Method and system for managing navigational data for autonomous vehicles

Abstract

Methods and systems of prescribing navigational instructions to autonomous vehicle, aerial as well as terrestrial, are discussed. In one embodiment, mission relevant data is collected and passed to an assessment unit. The assessment unit assesses data relevant to the mission, rules and authorizations. The assessment unit either approves the mission by sending mission instructions or denies the mission by sending a rejection response. A mission is an assembly of one or more navigational containers, a navigational container being a repository for navigational guidance and rule-based authorization assessment.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for defining guidance for traversing a segment of travel in space, the system comprising:
 an autonomous entity, wherein the autonomous entity is configured with sensors providing sensor data;   a mission operator;   a mission coordinator;   an assessment unit;   at least one spoke navigational container,   a processor; and   a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, configure the system to:
 initiate, by the mission operator, a request for routing authorization and routing instructions for a mission traversing the segment of space; 
 collect, by the mission operator, relevant mission attributes for the mission traversing the segment of space; 
 pass, by the mission coordinator, the relevant mission attributes to the assessment unit to identify the at least one spoke navigational container,
 wherein the at least one spoke navigational container comprises at least one initiating boundary and at least one terminating boundary, 
 wherein the at least one spoke navigational container contains the relevant mission attributes pertaining to traversing the segment of travel in space including navigational instructions for following a navigational path from the initiating boundary to the terminating boundary, the navigational instructions comprising at least one of: 
 a direction of the navigational path at an entry point of the initiating boundary; 
 a direction of the navigational path at an exit point of the terminating boundary; 
 alternative routes based on an outcome of the navigational instructions; 
 a change in the direction of the navigational path to avoid an obstructing object in the navigational path; and 
 rules that are processed by the autonomous entity to alter a direction the autonomous entity takes along the navigational path, including traversing the alternative routes; 
 
 wherein at least one hub navigational container interfaces with at least one of the initiating boundary and the terminating boundary, 
 wherein the at least one hub navigational container is at least one of a first navigational container, a last navigational container, an interface between spoke navigational containers, and a decision point connected to more than one spoke navigational containers downstream from the at least one hub navigational container, 
 wherein the decision point includes one or more rules that determine whether the autonomous entity will proceed with the mission, revise the mission, or abandon the mission, 
 wherein the relevant mission attributes contained in the hub navigational containers and the relevant mission attributes contained in the spoke navigational containers are alterable in view of mission-dynamic data generated during at least one of a current mission and a different mission, and 
 wherein the mission-dynamic data comprises at least one of the sensor data from the sensors of the autonomous entity and data to alter an outcome of the at least one hub navigational container; 
   collect, by the mission coordinator, rules and authorizations from the at least one spoke navigational container;   execute, by the mission coordinator, an assessment of the at least one spoke navigational container using the assessment unit;   on condition the at least one spoke navigational container is approved for the mission:
 collect, by the mission coordinator, the navigational instructions from the at least one spoke navigational container to assemble mission instructions; 
 assemble, by the mission coordinator, the mission instructions; and 
 send, by the mission coordinator, the mission instructions to the mission operator; 
   execute, by the autonomous entity, the mission instructions to traverse the segment of travel in space;   collect, by the autonomous entity, the sensor data comprised in the mission-dynamic data; and   on condition the mission-dynamic data indicates an alteration of the relevant mission attributes of the at least one spoke container is needed for the autonomous entity to successfully traverse the navigational path:
 alter the relevant mission attributes of the at least one spoke navigational container to modify the direction the autonomous entity takes along the navigational path, including traversing the alternative routes. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the autonomous entity is an autonomous vehicle, wherein said autonomous vehicle is a terrestrial or aerial vehicle. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising an at least one additional autonomous entity, wherein the at least one additional autonomous entity is of a different type of autonomous device operation from the autonomous entity, and wherein the mission is accomplished by a combination of the autonomous entity and the at least one additional autonomous entity. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein each navigational container is exclusively scheduled for use by the autonomous entity and mission operator after each navigational container in said mission has been approved for use by said mission operator. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the autonomous entity occupies volume dimensions along a path of motion of the autonomous entity and wherein the initiating boundary and the terminating boundary represent a space the autonomous entity can pass through without the obstructing object intruding upon the volume dimensions of the autonomous entity. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , the instructions further configuring the system to modify the autonomous entity’s traverse of the navigational path while remaining within the space, thereby allowing the autonomous entity to avoid the obstructing object. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , the instructions further configuring the system to modify the autonomous entity’s traverse of the navigational path by at least one of:
 changing a direction of forward motion for the autonomous entity; 
 ceasing the motion of the autonomous entity; 
 reversing the motion of the autonomous entity; and 
 traversing at least one of the alternative routes. 
 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the mission-dynamic data identifies at least one obstructing object in the navigational path, wherein the at least one obstructing object is one of a stationary solid object, a moving solid object, a restricted space, and a rule-based restricted area. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , the instructions further configuring the system to modify the autonomous entity’s traverse of the navigational path to successfully avoid the obstructing object by at least one of:
 changing a forward direction of motion for the autonomous entity; 
 ceasing the motion of the autonomous entity; 
 reversing the motion of the autonomous entity; and 
 traversing the alternative routes. 
 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein successfully avoiding the obstructing object includes prioritizing avoidance of the moving solid object and the stationary solid object over avoidance of the restricted space, and the rule-based restricted area. 
     
     
         11 . A method for defining guidance for traversing a segment of travel in space, the method comprising:
 initiating, by a mission operator, a request for routing authorization and routing instructions for a mission traversing the segment of space;   collecting, by the mission operator, relevant mission attributes for the mission traversing the segment of space;   passing, by a mission coordinator, the relevant mission attributes to an assessment unit to identify at least one spoke navigational container,
 wherein the at least one spoke navigational container comprises at least one initiating boundary and at least one terminating boundary, 
 wherein the at least one spoke navigational container contains the relevant mission attributes pertaining to traversing the segment of travel in space including navigational instructions for following a navigational path from the initiating boundary to the terminating boundary, the navigational instructions comprising at least one of:
 a direction of the navigational path at an entry point of the initiating boundary; 
 a direction of the navigational path at an exit point of the terminating boundary; 
 alternative routes based on an outcome of the navigational instructions; 
 a change in the direction of the navigational path to avoid an obstructing object in the navigational path; and 
 rules that are processed by an autonomous entity to alter a direction the autonomous entity takes along the navigational path, including traversing the alternative routes; 
 
 wherein at least one hub navigational container interfaces with at least one of the initiating boundary and the terminating boundary, 
 wherein the at least one hub navigational container is at least one of a first navigational container, a last navigational container, an interface between spoke navigational containers, and a decision point connected to more than one spoke navigational containers downstream from the at least one hub navigational container, wherein the decision point includes one or more rules that determine whether the autonomous entity will proceed with the mission, revise the mission, or abandon the mission, 
 wherein the relevant mission attributes contained in the hub navigational containers and the relevant mission attributes contained in the spoke navigational containers are alterable in view of mission-dynamic data generated during the period of a current mission, and 
 wherein the mission-dynamic data comprises at least one of sensor data from sensors configured on the autonomous entity and data to alter an outcome of the at least one hub navigational container; 
   collecting, by the mission coordinator, rules and authorizations from the at least one spoke navigational container;   executing, by the mission coordinator, an assessment of the at least one spoke navigational container using the assessment unit;   on condition the at least one spoke navigational container is approved for the mission:
 collecting, by the mission coordinator, the navigational instructions from the at least one spoke navigational container to assemble mission instructions; 
 assembling, by the mission coordinator, the mission instructions; and 
 sending, by the mission coordinator, the mission instructions to the mission operator; 
   executing, by the autonomous entity, the mission instructions to traverse the segment of travel in space;   collecting, by the autonomous entity, the sensor data comprised in the mission-dynamic data; and   on condition the mission-dynamic data indicates an alteration of the relevant mission attributes of the at least one spoke container is needed for the autonomous entity to successfully traverse the navigational path:
 altering the relevant mission attributes of the at least one spoke navigational container to modify the direction the autonomous entity takes along the navigational path, including traversing the alternative routes. 
   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the autonomous entity is an autonomous vehicle, wherein said autonomous vehicle is a terrestrial or aerial vehicle. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the mission is accomplished by a combination of the autonomous entity and an at least one additional autonomous entity, and wherein the at least one additional autonomous entity is of a different type of device operation from the autonomous entity. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein each navigational container is exclusively scheduled for use by the autonomous entity and mission operator after each navigational container in said mission has been approved for use by said mission operator. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the autonomous entity occupies volume dimensions along a path of motion of the autonomous entity and wherein the initiating boundary and the terminating boundary represent a space the autonomous entity can pass through without the obstructing object intruding upon the volume dimensions of the autonomous entity. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , the instructions further configuring the system to modify the autonomous entity’s traverse of the navigational path while remaining within the space, thereby allowing the autonomous entity to avoid the obstructing object. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising modifying the autonomous entity’s traverse of the navigational path by at least one of:
 changing a forward direction of motion for the autonomous entity; 
 ceasing the motion of the autonomous entity; 
 reversing the motion of the autonomous entity; and 
 traversing at least one of the alternative routes. 
 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the mission-dynamic data identifies at least one obstructing object in the navigational path, wherein the at least one obstructing object is one of a stationary solid object, a moving solid object, a restricted space,, and a rule-based restricted area. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , the instructions further configuring the system to modify the autonomous entity’s traverse of the navigational path to successfully avoid the obstructing object by at least one of:
 changing a forward direction of motion for the autonomous entity; 
 ceasing the motion of the autonomous entity; 
 reversing the motion of the autonomous entity; and 
 traversing the alternative routes. 
 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein successfully avoiding the obstructing object includes prioritizing avoidance of the moving solid object and the stationary solid object over avoidance of the restricted space, and the rule-based restricted area.