i.e. line tracks, will be automatically identified by the computing device via the camera set. Besides, for indoor use, ultrasound signal can help with more precise distance measurement while working together with the camera set, and can also be as a backup once the camera set has malfunctioned.
The description of the invention including its applications and advantages as set forth herein is illustrative and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the claims. Variations and modifications of the embodiments disclosed herein are possible, and practical alternatives to and equivalents of the various elements of the embodiments would be understood to those of ordinary skill in the art upon study of this patent document. For example, specific values given herein are illustrative unless identified as being otherwise, and may be varied as a matter of design consideration. Terms such as “first’ and “second” are distinguishing terms and are not to be construed to imply an order or a specific part of the whole. These and other variations and modifications of the embodiments disclosed herein, including of the alternatives and equivalents of the various elements of the embodiments, may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, including the invention as set forth in the following claims.
