US Patent:
20200057453, Feb 20, 2020
Inventors:
- Mountain View CA, US
Joshua Switkes - Mountain View CA, US
Art Gavrysh - Mountain View CA, US
Marc Tange - Mountain View CA, US
Mark Herbert - Mountain View CA, US
Colleen Twitty - Mountain View CA, US
Dean Hogle - Mountain View CA, US
Andrew Tamoney - Mountain View CA, US
Eric Monsler - Mountain View CA, US
Carlos Rosario - Mountain View CA, US
Oliver Bayley - Mountain View CA, US
Richard Pallo - Mountain View CA, US
Louis Donayre - Mountain View CA, US
Laurenz Laubinger - Mountain View CA, US
Brian Smartt - Mountain View CA, US
Joyce Tam - Mountain View CA, US
Brian Silverman - Mountain View CA, US
Tabitha Jarvis - Mountain View CA, US
Murad Bharwani - Mountain View CA, US
Steven Erlein - Mountain View CA, US
Austin Schuh - Mountain View CA, US
Mark Luckevich - Mountain View CA, US
Assignee:
Peloton Technology, Inc. - Mountain View CA
International Classification:
G05D 1/02
B60W 30/18
B60W 10/20
B60W 10/18
B60W 10/04
G05D 1/00
Abstract:
Disclosed herein are a method and apparatus for automated following behind a lead vehicle. The lead vehicle navigates a path from a starting point to a destination. The lead vehicle and the following vehicle are connected via V2V communication, allowing one or more following vehicles to detect the path taken by the lead vehicle. A computerized control system on the following vehicle (a Follow-the-Leader, or FTL, system) allows the following vehicle to mimic the behavior of the lead vehicle, with the FTL system controlling steering to guide the following vehicle along the path previously navigated by the lead vehicle. In some embodiments, the lead vehicle and following vehicle may both use Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) position coordinates. In some embodiments, the following vehicle may also have a system of sensors to maintain a gap between the following and lead vehicles.