Patent ID: 7953526

Claim:
A method of moving a machine along a desired path comprising: operating a machine in a manual learn mode to traverse an entire desired path to be followed by the machine during subsequent operation in a robotic mode, the machine having first and second independently operable drive wheels, first and second motors coupled to the first and second drive wheels, respectively, and first and second displacement sensors associated with the first and second drive wheels, respectively, the first and second displacement sensors providing output data indicating displacement of the first and second drive wheels as the machine traverses the desired path; recording the output data from the first and second displacement sensors as the machine traverses the desired path during the manual learn mode to provide stored path data which maps the entire desired path to be followed by the machine during subsequent operation in the robotic mode; detecting GPS location signals at a plurality of locations along the desired path during the manual learn mode; storing a plurality of GPS locations which are linked to particular points along the desired path; operating the machine in the robotic mode in which the stored path data is used to control the first and second drive wheels to move the machine along the desired path without operator control and without the use of the stored GPS locations, the step of operating the machine in the robotic mode including comparing output data from the first and second displacement sensors taken when the machine is operated in the robotic mode to the recorded output data from the first and second displacement sensors taken during the manual learn mode, and adjusting the speed of the first and second drive wheels during the robotic mode so that the output data from the first and second displacement sensors in the robotic mode substantially matches the recorded output data from the first and second displacement sensors taken during the manual learn mode; detecting GPS location signals at a plurality of locations along the path traveled by the machine during the robotic mode; automatically comparing the GPS location signals at a plurality of locations along the traveled path during the robotic mode with the corresponding stored GPS locations that were linked to particular points along the desired path during the storing step; and automatically correcting the position of the machine if it is determined that the machine has moved away from the desired path by a predetermined amount based on the comparing step.