In this paper an automated guided vehicle (AGV) for low payload is presented. By the use of low cost onboard sensors instead of expensive laser measurement devices the investment effort is reduced significantly. Ceiling cameras constantly track all static and moving obstacles. This information in combination with the vehicles local sensor data is leading to an optimized position estimations of both vehicles and obstacles. The objective during development of the described system was to generate a cost efficient small scale transportation system which supports the one-piece-flow principle. This goal has been met with the described strategy to reduce vehicle cost by reducing the cost of the vehicle sensors. The vehicle prototypes component costs sum up to about 500 €. The infrastructural investment for the current system with only one ceiling camera amounts to 30 €. Also a standard desktop PC for fast image processing is needed. In addition, the flexibility of the system is outstanding. If a destination is moved the corresponding optical marker is tracked by the camera. The vehicles will approach the new destination without any changes in the transportation systems software.
Versatile autonomous transportation vehicle for highly flexible use in industrial applications
2012
4 Seiten, 5 Bilder, 8 Quellen
Conference paper
English