| CPC G05D 1/0291 (2013.01) [G05D 1/0016 (2013.01); G05D 1/0022 (2013.01); G05D 1/0038 (2013.01); G05D 1/0088 (2013.01); G05D 1/0246 (2013.01)] | 20 Claims |
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1. A vehicle tracking system comprising
(i) at least one vehicle including a control system, the control system including
a drive system providing power for the vehicle, the drive system operable to move the vehicle and to operate accessories of the vehicle,
a plurality of sensors providing signals indicative of real-time information regarding a location and operation of the vehicle,
a camera system providing a signal representative of images of an environment surrounding the vehicle;
a controller including a first processor and a first memory device, the first memory device including instructions that, when executed by the first processor, cause the first processor to receive signals from the sensors and the camera system, aggregate the signals to create an array of data that is a synchronized composite of the sensor signals and the camera signals that represents a time-sequenced composite image file that superimposes data derived from the sensor signals onto the images from the camera system,
(ii) a centralized monitoring station including
a computer in communication with the controller of the at least one vehicle, the computer including a second processor and a second memory device,
a user input device in communication with the computer,
a display device, in communication with the computer,
wherein the second memory device of the computer includes instructions that, when executed by the second processor, cause the second processor to process inputs from the user input device to communicate with the controller of the vehicle to prompt the controller to transmit portions of the time-sequenced composite image file under control of the user input device, the transmitted image file being received by the computer and displayed by the display device,
wherein the time-sequenced composite image file is transmitted in real time and a portion transmitted varies based on user input to generate a field of view perceptible to a human,
wherein the display device comprises a head set and the user input device is coupled to the head set such that movement of the head set changes the portion of the image file transmitted responsive to movement of the head set to change the field of view being displayed by the head set,
further comprising a plurality of vehicles, the computer in communication with the controller of each of the vehicles such that a user may select any of the plurality of vehicles and view surroundings of a particular vehicle using the user input device and the head set,
wherein the centralized monitoring station is operable to provide mission tasks to each of the plurality of vehicles, the centralized monitoring station including a monitor that provides current status of each of the plurality of vehicles,
further comprising a plurality of cameras positioned in the environment surrounding the plurality of vehicles, the cameras providing a signal representative of images of portions of the environment surrounding the plurality of vehicles, the cameras including memory to store an array of data that represents a time-sequenced image file for the field of view of a particular camera, and
wherein the computer is operable to transmit a signal to each of the vehicles and cameras to simultaneously change a point of time that the time-sequenced images are presented such that an operator may toggle between views of each of the vehicles and each of the cameras at a coordinated point in time, the portion of the image file being transmitted by each vehicle being responsive to a position of the head set of the user.
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