Control augmentation apparatus and method for automated guided vehicles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10662045-B2
Application number	US-201715429222-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 10, 2017
Priority date	Feb 11, 2016
Publication date	May 26, 2020
Grant date	May 26, 2020

Abstract

An augmentation module is described for an automated guided vehicle (AGV) deployed in a facility and including a control module for controlling a drive mechanism based on navigational data received from a navigation sensor. The module includes a inter-module communications interface connected to the control module; a memory; and a processor connected to the communications interface and the memory. The processor is configured to: obtain an operational command; generate control data to execute the operational command; convert the control data to simulated sensor data; and send the simulated sensor data to the control module.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An augmentation system for an automated guided vehicle (AGV) deployed in a facility and including a control module for controlling a drive mechanism based on sensor data received from a navigation sensor, the system comprising:
an inter-module communications interface connected to the control module;
a memory;
a processor connected to the communications interface and the memory, the processor configured to:
obtain an operational command defining a goal for the AGV;
prior to generating control data defining one or more operations for the AGV to execute the operational command, determine whether the sensor data received from a navigation sensor of the AGV indicates the presence or absence of guidance infrastructure for use in a default control mechanism of the AGV; and
when the sensor data indicates the absence of the guidance infrastructure, override the default control mechanism, wherein overriding the default control mechanism comprises:
generating the control data defining the one or more operations for the AGV to execute the operational command;
converting the control data to simulated sensor data to enable the control module to control the drive mechanism in the absence of guidance infrastructure, wherein the simulated sensor data corresponds to sensor data that would have been generated by the navigation sensor in the presence of the guidance infrastructure and converting the control data to simulated sensor data comprises:
determining one or more sensors to simulate based on one or more data types of the control data, and
determining the simulated sensor data required to trigger the one or more operations defined by the control data; and

sending the simulated sensor data to the control module, whereby the control module is operable to control the drive mechanism in the absence of the guidance infrastructure to execute the operational command.

2. The augmentation system of claim 1 , the memory configured to store a map of the facility; the processor further configured to:
receive, via the inter-module communications interface, the sensor data from the navigation sensor of the AGV;
based on the received sensor data and the map, determine a current position of the AGV relative to the map.

3. The augmentation system of claim 2 , wherein the navigation sensor includes at least one of a magnetic field sensor and a range-finding sensor.

4. The augmentation system of claim 2 , wherein the navigation sensor includes a range-finding sensor, the processor further configured to:
compare the sensor data to the map; and
update the map with at least a portion of the sensor data.

5. The augmentation system of claim 2 , the processor further configured to:
compare the sensor data with indications of guidance infrastructure proximal to the current position of the AGV in the map; and
when the sensor data and the indications do not match, transmit a notification to a server that the guidance infrastructure may be damaged.

6. The augmentation system of claim 1 , the memory configured to store a plurality of conversion definitions each corresponding to a data type of control data; the processor configured to convert the control data to the simulated sensor data by retrieving one of the definitions corresponding to the data type of the control data.

7. The augmentation system of claim 6 , the processor further configured to determine the conversion definitions.

8. The augmentation system of claim 1 , the processor further configured to obtain the operational command by receiving the operational command from a pilot-operated computing device.

9. The augmentation system of claim 1 , the processor further configured to obtain the operational command by detecting an obstacle in the path of the AGV.

10. A method of navigating an automated-guided vehicle (“AGV”) comprising:
navigating the AGV in an environment to execute an operational command using a control module of the AGV based on guiding infrastructure within the environment comprising:
received a sensor input indicative of the guiding infrastructure; and
controlling a drive mechanism of the AGV based on the sensor input; and

using an augmentation system coupled to the AGV to store a map of the environment;
using the augmentation system to determine a location of the AGV relative to the map;
using the augmentation system to determine whether at least one control-override criterion has been met based on the location of the AGV; and
using the augmentation system to navigate the AGV in response to the at least one control-override criterion having been determined comprising operating the augmentation system to:
generate control data defining one or more operations for the AGV to execute the operational command;
convert the control data to simulated sensor data to enable the control module to control the drive mechanism without the guiding infrastructure, wherein the simulated sensor data corresponds to sensor data that would have been generated by a sensor when the guiding infrastructure is present and converting the control data to simulated sensor data comprises:
determining one or more sensors to simulate based on one ore more data types of the control data, and
determining the simulated sensor data required to trigger the one or more operations defined by the control data; and

transmitting the simulated sensor data to the control module; and
operating the control module to control the drive mechanism of the AGV based on the simulated sensor data;

wherein the control module interprets the simulated sensor data in place of the sensor input, and wherein using the augmentation system to navigate the AGV is not based on the guiding infrastructure.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the at least one control-override criterion is further based on the map of the environment.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the map of the environment indicates a location of the guiding infrastructure, and using the augmentation system to determine whether the at least one control-override criterion has been met comprises determining that the at least one control-override criterion has been met when the location of the vehicle is not the same as the location of the guiding infrastructure.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the map of the environment indicates a location of virtual guiding infrastructure, and using the augmentation system to determine whether the at least one control-override criterion has been met comprises determining that the at least one control-override criterion has been met when the location of the vehicle is the same as the location of the virtual guiding infrastructure.

14. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
receiving the operational command indicative of a control-override command;
wherein using the augmentation system to determine whether the at least one control-override criterion has been met comprises determining that the at least one control-override criterion has been met based on the control-override command.

15. The method of claim 10 , wherein using the augmentation system to store the map comprises using the augmentation system to generate the map.

16. The method of claim 10 , wherein using the augmentation system to store the map comprises receiving the map from a server in communication with the augmentation system.

17. The method of claim 10 , wherein using the augmentation system to determine the location is based on input received from at least one of a range sensor and an image sensor.

Assignees

• Clearpath Robotics Inc

Inventors

• Gariepy Ryan Christopher
• Dobson Andrew
• Tebbs Jesse
• Dam Robert
• Clayton Roydyn

Classifications

• B66F9/063 Primary

  Automatically guided · CPC title

• B66F9/0755

  Position control; Position detectors · CPC title

• G05D1/0238

  using obstacle or wall sensors (G05D1/0246 and G05D1/0289 take precedence; lidar systems designed for anti-collision purposes G01S17/93) · CPC title

• G05D2201/0216

  Physics · mapped topic

• G05D1/021

  specially adapted to land vehicles · CPC title