SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR VEHICLE NAVIGATION AND PILOTING INCLUDING ABSOLUTE AND RELATIVE COORDINATES

摘要

A navigation system for use in a vehicle. The system includes an absolute position sensor, such as GPS, in addition to one or more additional sensors, such as a camera, laser scanner, or radar. The system further comprises a digital map or database that includes records for at least some of the vehicle's surrounding objects. These records can include relative positional attributes and traditional absolute positions. As the vehicle moves, sensors sense the presence of at least some of these objects, and measure the vehicle's relative position to those objects. This information, together with the absolute positional information and the added map information, is used to determine the vehicle's location, and support features such as enhanced driving directions, collision avoidance, or automatic assisted driving. In accordance with an embodiment, the system also allows some objects to be attributed using relative positioning, without recourse to storing absolute position information.