A navigation system for unmanned guided transport vehicles

Abstract

The present invention relates to an unmanned guided transport vehicle navigation system, which belongs to the field of visual navigation technology, and includes a multi-sensor fusion device, an inertial measurement unit, a controller, a power supply unit and a communication unit mounted on a vehicle-mounted terminal, and the controller communicates remotely with a port central control terminal through the communication unit; the controller is configured with an environment perception module, a map engine module, a vehicle positioning module, a path planning module and an interaction module; the environment perception module is configured to generate an obstacle list and a calibration object list; the map engine module is configured to search and store maps; the vehicle positioning module is configured to provide the location of the current position of the vehicle; the path planning module is configured to plan the path; and the interaction module is configured to complete the TOS operation task issued by the port central control terminal. The present invention has intelligent functions such as unmanned driving, automatic navigation, precise positioning, path optimization and safe obstacle avoidance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a navigation system for an unmanned guided transport vehicle, belonging to the technical field of visual navigation. Background Art

[0002] An unmanned guided vehicle refers to a vehicle that is equipped with automatic navigation devices such as electromagnetic, optical or satellite, can automatically travel along a specified navigation path, has safety protection and does not require manual operation.

[0003] Unmanned guided vehicles generally use batteries as their power, and the on-board central controller performs path navigation and motion control. There are many forms of navigation technologies used by unmanned guided vehicles on the market, such as coordinate navigation technology, electromagnetic navigation technology, magnetic tape navigation technology, optical navigation technology, laser navigation technology, etc., but these all have certain limitations, especially for more complex industrial sites.

[0004] Coordinate navigation technology is complex to install, requires a lot of work, has low guidance and positioning accuracy, and cannot meet the requirements of complex paths; the path of electromagnetic navigation technology is difficult to change and expand, and it has great limitations on complex paths; electromagnetic navigation technology is easily disturbed by metal materials around the loop, and the magnetic tape is easily damaged by machinery, so the reliability of navigation is greatly affected by the outside world; optical navigation technology is very sensitive to ribbon contamination and mechanical wear, has too high requirements for the environment, has poor navigation reliability, and low accuracy; laser navigation technology has high manufacturing costs, relatively harsh environmental requirements, and is not suitable for outdoor use.

[0005] The information disclosed in this background technology section is only intended to enhance the understanding of the overall background of the invention and should not be regarded as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that the information constitutes the prior art already known to ordinary technicians in this field. Summary of the invention

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies in the prior art and provide a navigation system for an unmanned guided vehicle to solve the problem of poor navigation reliability in the related art.

[0007] To solve the above problems, the present invention is implemented by adopting the following technical solutions:

[0008] The present invention provides an unmanned guided vehicle navigation system, comprising a multi-sensor fusion device, an inertial measurement unit, a controller, a power supply unit and a communication unit mounted on a vehicle-mounted terminal, wherein the controller communicates remotely with a port central control terminal through the communication unit;

[0009] The controller is configured with an environment perception module, a map engine module, a vehicle positioning module, a path planning module and an interaction module;

[0010] The environment perception module is configured to generate an obstacle list and a calibration object list using information collected by the multi-sensor fusion device;

[0011] The map engine module is configured to search for maps on a local server and the Internet and store them so that they can be called by the vehicle positioning module and the path planning module;

[0012] The vehicle positioning module is configured to compare the information collected by the multi-sensor fusion device with the map provided by the map engine module to determine the location of the vehicle's current position;

[0013] The path planning module is configured to plan a path according to the map provided by the map engine module, the vehicle positioning provided by the vehicle positioning module, and the obstacle list and calibration object list provided by the environment perception module;

[0014] The interaction module is configured to complete the TOS operation task in response to receiving the TOS operation task issued by the port central control terminal, using the information obtained by the environment perception module, the map engine module, the vehicle positioning module and the path planning module.

[0015] Furthermore, the multi-sensor fusion device includes a high-definition camera, a millimeter-wave radar, a laser radar, and a differential Beidou positioning antenna;

[0016] The high-definition camera is used to monitor the surrounding environment around the vehicle body and can be used to identify lane lines and traffic signs or other functions;

[0017] The millimeter wave radar is used to detect close-range obstacles;

[0018] The laser radar is used to measure the distance of obstacles outside the vehicle;

[0019] The differential Beidou positioning antenna is used to provide the coordinates of the vehicle's current position.

[0020] Furthermore, the inertial measurement unit is used to provide vehicle motion state changes.

[0021] Furthermore, the interaction module is also configured to perform security monitoring on vehicle information, wherein the vehicle information includes information provided by a multi-sensor fusion device and a vehicle motion state provided by an inertial measurement unit.

[0022] Furthermore, the communication unit is used to receive the TOS operation tasks issued by the port central control terminal, and transmit the vehicle safety information monitored by the interaction module back to the port central control terminal.

[0023] Furthermore, the power supply unit is used to provide working power for the controller.

[0024] Furthermore, the obstacle list characterizes the positions, speeds and types of all targets in the local scene that affect autonomous driving; and the calibration object list gives representative objects or areas in the local scene.

[0025] Furthermore, the environment perception module, map engine module, vehicle positioning module, path planning module and interaction module are all implemented in ROS, and ROS manages the execution of each functional module and the message transmission between each functional module.

[0026] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0027] The present invention can realize remote status monitoring, operation control and management, and has intelligent functions such as unmanned driving, automatic navigation, precise positioning, path optimization and safe obstacle avoidance, which can ensure the automatic driving of the vehicle in all-weather conditions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] Figure 1 1 is a diagram showing the composition of the unmanned guided vehicle navigation system provided in this embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments are only used to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, and cannot be used to limit the protection scope of the present invention.

[0030] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside" and the like indicate positions or positional relationships based on the positions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second", etc. are only used for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, features defined as "first", "second", etc. may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" means two or more.

[0031] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood by specific circumstances.

[0032] like Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment provides an unmanned guided vehicle navigation system, which is applied to a port container transport vehicle. The vehicle-mounted end of the transport vehicle is equipped with a multi-sensor fusion device, an inertial measurement unit, a controller, a power supply unit and a communication unit. The controller communicates remotely with the port central control end through the communication unit.

[0033] Specifically, the power supply unit is used to provide working power for the controller, and the controller is configured with an environment perception module, a map engine module, a vehicle positioning module, a path planning module and an interaction module.

[0034] In this embodiment, the environment perception module is configured to generate an obstacle list and a calibration object list using information collected by a multi-sensor fusion device.

[0035] The multi-sensor fusion device includes a high-definition camera, a millimeter-wave radar, a laser radar and a differential Beidou positioning antenna. The high-definition camera is used to monitor the surrounding environment around the vehicle body, and can be used to identify lane lines and traffic signs or other functions; the millimeter-wave radar is used to detect close-range obstacles; the laser radar is used to measure the distance to obstacles outside the vehicle; and the differential Beidou positioning antenna is used to provide the coordinates of the vehicle's current position.

[0036] The multi-sensor fusion device has multi-sensor perception fusion capability, the sensor meets the field of view angle of 360°, the perception distance is not less than 150m, and the horizontal perception resolution is not less than 0.1°.

[0037] Specifically, the environmental perception module includes a perception unit and an analysis unit. The perception unit is used to collect information extracted by a multi-sensor fusion device and send the extracted information to the analysis unit. The analysis unit generates an obstacle list and a calibration object list based on the analysis of images, point clouds and target lists, wherein: the obstacle list characterizes the position, speed and type of all targets in the local scene that affect autonomous driving; the calibration object list gives representative objects or areas in the local scene, such as lane lines, ground arrows, guardrails, curbs and reflective devices.

[0038] In response to the needs of port scenarios, this embodiment designs dedicated convolutional neural networks (CNN) and recursive neural networks (RNN), combined with traditional computer vision technologies: image and point cloud segmentation, camera and laser coordinate system mapping, KCF tracking, ICP and RANSAC to complete the extraction of port visual positioning elements, visual detection of obstacles, laser detection of obstacles, and extraction of port laser positioning elements.

[0039] In this embodiment, the map engine module is configured to search for maps on a local server and the Internet and store them so that they can be called by the vehicle positioning module and the path planning module.

[0040] Specifically, the map engine module includes a search unit, a storage unit and an output unit. The storage unit is used to store maps in a local server, the search unit is used to search for maps on the local server and the Internet and store the maps searched on the Internet in the storage unit, and the output unit is used to send the maps searched by the search unit to other modules.

[0041] In this embodiment, the vehicle positioning module is configured to compare the information collected by the multi-sensor fusion device with the map provided by the map engine module to determine the location of the vehicle's current position.

[0042] Specifically, the positioning module includes a collection unit and an analysis unit. The collection unit is used to collect the environment near the vehicle provided by a multi-sensor fusion device and send the collected information to the analysis unit. The analysis unit compares the collected information with the features in the map provided by the map engine module to obtain the coordinate positioning data of the current vehicle.

[0043] In this embodiment, the path planning module is configured to plan a path according to the map provided by the map engine module, the vehicle positioning provided by the vehicle positioning module, and the obstacle list and calibration object list provided by the environment perception module.

[0044] Specifically, the path planning module includes a receiving unit and a planning unit. The receiving unit is used to receive the map sent by the map engine module, the obstacle list information and the calibration object list information provided by the environment perception module, and the vehicle positioning provided by the vehicle positioning module, and send the received information to the planning unit. The planning unit performs route planning based on traffic control and the obstacle list and the calibration object list to avoid route blockage.

[0045] Specifically, the path planning module needs to consider various strategies such as traffic and control. The traffic strategy comes from the map, vehicle parameter requirements and user needs; the global strategy comes from planning requirements; and the local strategy comes from obstacle avoidance and parking requirements.

[0046] In this embodiment, the interaction module is configured to complete the TOS operation task in response to receiving the TOS operation task issued by the port central control terminal, using the information obtained by the environment perception module, the map engine module, the vehicle positioning module and the path planning module.

[0047] In this embodiment, the inertial measurement unit is used to provide vehicle motion state changes so that the interactive module can monitor and diagnose, and the vehicle motion state includes vehicle speed, motion direction, acceleration, and acceleration direction.

[0048] In this embodiment, the interaction module is further configured to perform security monitoring on vehicle information, wherein the vehicle information includes information provided by a multi-sensor fusion device and a vehicle motion state provided by an inertial measurement unit.

[0049] Specifically, the interactive module can display data and video in real time on the vehicle-mounted terminal, and the vehicle information can be safely monitored through the interactive module to ensure that the vehicle can be guided to a safe side in a timely manner when an abnormality occurs in the vehicle status.

[0050] In this embodiment, the communication unit is used to receive the TOS operation task issued by the port central control terminal, and transmit the vehicle safety information monitored by the interaction module back to the port central control terminal.

[0051] In this embodiment, the environment perception module, map engine module, vehicle positioning module, path planning module and interaction module are all implemented in ROS, and ROS manages the execution of each functional module and the message transmission between each functional module.

[0052] The unmanned guided vehicle navigation system provided in this embodiment can be connected to the terminal operating system to realize remote status monitoring, operation control and management, and has intelligent functions such as unmanned driving, automatic navigation, precise positioning, path optimization, and safe obstacle avoidance.

[0053] The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this technical field, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the technical principles of the present invention. These improvements and modifications should also be regarded as the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An unmanned guided vehicle navigation system, characterized in that: It includes a multi-sensor fusion device, an inertial measurement unit, a controller, a power supply unit and a communication unit mounted on the vehicle end, and the controller communicates remotely with the port central control end through the communication unit; The controller is configured with an environment perception module, a map engine module, a vehicle positioning module, a path planning module and an interaction module; The environment perception module is configured to generate an obstacle list and a calibration object list using information collected by the multi-sensor fusion device; The map engine module is configured to search for maps on a local server and the Internet and store them so that they can be called by the vehicle positioning module and the path planning module; The vehicle positioning module is configured to compare the information collected by the multi-sensor fusion device with the map provided by the map engine module to determine the location of the vehicle's current position; The path planning module is configured to plan a path according to the map provided by the map engine module, the vehicle positioning provided by the vehicle positioning module, and the obstacle list and calibration object list provided by the environment perception module; The interaction module is configured to complete the TOS operation task in response to receiving the TOS operation task issued by the port central control terminal, using the information obtained by the environment perception module, the map engine module, the vehicle positioning module and the path planning module; The multi-sensor fusion equipment includes a high-definition camera, a millimeter-wave radar, a laser radar and a differential Beidou positioning antenna; The high-definition camera is used to monitor the surrounding environment around the vehicle body and can be used to identify lane lines and traffic signs or other functions; The millimeter wave radar is used to detect close-range obstacles; The laser radar is used to measure the distance of obstacles outside the vehicle; The differential Beidou positioning antenna is used to provide the coordinates of the current position of the vehicle; The inertial measurement unit is used to provide a change in the vehicle's motion state; The interaction module is further configured to perform security monitoring on vehicle information, wherein the vehicle information includes information provided by a multi-sensor fusion device and a vehicle motion state provided by an inertial measurement unit.

2. The unmanned guided vehicle navigation system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The communication unit is used to receive the TOS operation tasks issued by the port central control terminal, and transmit the vehicle safety information monitored by the interaction module back to the port central control terminal.

3. The unmanned guided vehicle navigation system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The power supply unit is used to provide working power for the controller.

4. The unmanned guided vehicle navigation system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The obstacle list represents the position, speed and type of all targets in the local scene that affect autonomous driving; the calibration object list gives representative objects or areas in the local scene.

5. The unmanned guided vehicle navigation system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The environment perception module, map engine module, vehicle positioning module, path planning module and interaction module are all implemented in ROS, and ROS manages the execution of each functional module and the message transmission between each functional module.

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