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Intelligent ultra high speed distributed sensing system and method for sensing roadway markers for intelligent vehicle guidance and control
| Details |
Inventors: Lasky, Ty A.; Donecker, Stephen M.; Yen, Kin S.; Ravani, Bahram;
Assignee: The Regents of the University of California (Oakland, CA)
Primary Examiner: Black; Thomas G.
Assistant Examiner: Mancho; Ronnie
Attorney, Agent or Firm: O'Banion; John P.
Methods and apparatus to sense both discrete and continuous magnetic reference systems installed in the roadway, and provide information to support lateral and, to some extent, longitudinal and vertical vehicle control and/or driver assistance. The position of an object, such as a vehicle, relative to a magnetic reference infrastructure, such as that representing a dividing line on a roadway, is determined by sensing, with a sensor associated with the object, at least one axial field strength component of the magnetic field emitted from the magnetic reference, computing a ratio of the sensed axial field strength components, and then determining the positional offset of the object as a function of the ratio. The lateral offset is independent of the magnetic field strength due to the use of the ratio which cancels out the magnetic field strength. The invention is also capable of providing three-dimensional positioning relative to a magnetic reference. |
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention generally comprises methods and apparatus to sense both discrete and continuous magnetic reference systems installed in the roadway, and provide information to support lateral and, to some extent if necessary, longitudinal and vertical vehicle control and/or driver assistance.
More particularly, the invention comprises an intelligent sensing architecture and an assortment of methods for deriving lateral (across road), longitudinal (along road) and vertical offset (above road), and other pertinent information, from both continuous and discrete magnetic reference systems.
By way of example, and not of limitation, the invention comprises a method and apparatus for determining the position of an object relative to a magnetic reference marker by sensing, with a sensor associated with the object, at least one axial field strength component of the magnetic field emitted from the magnetic reference, computing a ratio of the sensed axial field strength components, and then determining the positional offset of the object from said magnetic reference as a function of the ratio.
Preferably, the magnetic reference comprises an infrastructure that defines a roadway reference line, and the positional offset comprises lateral offset from the roadway reference line.
The ratio provides a one-to-one mapping of the sensor outputs to lateral offset.
The output of this mapping for selected values of X (longitudinal offset) yields a surface that can be sliced for different values of vertical offset Z to produce a domain map from which the lateral offset can be determined.
The lateral offset, which is independent of the magnetic reference field strength due to the use of the ratio approach, is then determined from the domain map.
Points along the domain map which are between sample points can be determined by interpolation or curve fitting.
These functions are carried out preferably using a digital data processor and associated programming.
The invention is usable over a wide range of vehicle operating speeds, such as from zero to 150 MPH
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