The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 04, 1997
Filed:
May. 01, 1995
Prithvi N Rao, Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Dong Hun Shin, Pittsburgh, PA (US);
William L Whittaker, Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Karl W Kleimenhagen, Peoria, IL (US);
Sanjiv J Singh, Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Carl A Kemner, Peoria Heights, IL (US);
Walter J Bradbury, Peoria, IL (US);
Craig L Koehrsen, Peoria, IL (US);
Joel L Peterson, Peoria, IL (US);
Larry E Schmidt, Peoria, IL (US);
Lonnie J Devier, Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Caterpillar Inc., Peoria, IL (US);
Abstract
A system and method for enabling an autonomous vehicle to track a desired path plans a continuous path to return to the desired path when the vehicle deviates from the desired path. The continuous path is determined based on the vehicle's position, the desired path, and a lookahead distance. The lookahead distance is the distance on the desired path within which the continuous path and the desired path converge. The lookahead distance may vary as a function of vehicle speed. In one embodiment of the present invention, the continuous path is determined as a quintic polynomial.