Determining the state of objects in an association of objects

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12535825-B2
Application number	US-202118248288-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 5, 2021
Priority date	Oct 9, 2020
Publication date	Jan 27, 2026
Grant date	Jan 27, 2026

Abstract

A method for determining a correction value of a state of an object in an association with a plurality of objects. The method includes: each object in the association recording its own absolute state in an existing coordinate system; a first object in the association recording a relative state of the first object in relation to one or more other objects in the association; the first object transmitting the recorded relative state and its own recorded absolute state via a data connection to one or more of the other objects in the association; exchanging recorded relative states and recorded absolute states in the association of objects so that all objects have the same uniform information status; each object calculating a correction value for all objects in the association based on the uniform information status; an object applying its own correction value to its own recorded absolute state.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A vehicle comprising: a recording unit configured to record absolute and relative state values of the vehicle, wherein the recording unit has one or more sensors for determining the absolute and the relative states, and wherein the recording unit has a data interface configured to transmit the own relative and absolute states of said vehicle and to receive relative and absolute state values from objects in an association; storing, by a server, an operation schedule of the plurality of circulating buses;
a first filter unit configured to process the absolute and relative state values recorded by the recording unit in order to determine a corrected absolute state value and a corrected relative state value of the vehicle in relation to other objects in the association using a method comprising steps of: each object in the association recording an absolute state in an existing coordinate system for said each object; a first object in the association recording a relative state of the first object in relation to one or more other objects in the association; the first object transmitting, via a data connection, the recorded relative state and the recorded absolute state of the first object to the one or more of the other objects in the association; exchanging recorded relative states and recorded absolute states in the association of objects so that all objects in the association have a same uniform information status; each object calculating a correction value for all objects in the association based on the same uniform information status, and, an object from the association applying the correction value of said object to the recorded absolute state of said object; a second filter unit configured to process the absolute and relative state values recorded by the recording unit in order to determine a relative state value in relation to other vehicles as an output value; and a monitoring unit configured to monitor a status of the first filter unit and the second filter unit; wherein one or more controls of the vehicle executes adjustments based on at least one of the determined relative state value in relation to the other objects or the determined relative state value in relation to the other vehicles; and wherein the monitoring unit is configured to forward the corrected absolute state value and the corrected relative state value from the first filter unit when a normal operational state has been identified for the first filter unit, or otherwise to forward the relative state value from the second filter unit when an incorrect operational state has been established for the first filter unit or when an estimated relative precision of the second filter unit is better than the estimated relative precision of the first filter unit.

2 . The vehicle according to claim 1 ,
wherein the monitoring unit is configured to categorize the status of the first filter unit as an incorrect operational state when no data connection is set up via the data interface of the recording unit.

3 . The vehicle according to claim 1 ,
wherein a covariance associated with each recorded absolute state and recorded relative states is also exchanged along with the relative states and the absolute states.

4 . The vehicle according to claim 1 ,
wherein an absolute error value of the association of objects is minimized for calculating the correction value.

5 . The vehicle according to claim 1 ,
wherein the correction value is used in a filter of at least one object in order to correct a absolute state, a relative state, or both of the at least one object.

6 . The vehicle according to claim 1 ,
wherein a state value of the absolute state, the relative state, or both contains information relating to one or more of the following parameters of an object: position, speed, bearing, acceleration, rotational speed, relative position in relation to one or more other objects, relative distance in relation to one or more other objects, relative speed in relation to one or more other objects, relative bearing in relation to one or more other objects.

7 . The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein a correction value is calculated in such a way that new absolute state values resulting therefrom reconstruct relative state values of the first object, i, in relation to a second object, j, and wherein a relative configuration of the objects in the association in relation to the absolute state values by applying the following equation: ž ij =h((x old,j +δx j )−(x old,i +δx i )).

8 . The vehicle according to claim 7 ,
wherein a boundary condition that a sum of correction values is equal to zero applies.

Assignees

• Airbus Defence & Space Gmbh

Inventors

• Neuhauser Tobias

Classifications

• H04W4/46

  for vehicle-to-vehicle communication [V2V] · CPC title

• G05D1/0293 Primary

  Convoy travelling · CPC title

• G05D1/695 Primary

  for maintaining a fixed relative position of the vehicles, e.g. for convoy travelling or formation flight · CPC title

• G05D1/6987

  by centralised control off-board any of the vehicles · CPC title

• G05D1/6985

  using a lead vehicle, e.g. primary-secondary arrangements · CPC title