Patent ID: 8768558
Filing Date: 2014-07-01
Classification: B62D,G01S,G05D

Abstract:
1. A system for controlling a vehicle, the vehicle including an automatic steering system and roll, pitch and yaw axes, and the control system comprising: a spatial database containing spatial data corresponding to GPS-defined positions in the region; a controller mounted on said vehicle and adapted for computing guidance signals, to receive spatial data from the spatial database at control speed, and to control the steering of the vehicle; a guidance subsystem mounted on said vehicle and connected to said controller, said guidance subsystem being adapted for receiving said guidance signals from said controller and utilizing said guidance signals for guiding said vehicle; external spatial data sources mounted on said vehicle, comprising at least an optical movement sensor subsystem adapted for optically sensing movement of said vehicle relative to a surface over which said vehicle is traveling; said optical movement sensor subsystem including an optical movement sensor connected to said controller and adapted for providing optically-sensed vehicle movement signals thereto corresponding to optically-sensed relative vehicle movement; said optical movement sensor subsystem including an optical movement sensor and an optimal estimator providing a statistically optimal estimate of the position and attitude information received from the optical movement sensor; said optimal estimator including algorithms that receive the position and attitude information from the optical movement sensor and converts said information into a calculated or determined position and attitude of said vehicle producing a statistically optimal estimate of the calculated or determined position and attitude of said vehicle; said controller being adapted for computing said guidance signals utilizing said vehicle movement signals; the controller correlating images from said optical movement sensor subsystem to obtain data relating to the vehicle's motion; a vehicle reference point located at an intersection of the vehicle roll, pitch and yaw axes; and the spatial database being adapted to receive updated spatial data from the controller and the external spatial data sources as the vehicle traverses the region.