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:
Dec. 15, 1998
Filed:
Dec. 30, 1996
Vibeke Libby, San Mateo, CA (US);
Lockheed Martin Corporation, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Abstract
A route planning mechanism receives a target set denoting a set of available targets, a set of target parameter thresholds for binning target parameters, a set of mission objectives and a corresponding set of mission thresholds for binning the mission parameters. The route planning mechanism may also receive an avoidance set denoting obstacles to be avoided. The mission objectives define a number of distinct target parameter priority orderings, each associated with a respective mission status. Successive best next targets are selected and added to a selected target sequence list until a mission completion criteria is satisfied. Each best next target is selected by determining a mission status in accordance with the previously selected targets, and a corresponding target parameter priority ordering. The target parameters of each available target are mapped into respective bin values in accordance with their respective target thresholds, and a cost function value is computed for each available target in accordance with the bin values. A subset of the available targets having a best cost function value is selected. That subset is successively narrowed until the subset contains only one target, and then that one target is selected as the best next target. The subset narrowing is performed using the bin values of the target parameters, applied in the target parameter priority ordering that is based on the current mission status. The resulting sequence of selected targets is then passed to a route utilization system, such as a satellite control system.