A beacon navigation method for autonomous vehicles

A method for navigating autonomous vehicles is presented. Based on the three-point problem from land surveying, this navigational technique makes use of angular measurements between fixed beacon pairs. Extremely accurate position information can be obtained over a large area with simple trigonometric or analytic geometry calculations. Typical worst-case errors are of the order of 10 cm throughout a 2500 m/sup 2/ workspace. An experimental position-measuring system has been built and tested, and it demonstrated the ability of this technique to function as a key element in a navigation system for autonomous vehicles. >