Waypoint splining for autonomous vehicle following

1. A method for defining a following path for a following vehicle to autonomously follow a leader, comprising:

acquiring waypoints, said waypoints associated with a path that said leader traverses;

filtering said acquired waypoints, wherein said filtering comprises identifying a preceding waypoint and a subsequent waypoint and removing waypoints that exceed a threshold number of degrees outside of a course heading defined by said preceding waypoint and subsequent waypoint, wherein said threshold number of degrees is in the range of one to ten degrees and is selected based on a speed of said leader and a waypoint acquisition sampling rate;

generating intermediate waypoints by interpolating between adjacent pairs of said filtered waypoints if said adjacent pairs of said filtered waypoints are separated by a distance that exceeds a threshold distance;

removing a previously acquired waypoint as a new waypoint is acquired, if said removal generates a course change exceeding five degrees; and

defining a following path through said filtered waypoints and said intermediate waypoints using a least-squares spline fit to calculate said following path,

wherein said following vehicle traverses said following path.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said acquiring waypoints further comprises receiving said waypoints from said leader over a wireless communication link, said waypoints generated by a global positioning sensor (GPS) located with said leader.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said acquiring waypoints further comprises:

determining a position for said following vehicle using a GPS located with said following vehicle;

determining an offset distance and a direction from said following vehicle to said leader using a laser incident distance and ranging (LiDAR) sensor; and

translating said position for said following vehicle by said offset distance in said direction, wherein said translating generates a waypoint.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising removing previously acquired waypoints as new waypoints are acquired such that said spline fitting is based on a desired number of waypoints.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining a remaining path length along said following path between a current position of said following vehicle and a current position of said leader, such that a desired speed and following distance are maintained.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising identifying said leader.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein said leader is one of a vehicle or a pedestrian.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein said threshold distance is one to 500 feet.

9. A following vehicle configured to autonomously follow a leader, said following vehicle comprising:

an acquisition module configured to acquire waypoints associated with a path that said leader traverses;

a filtering module configured to filter said acquired waypoints, wherein said filtering comprises identifying a preceding waypoint and a subsequent waypoint and removing waypoints that exceed a threshold number of degrees outside of a course heading defined by said preceding waypoint and subsequent waypoint, wherein said threshold number of degrees is in the range of one to ten degrees and is selected based on a speed of said leader and a waypoint acquisition sampling rate;

an interpolating module configured to generate intermediate waypoints by interpolating between adjacent pairs of said filtered waypoints if said adjacent pairs of said filtered waypoints are separated by a distance that exceeds a threshold distance;

said acquisition module further configured to remove a previously acquired waypoint as a new waypoint is acquired, if said removal generates a course change exceeding five degrees; and

a curve fitting module configured to define a following path through said filtered waypoints and said intermediate waypoints using a least-squares spline fit to calculate said following path.

10. The following vehicle of claim 9 , further comprising a wireless communication link configured to receive said waypoints from said leader, said waypoints generated by a GPS located with said leader.

11. The following vehicle of claim 9 , further comprising:

a GPS configured to determine a position for said following vehicle;

a LiDAR configured to determine an offset distance and a direction from said following vehicle to said leader; and

a translating module configured to translate said position for said following vehicle by said offset distance in said direction, wherein said translating generates a waypoint.

12. The following vehicle of claim 9 , wherein said acquisition module further removes previously acquired waypoints as new waypoints are acquired such that said curve fitting is based on a desired number of waypoints.

13. The following vehicle of claim 9 , further comprising a speed control module configured to determine a remaining path length along said following path between a current position of said following vehicle and a current position of said leader, and maintain a desired speed and following distance to said leader based on said remaining path length.

14. The following vehicle of claim 9 , further comprising an identification module configured to identify said leader.

15. The following vehicle of claim 9 , wherein said threshold distance is one to 500 feet.

16. An article comprising a non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon instruction that when executed by a machine result in the following operations for defining a following path for a following vehicle to autonomously follow a leader:

acquiring waypoints, said waypoints associated with a path that a leader traverses;

filtering said acquired waypoints, wherein said filtering comprises identifying a preceding waypoint and a subsequent waypoint and removing waypoints that exceed a threshold number of degrees outside of a course heading defined by said preceding waypoint and subsequent waypoint, wherein said threshold number of degrees is in the range of one to ten degrees and is selected based on a speed of said leader and a waypoint acquisition sampling rate;

generating intermediate waypoints by interpolating between adjacent pairs of said filtered waypoints if said adjacent pairs of said filtered waypoints are separated by a distance that exceeds a threshold distance;

removing a previously acquired waypoint as a new waypoint is acquired, if said removal generates a course change exceeding five degrees; and

defining a following path through said filtered waypoints and said intermediate waypoints using a least-squares spline fit to calculate said following path.

17. The article of claim 16 wherein said acquiring waypoints further comprises receiving said waypoints from said leader over a wireless communication link, said waypoints generated by a GPS located with said leader.

18. The article of claim 16 wherein said acquiring waypoints further comprises:

determining a position for said following vehicle using a GPS located with said following vehicle;

determining an offset distance and a direction from said following vehicle to said leader using a LiDAR sensor; and

translating said position for said following vehicle by said offset distance in said direction, wherein said translating generates a waypoint.

19. The article of claim 16 , further comprising determining a remaining path length along said following path between a current position of said following vehicle and a current position of said leader, such that a desired speed and following distance are maintained.

20. The article of claim 16 , wherein said threshold distance is one to 500 feet.