Calibration methods and systems for an autonomous navigation vehicle
Aspects of the present invention relate to systems and methods for calibrating an autonomous navigation system. According to a first aspect of the present invention, calibration of the autonomous navigation system may be controlled by a calibration map.
1. A method for calibrating an autonomous navigation vehicle, said method comprising:
determining that a first location of an autonomous navigation vehicle is a calibration-map location;
retrieving a value of an overall calibration index associated with said first location, wherein said overall calibration index includes a first specific calibration index related to an availability of an absolute positioning system at said first location;
determining, using said overall calibration index value, if said first location is a suitable location for performing a calibration operation; and
when said first location is a suitable location for performing a calibration operation, performing said calibration operation.
2. A method as described in claim 1 , wherein said overall calibration index value is a combination of a plurality of specific calibration values associated with a plurality of specific calibration indices, including said first specific calibration index.
3. A method as described in claim 1 , wherein said first specific calibration index is a binary index.
4. A method as described in claim 1 , wherein said first specific calibration index is a multi-valued index.
5. A method as described in claim 2 , wherein said plurality of specific calibration indices comprises a second specific calibration index related to an availability of an adequate calibration path at said first location.
6. A method as described in claim 5 , wherein said second specific calibration index is a binary index.
7. A method as described in claim 5 , wherein said second calibration index is a multi-valued index.
8. A method as described in claim 2 , wherein said plurality of specific calibration indices comprises a third specific calibration index related to a first environment condition at said first location.
9. A method as described in claim 8 , wherein said first environment condition is an environment condition selected from the group consisting of a meteorological condition and a terrain condition.
10. A method as described in claim 1 further comprising updating said overall calibration index value and storing said updated overall calibration index value.
11. A method as described in claim 1 further comprising removing said first location from a plurality of calibration-map locations based on a factor selected from the group consisting of an environment factor, an operational factor and a temporal history of calibration operations.
12. A method as described in claim 1 further comprising adding a second location to a plurality of calibration-map locations based on a factor selected from the group consisting of an environment factor, an operation factor and a temporal history of calibration operations.
13. A method as described in claim 1 further comprising:
retrieving a first operational-parameter value;
measuring a first environmental-parameter value; and
wherein said determining if said first location is a suitable location for performing a calibration operation uses said first operational-parameter value and said first environmental-parameter value.
14. A method as described in claim 1 further comprising:
determining if said first location is a waypoint location; and
when said first location is a waypoint location, performing a waypoint operation.
15. A method as described in claim 1 further comprising generating a calibration map.
16. A method for generating a calibration map, said method comprising:
identifying a plurality of calibration-map locations;
assigning an overall-calibration-index value to each calibration-map location in said plurality of calibration-map locations: and
identifying a first calibration-map location in said plurality of calibration-map locations, wherein identifying said first calibration-map location comprises determining an availability of an absolute positioning system at a first candidate location.
17. A method as described in claim 16 , wherein identifying a first calibration-map location in said plurality of calibration-map locations comprises identifying a suitable calibration path at a first candidate location.
18. A method as described in claim 16 , wherein said assigning an overall-calibration-index value to a first calibration-map location comprises combining a plurality of specific-calibration-index values.