Patent Document ID: 5545960
Application ID: 07865576
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. An autonomous mobile machine comprising: (a) a sensing unit for outputting signals related to a distance and an angle between the machine and a path to be traced the sensing unit further outputting signals related to an obstacle-free space, the obstacle-free space being the space in which the machine can move freely between a first and second sampling time; (b) means for obtaining intermediate control outputs by using a navigation procedure for path tracing in accordance with signals related to the distance and angle; (c) means for obtaining intermediate control outputs by using a navigation procedure for obstacle avoidance in accordance with signals related to the obstacle-free space; (d) means for determining a first weighting coefficient for path tracing and a second weighting coefficient for obstacle avoidance by inference based on a set of fuzzy rules in accordance with the signals related to the distance and angle and the signals related the obstacle-free space; (e) means for computing a set of computed control outputs from the intermediate outputs obtained by said means (c), those obtained by the means (d), a first coefficient, and a second coefficient; and (f) a drive system for driving the machine in accordance with the set of computed control outputs.