Abstract:
The present invention provides a guidance, navigation, and control method and system for an underground mining vehicle that allow said vehicle to be taught a route by a human operator and then have it automatically drive the route with no human intervention. The method works in three steps: teaching, route profiling, and playback. In the teaching step the vehicle is manually driven by a operator (or using tele-operation whereby the operator views a screen displaying live views from vehicle-mounted cameras and using remote controls) along a route which can consist of an arbitrary sequence of maneuvers including tramming forwards, switching directions, tramming backwards, turning, or pausing movement. During this phase raw data from vehicle-mounted sensors including odometric sensors and rangefinders are logged to a file throughout teaching for later processing. During the (offline) route profiling step, the raw data in the log file are processed into a route profile including a vehicle path, a sequence of local metric submaps located along the path, and a profile of desired speed as a function of distance along the path. During the playback step, the vehicle automatically repeats the route that was taught during the teaching phase, as represented by the route profile. This is accomplished by first determining where the vehicle is on the route using a localization method which uses the odometric and laser rangefinder sensors and the local metric maps to determine the vehicle location. A steering control method adjusts the vehicle's steering to ensure it tracks the intended path. A drive control method adjusts the vehicle's speed accordingly and safety method ensures the vehicle stops in the event that an obstruction is on the vehicle's intended path.
Abstract:
The invention relates to a method, system and access station for passage control of mine vehicles. Mine vehicles (2) are transferred between an operation area (4) and a manual area (10) through one or more access stations (8). The passage station (8) comprises two successive access gates (9, 11), between which there is an intermediate space (12), to which the mine vehicle (2) to be transferred can be driven. When the mine vehicle (2) is in the intermediate space (12), at least one access gate is closed.
Abstract:
The invention relates to a method of determining the position of unmanned mining vehicles. According to the method, positioning marks are provided in the mine, for positioning mining vehicles in production use by means of a marking device, such as a paint sprayer (14), provided in a specific measuring vehicle (3). The invention also relates to a measuring vehicle that is unmanned and comprises measuring means for measuring a mine and also a marking device for providing a mine gallery with positioning marks. The invention further relates to a mining vehicle with a reading device for automatically reading positioning marks.
Abstract:
The invention is a system (100) and method (500) for managing a resource shared by a plurality of autonomous vehicles (103). Each vehicle (103) includes a navigator (120) for causing the vehicle (103) to travel a specified route to the resource and for generating a queue position request upon approach to the resource. A queue or fleet manager (102) establishes a queue to control access to the resource. The queue manager (102) generates a queue position in response to receipt of the queue position request from an approaching vehicle (103). Under control of the queue manager (102), autonomous vehicles (103) are passed through the queue and allowed to access the resource in a first-in, first-out manner.
Abstract:
A computer-based system (100) for precisely determining an operating point for a land-based vehicle includes a receiver (216) mounted on the vehicle for receiving navigation signals from a satellite-based positioning system (218), an odometer (230) for measuring distance travelled by the vehicle, a doppler radar (232) for measuring ground speed of the vehicle, a solid-state rate sensing device (234) for measuring the heading rate of the vehicle, and a resolver (236) for measuring the steering angle of the vehicle. An extended Kalman filter (208) combines the measurements of these sensors (216, 230, 232, 234, 236) to produce a highly accurate estimate of the vehicle's operating point. The operating point includes an estimated north position, an estimated east position, an estimated heading, an estimated heading rate, and an estimated speed.
Abstract:
An improved automatic lateral guidance control system for guiding moving vehicles is provided which includes a sensing sub-system for viewing an area in front of a vehicle, a plurality of energy radiating or energy reflective devices disposed adjacent a predetermined length of road, an apparatus for translating the radiated or reflected information from the viewed area into coordinate data representing an approximation of the predetermined path along the road, and a vehicle controller for determining the vehicle's heading with respect to the approximated path and providing an output control signal to correct the vehicle's heading with respect to the approximated path.
Abstract:
An improved automatic lateral guidance control system for guiding moving vehicles is provided which includes a sensing sub-system for viewing an area in front of a vehicle, a plurality of energy radiating or energy reflective devices disposed adjacent a predetermined length of road, an apparatus for translating the radiated or reflected information from the viewed area into coordinate data representing an approximation of the predetermined path along the road, and a vehicle controller for determining the vehicle's heading with respect to the approximated path and providing an output control signal to correct the vehicle's heading with respect to the approximated path.
Abstract:
A wireless system for a mine performs a management of the quality of wireless communication at each point in the mine at a time point closer to a current time while maintaining the operating state of each dump truck. The wireless system is provided with a server 31, wireless base stations 41 and dump trucks 20 in the mine. The server 31 contains fleet operations management information and communication quality information, and the dump trucks 20 each include a GPS and a wireless terminal. The server 31 specifies an update target point where the communication quality information requires an update. Then, the server 31 specifies one of the dump trucks 20, which is plan to travel through the update target point, from the fleet operations management information, calculates a time at which the dump truck 20 would arrive at the update target point, and performs communication trigger processing to make the dump truck 20 transmit wireless data.
Abstract:
The invention concerns a system configuration to make possible the autonomous operation of a vehicle (100), comprising: - a first layer (210) arranged to determine a configuration of the surroundings and, based on the said configuration of the surroundings, to generate at least one control signal for the autonomous operation of the said vehicle; - a second layer (220) arranged to adapt the said control signal from the said first layer (210) for a third layer (230); and - a first computer interface (215) arranged in communicative connection with the said first layer (210) and the said second layer (220), in which the said first computer interface (215) is arranged to transfer the said, at least one, control signal for the said operation from the said first layer (210) to the said second layer (220), and whereby the said computer interface (215) is configured according to a predetermined standard, independent of the first layer (210) and the second layer (220). The invention concerns also a method to make possible the autonomous operation of a vehicle and a vehicle (100; 11 ) adapted to make possible autonomous operation in accordance with the said system configuration.