Fleet of autonomous vehicles with lane positioning and platooning behaviors

Abstract

Disclosed herein are systems for navigating an autonomous or semi-autonomous fleet comprising a plurality of autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles within a plurality of navigable pathways within an unstructured open environment.

1 . A system for navigation, the system comprising:
 at least a first vehicle, the at least first vehicle being arranged to operate autonomously or semi-autonomously; and   a fleet control application, the fleet control application including a processor and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with a computer program including instructions executable by the processor to create an application including
 (a) a first module, the first module configured to manage lane positioning of the first vehicle by determining at least one edge or boundary of a pathway, and 
 (b) a second module, the second module configured to cooperate with the first module to manage the lane positioning of the first vehicle by determining a position of the first vehicle relative to a map. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1  further including:
 a second vehicle, the first vehicle and the second vehicle being part of a vehicle fleet, wherein, the second vehicle being a lead vehicle, wherein the application further includes
 (c) a third module, the third module being arranged to measure at least one selected from a group including a speed of the second vehicle, a distance between the second vehicle and the first vehicle, a condition of the pathway, a detected obstacle, a traffic congestion, and a weather condition. 
 
 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2  wherein the application further includes
 (d) a fourth module, the fourth module configured to modify a position and a speed of the first vehicle in response to at least one selected from a group including the second vehicle, the condition of the pathway, the detected obstacle, the traffic congestion, and the weather condition. 
 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1  further including:
 a second vehicle, the first vehicle and the second vehicle being part of a vehicle fleet, wherein, the second vehicle being a lead vehicle, wherein the application further includes
 (c) a third module, the third module being arranged to generate a response to the second vehicle and environmental conditions for the first vehicle. 
 
 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4  wherein the response includes at least one corrective adjustment to the lane positioning of the first vehicle that enables the first vehicle to navigate through the environmental conditions. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the pathway is a navigable pathway, and wherein first module is configured to manage the lane positioning of the first vehicle by continually determining the at least one edge or boundary. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1  wherein fleet control application includes a navigation module and the first vehicle includes a propulsion system, and wherein the at least one edge or boundary includes a left boundary and a right boundary, the navigation module arranged to command the propulsion system to navigate the first vehicle between the left boundary and the right boundary. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7  wherein the first vehicle further includes a sensor system, and wherein the first module is configured to determine the at least one edge or boundary using at least sensed data obtained by the sensor system. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 7  wherein the first module is configured to position the first vehicle between the left boundary and the right boundary at a given position between the left boundary and the right boundary. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9  wherein the pathway is a road, and wherein the given position is a center of a lane of the road, the lane being defined between the left boundary and the right boundary. 
     
     
         11 . A system for navigation, the system comprising:
 a first vehicle, the first vehicle being arranged to operate autonomously or semi-autonomously, the first vehicle including a sensor system and a communication system, the sensor system being arranged to obtain sensed data; and   an application, the application including a processor and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with a computer program including instructions executable by the processor, the application including
 (a) a lane position detection module, the lane position detection module being arranged to determine at least one boundary of a pathway using at least the sensed data obtained from the sensor system through the communication system, 
 (b) a location detection module, the location detection module being arranged to determine a position of the first vehicle, and 
 (c) a navigation module, the navigation module configured to command the first vehicle through the communication system to navigate the pathway based on at least one selected from a group including the at least one boundary, the position of the first vehicle, and the sensed data. 
   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11  wherein the lane position detection module is configured to continually determine the at least one boundary of the pathway. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11  wherein the first vehicle includes a propulsion system, and wherein the at least one boundary of the pathway includes a left boundary and a right boundary, the navigation module being arranged to command the propulsion system to navigate between the left boundary and the right boundary. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13  wherein the propulsion system is an autonomous or semi-autonomous propulsion system. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 11  wherein the first vehicle includes an autonomous or semi-autonomous propulsion system, and wherein the navigation module being arranged to command the propulsion system to navigate within a plurality of navigable pathways based at least on one or more of the at least one boundary, the position, sensed data, and a fleet instruction generated by the application. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 11  wherein the lane position detection module and the location detection module determine in parallel. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 11  wherein the location detection module is further arranged to confirm the position of the first vehicle using the at least one boundary. 
     
     
         18 . An application, the application including a processor and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with a computer program including instructions executable by the processor, the application comprising:
 (a) a lane position detection module, the lane position detection module being arranged to determine at least one boundary of a pathway arranged to be traversed by a first vehicle having a sensor system using sensed data obtained from the sensor system;   (b) a database, the database arranged to store a map that includes the pathway;   (c) a location detection module, the location detection module being arranged to determine a position of the first vehicle using one or more of the map and the sensed data; and   (d) a navigation module, the navigation module configured to command the first vehicle to navigate the pathway based on at least one selected from a group including the at least one boundary, the position of the first vehicle, and the sensed data.   
     
     
         19 . The application of  claim 18  wherein the lane position detection module is configured to continually determine the at least one boundary of the pathway. 
     
     
         20 . The application of  claim 18  wherein the at least one boundary of the pathway includes a left boundary and a right boundary, and wherein the navigation module is arranged to command the first vehicle to navigate between the left boundary and the right boundary.