Patent ID: 8031086

Claim:
A method for determining the position of a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of: positioning a group of radio frequency identification tags spaced apart from one another in or around a work area for the vehicle, each of the tags having a corresponding unique identifier; establishing a path comprising a path segment between at least two of the radio frequency identification tags, the path segment comprising at least one of a distance between the tags, an angular heading between the tags, coordinates of the tags, and unique identifiers corresponding to the tags; determining an estimated position of the vehicle based on at least one of odometer data and inertial data; navigating between at least two of the radio frequency identification tags based on the estimated position, the distance and the angular heading; reading the tag identifiers of each tag to track the progress of the vehicle to facilitate execution of or retrieval of any next path segment of the vehicle along the established path; providing a ferrous metal member for collocation with each radio frequency identification tag; and using a ferrous metal detection circuit to detect or confirm the near proximity of the radio frequency identification tag.