Autonomous moving machine system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10150563-B2
Application number	US-201715458921-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 14, 2017
Priority date	Apr 1, 2016
Publication date	Dec 11, 2018
Grant date	Dec 11, 2018

Abstract

An autonomous moving machine system continuously maintaining moving machines thereof at higher reliability is provided. Each moving machine measures a self-location thereof with a sensor thereof, and autonomously moves to a target location by controlling a mover. Operations of the moving machine includes acquiring sensor information, estimating the self-location in accordance with the sensor information, calculating the reliability of the self-location, transmitting the reliability to the other moving machine. Operations of a particular moving machine further includes recording history information that associates the reliability, the self-location, and an identifier identifying each of the moving machines, selecting a moving machine to restore the reliability in accordance with the history information and moving the selected moving machine to a location where the reliability of the selected moving machine increases.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system comprising:
moving machines, each moving machine of the moving machines configured to move to a target location by autonomous control, each moving machine comprising:
a sensor which obtains a self-location of the moving machine;
a processor; and
a memory storing a computer program which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform operations, the operations including:
acquiring, from the sensor, sensor information related to the self-location of the moving machine, the sensor information including a relative positional relationship between the moving machine and another moving machine of the moving machines;
estimating the self-location of the moving machine based on the acquired sensor information;
calculating a reliability of the estimated self-location of the moving machine, and storing the reliability associated with the self-location on the moving machine;
transmitting the stored reliability associated with the self-location of the moving machine, to the other moving machine,
wherein the operations performed by a particular moving machine of the moving machines further include,
recording history information that associates the reliability, the self-location, and an identifier identifying each of the moving machines;
selecting, from the moving machines, a moving machine to restore the reliability in accordance with the history information; and
moving the selected moving machine to a location where the reliability of the self-location of the selected moving machine increases.

2. The system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the reliability decreases in response to an elapsed time from or in response to a travel amount of the moving machine from when the sensor acquires an absolute position of the moving machine, and the reliability increases when the sensor acquires the absolute position of the moving machine, and
wherein the absolute position is measured by using a GPS or a land mark at a known position.

3. The system according to claim 2 ,
wherein the moving machine to restore the reliability is selected in accordance with a statistical quantity that is calculated from all reliabilities related to the moving machines.

4. The system according to claim 3 ,
wherein the statistical quantity includes a variance or a difference between a maximum value and a minimum value of the all reliabilities, and
wherein the moving machine to restore the reliability is selected when the variance or the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the all reliabilities remains at or above a first threshold value for longer than a first time threshold.

5. The system according to claim 3 ,
wherein the statistical quantity includes a maximum value, a mean value, and a median of the all reliabilities, and
wherein the moving machine to restore the reliability is selected when at least one of the maximum value, the mean value, and the median of the all reliabilities sharply falls.

6. The system according to claim 3 ,
wherein the statistical quantity includes a maximum value, a mean value, and a median of the all reliabilities, and
wherein the moving machine to restore the reliability is selected when at least one of the maximum value, the mean value, and the median of the all reliabilities is lower than a second corresponding threshold value.

7. The system according to claim 2 , wherein each of the moving machines is a drone.

8. The system according to claim 7 , wherein the sensor information is a number of rotation of a rotor of the drone.

9. The system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the moving machine to restore the reliability is selected in accordance with the reliability.

10. The system according to claim 9 ,
wherein the moving machine, having a minimum reliability of all reliabilities related to the moving machines, is selected as the moving machine to restore the reliability.

11. The system according to claim 9 ,
wherein the moving machine, having a maximum reliability of all reliabilities related to the moving machines, is selected as the moving machine to restore the reliability.

12. The system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the moving machine having maximum remaining battery power is selected as the moving machine to restore the reliability.

13. The system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the moving machine, positioned closest to a region having a reliability higher than a predetermined value, is selected as the moving machine to restore the reliability.

14. The system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the moving machine, present in a region where multiple moving machines each having a reliability lower than a predetermined value are present, is selected as the moving machine to restore the reliability.

15. The system according to claim 1 ,
wherein a moving machine, present in a region where multiple moving machines are present, is selected as the moving machine to restore the reliability.

16. The system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the self-location is estimated using normal distribution, and
wherein the reliability of the select-location is calculated by calculating a reciprocal of a variance of the normal distribution.

Assignees

• Panasonic Ip Corp America
• Panasonic Intellectual Property Corp

Inventors

• Harada Naoyuki

Classifications

• G05B19/048

  Monitoring; Safety · CPC title

• B64U2201/104

  using satellite radio beacon positioning systems, e.g. GPS · CPC title

• B64U2101/30

  for imaging, photography or videography · CPC title

• G01S19/24

  Acquisition or tracking {or demodulation} of signals transmitted by the system {(synchronisation aspects of direct sequence spread spectrum modulation H04B1/7073)} · CPC title

• B64U2201/10

  autonomous, i.e. by navigating independently from ground or air stations, e.g. by using inertial navigation systems [INS] · CPC title