Transport vehicle, method for robot to interact therewith, and system including the same

Abstract

Provided are a transport vehicle, a method for an intelligent mobile robot to interact with the transport vehicle, and a system comprising a plurality of the transport vehicles. The transport vehicle comprises a body and a supporting member mounted on and extending from the body, wherein one or more marks are formed on the body, at least some of the one or more marks are located above the supporting member, and at least one of the one or more marks each forms a code, the code being used to represent information related to the transport vehicle. Utilizing the solution of the present invention, transport vehicles can be detected and identified more easily and specifically, thereby avoiding or reducing accidents and safety hazards that may occur due to deficiencies in such detection and identification, and improving the efficiency and safety of interaction between interactive objects such as intelligent mobile robots and transport vehicles.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of transportation vehicles, and in particular to a transportation vehicle, a method for an intelligent mobile robot to interact with the transportation vehicle, a system comprising a plurality of the transportation vehicles, and corresponding computer equipment and computer-readable storage media. Background Art

[0002] In current smart warehousing applications, there are scenarios where intelligent mobile robots (e.g., logistics vehicles) and transportation vehicles (e.g., forklifts) coexist and even interact. However, intelligent mobile robots cannot effectively detect transportation vehicles, which may lead to accidents. For example, in the case of a forklift, due to the low height of the fork tines, the logistics vehicle's Lidar may not be able to detect the fork tines, resulting in a collision. In addition, there are difficulties in identifying existing transportation vehicles and detecting specific information, resulting in inefficient interaction between intelligent mobile robots and transportation vehicles, and even certain safety risks. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The present application aims to provide a solution to solve or at least alleviate at least some of the above problems.

[0004] Specifically, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transportation vehicle comprising:

[0005] ontology; and

[0006] A bearing component mounted on the body and extending from the body,

[0007] One or more marks are formed on the body, and at least some of the one or more marks are located above the supporting component.

[0008] At least one of the one or more marks each forms a code, and the code is used to represent information related to the transportation means.

[0009] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for an intelligent mobile robot to interact with the transportation vehicle of the first aspect, comprising the following steps performed by the intelligent mobile robot:

[0010] a detecting step, comprising: detecting the at least one marker to detect the transport vehicle and identify information related to the transport vehicle; and

[0011] The processing step includes: in response to detecting the transportation vehicle, performing an operation based on the identified information.

[0012] According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system comprising a plurality of transport vehicles, wherein each of the plurality of transport vehicles is a transport vehicle according to the first aspect.

[0013] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer device comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores computer instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the steps of the method of the second aspect to be performed.

[0014] According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, cause the steps included in the method of the second aspect to be performed.

[0015] According to the present invention, the vehicle body has at least one marking located above the load-bearing member, and the at least one marking is coded to represent information related to the vehicle. This allows detection of the vehicle and identification of information related to the vehicle by detecting the marking on the vehicle. This approach allows for easier and more specific detection and identification of vehicles, thereby avoiding or reducing accidents and safety hazards that could arise from deficiencies in detection and identification, and improving the efficiency and safety of interactions between objects, such as intelligent mobile robots, and vehicles. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present invention are described, by way of example, with reference to the following drawings, in which:

[0017] Figure 1 is a diagram schematically showing a forklift according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 2 is a flow chart schematically illustrating a method for interaction between an intelligent mobile robot and a transportation vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

[0019] Figure 3 It is schematically shown Figure 2 Flowchart of the processing steps involved in the method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] In order to make the above and other features and advantages of the present invention more clear, the present invention is further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific embodiments given herein are for the purpose of explaining to those skilled in the art and are only exemplary and not restrictive.

[0021] In the following description, many specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that it is not necessary to adopt the specific details to practice the present invention. In other cases, well-known steps or operations are not described in detail to avoid obscuring the present invention.

[0022] The "vehicle" mentioned in the present invention should be broadly understood to encompass vehicles with carrying capacity used in a variety of environments, including, for example, but not limited to, various vehicles suitable for use in the warehousing and logistics industries to perform tasks such as material transportation, handling, loading and unloading, such as forklifts and other types of logistics vehicles. A vehicle generally has a body such as a vehicle body and a load-bearing component such as the tines of a forklift mounted on the body and extending from the body, and may optionally have other components. The load-bearing component is generally mounted on one face of the vehicle and extends from the face. For convenience, in this document, the face of the vehicle body on which the load-bearing component is mounted is referred to as the front face or front, the face of the body opposite to the front face is referred to as the back face or back face, and the two faces of the body adjacent to the front face are referred to as the left face or right face, respectively. Specifically, with respect to the extension direction of the load-bearing component extending from the front face, the face adjacent to the front face on the left side is referred to as the left face or left side face, and the face adjacent to the front face on the right side of the front face is referred to as the right face or right side face. Herein, the "surface" of a vehicle or its body may refer to all surfaces of the vehicle or its body except the top and bottom surfaces in a normal or conventional state in which the vehicle is usually located when the vehicle is in normal use or not in use.

[0023] The "intelligent mobile robot" referred to in this disclosure may also be referred to as an "intelligent robot," "robot," and "automated guided vehicle." The term "intelligent mobile robot" should be broadly understood to encompass autonomous, self-driving vehicles used in a variety of environments, including but not limited to mobile robots such as self-navigating mobile robots, inertial navigation robots, remotely controlled mobile robots, and / or robots guided by laser targeting, vision systems, and / or road signs. The robot in this disclosure may also be considered a type of self-driving vehicle.

[0024] In one embodiment, the mark is formed on one face of the transport vehicle, preferably on the front face thereof. In other embodiments, the mark is formed on multiple faces of the transport vehicle, such as multiple of the front, left, right and rear faces, preferably on each of the four faces of the transport vehicle. When the front face of the transport vehicle has a mark, it is advantageous for the mark to be located above the load-bearing members; when other faces of the transport vehicle, such as the left, right and / or rear face, have a mark, the mark may be located above the load-bearing members or below the load-bearing members. In one embodiment, the transport vehicle has marks on multiple faces, all of which are located above the load-bearing members and at the same height. One face of the transport vehicle may have one or more marks.

[0025] In one embodiment, at least some of the markings on the vehicle body are located above the load-bearing components, and at least one of the markings each forms a code, which is used to represent information related to the vehicle. The information related to the vehicle may include, for example, but not limited to: identity information for identifying the identity of the vehicle; surface information for identifying each of at least one surface of the vehicle body. Here, the identity information of the vehicle should be broadly understood to encompass various information that may be related to the identity of the vehicle, including, for example, but not limited to: information that can uniquely identify the vehicle such as the vehicle number, ID, etc.; other possible identity-related information of the vehicle, such as the model, manufacturer, etc. of the vehicle. Possibly, the identity information of the vehicle may refer to any information of the vehicle that is intended or suitable for an object (such as an intelligent mobile robot) to interact with the vehicle and can determine whether the vehicle is the target object it wants to interact with. The information it refers to and encompasses depends on the specific situation. For example, in one embodiment, the intelligent mobile robot is configured to dock with a forklift of a specific model, regardless of the forklift's serial number or other characteristics. In this case, the forklift's identity information includes the forklift's model, and the intelligent mobile robot can determine that the forklift is its target docking partner upon recognizing the specific model. For another example, in another embodiment, the intelligent mobile robot is configured to dock with a forklift of a specific serial number. In this case, the forklift's identity information includes the forklift's serial number, and the intelligent mobile robot can determine that the forklift is its target docking partner only upon recognizing the specific serial number.

[0026] In one embodiment, the information related to the vehicle that can be represented by the code formed by the mark includes one or more information items selected from at least one information item associated with the vehicle. Here, "information item" can be any information item indicating some aspect of the vehicle, including, for example, but not limited to, identity information items representing identity information such as the vehicle ID, number, etc., the vehicle model, the vehicle manufacturer, etc.

[0027] The markings on different faces of a vehicle body may be the same or at least partially different, depending on the specific situation. In one embodiment, a vehicle has a plurality of markings (e.g., four markings) formed on a plurality of faces (e.g., four faces) thereof, each of the plurality of markings comprising a front marking portion and a rear marking portion, the front marking portion of each marking being the same and forming an information item code indicating the number and / or model of the vehicle, and the rear marking portion of each marking being different and forming a face code indicating the face on which the marking is located.

[0028] Each mark can be formed by, for example, but not limited to, one of the following, or any suitable combination thereof: a reflective strip for Lidar, a QR code, a barcode, or a v-marker. The code formed by each mark can be in various possible forms, including, for example, but not limited to, one of the following information representations, such as binary code, numbers, and text, or any suitable combination thereof. For example, when the mark is formed by a reflective strip for Lidar, a reflective strip of appropriate width can be used to represent the binary code. In one embodiment, when the width of a reflective strip is within a first width range, for example, greater than the first width, the reflective strip represents a binary "1." When the width of a reflective strip is within a second width range different from the first width range, for example, less than the first width, the reflective strip represents a binary "0." Thus, multiple reflective strips of appropriate width can form a mark representing the desired binary code. When the mark is formed by a QR code, the code formed by the mark can be, as needed, one of the information that a QR code can represent, such as binary information, numbers, text, etc., or any suitable combination thereof. In the case where the mark is formed by a barcode, the mark can be formed by setting the "bars" and "spaces" of different reflectivity included in the barcode in accordance with certain coding rules to represent the required coded information (for example, numbers). In the case where the mark is formed by a v-marker, a mark representing the required coded information (for example, binary information) can be formed by setting v-markers arranged in a certain way according to suitable coding rules. For example, a v-marker can be a v-groove recessed on the surface of a transport vehicle. Depending on the situation, the size, number and / or relative position relationship of the v-grooves forming the mark can be used to form the required coded information. Compared to reflective strips, v-markers can be more conducive to detection and positioning by Lidar.

[0029] In one embodiment where the marking forms a binary code, "1" and "0" in the binary system are represented by the presence or absence of a specific marking object (e.g., a reflective strip) within a fixed area or at fixed intervals. For example, any surface of the vehicle on which the marking is to be formed is divided into four equal-width transverse sections, each of which represents one of the four binary digits. For each transverse section, if there is a reflective strip within the area of ​​the transverse section, the transverse section represents a "1" in the binary system; if there is no reflective strip within the area of ​​the transverse section, the transverse section represents a "0" in the binary system.

[0030] Vehicle of the present invention can be used for forming the system of vehicle.In one embodiment, this system comprises a plurality of vehicle of the present invention, and each vehicle has four marks that are formed respectively on its four faces.For each vehicle, four marks thereon have identical rear mark portion and mutually different front mark portion, and this identical rear mark portion forms the information item coding of the numbering and model of expression this vehicle, and the front mark portion of each mark forms the face coding of the face of this vehicle of expression this mark place.In the case, the different vehicles in this system can have different numberings, and have identical or different models.For any two vehicles in this system, the mark portion (that is, the front mark portion) that forms the corresponding face coding of the mark on its arbitrary identical face (as the front, back, left or right) can be identical, the mark portion (that is, the rear mark portion) that forms the corresponding information item coding of the mark on its arbitrary identical face (as the front, back, left or right) may be partly different (representing different numberings and representing identical model, if these two vehicles have identical model) or completely different (representing different numberings and representing different models, if these two vehicles have different models).

[0031] In the case of binary encoding, the number of bits included in the binary encoding can be determined as needed. For example, in the case of binary encoding, the face encoding can include a two-bit binary code. For information item encoding, the number of bits included can depend on the number of information items to be represented by the information item encoding and the number of bits required to represent each information item. For example, the number of bits required to represent the vehicle serial number can be determined by the maximum possible serial number. In the case of a vehicle system, this maximum possible serial number can be or be based on the number of vehicles included in the system. For another example, the number of bits required to represent the model of the vehicle can be determined by the number of possible models.

[0032] The following further describes the transportation tool of the present invention by taking a forklift as an example. It should be noted that the features and details described below with respect to the forklift can also be applied to other types of transportation tools.

[0033] Figure 1 A forklift 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention is schematically illustrated. The forklift 100 includes a body 101 and tines 102. The body 101 can also be referred to as the "body," and the tines 102 are a specific form of the load-bearing component of the transport vehicle of the present invention. The body 101 has four sides: a front side (or front), a rear side (or back), a left side, and a right side. Figure 1In the figure, the face of the body 101 on which the tines 102 are located is referred to as the front face, the face of the body 101 opposite the front face is referred to as the rear face, the face of the body 101 adjacent to the front face that is visible in the figure is referred to as the left face, and the face of the body 101 adjacent to the front face that is not visible in the figure is referred to as the right face. The tines 102 are mounted on the front face of the body 101 and extend from the front face of the body 101. A marking 103 is formed on the front face of the body 101. The marking 103 is located above the tines 102 and includes a plurality of spaced apart components for forming a code representing information related to the forklift 100.

[0034] In one embodiment, a single forklift has four markings formed on its front, rear, left, and right sides, respectively. These four markings have identical front marking portions and mutually different rear marking portions. The identical front marking portions form an information item encoding the model of the forklift, and the rear marking portions of each marking form a surface code indicating the surface of the forklift on which the marking is located. In this case, for forklifts A and B of a first model, forklift C of a second model, and forklift D of a third model, the codes formed by the markings on their respective surfaces can be shown in Table 1 below.

[0035] Table 1

[0036] front later left right Forklift A 0000 0001 0010 0011 Forklift B 0000 0001 0010 0011 Forklift C 0100 0101 0110 0111 Forklift D 1000 1001 1010 1011

[0037] As shown in Table 1, for the same forklift, 00, 01, 10 and 11 are used to represent the front, rear, left and right sides of the forklift respectively, and this part of the code is formed by the second half of the mark on the corresponding side; 00, 01 or 10 is used to represent the model of the forklift, and this part of the code is formed by the first half of the mark on each side of the corresponding forklift.

[0038] In another embodiment, a single forklift has four markings formed on its front, rear, left, and right sides, respectively. These four markings have identical front marking portions and different rear marking portions. The identical front marking portions form an information item code representing the forklift's serial number, while the rear marking portions of each marking form a surface code representing the surface of the forklift on which the marking is located. In this case, for forklifts A, B, C, and D, the codes formed by the markings on their respective surfaces can be shown in Table 2 below.

[0039] Table 2

[0040] front later left right Forklift A 0000 0001 0010 0011 Forklift B 0100 0101 0110 0111 Forklift C 1000 1001 1010 1011 Forklift D 1100 1101 1110 1111

[0041] As shown in Table 2, for the same forklift, 00, 01, 10 and 11 are used to represent the front, rear, left and right sides of the forklift respectively, and this part of the code is formed by the second half of the mark on the corresponding side; 00, 01, 10 or 11 is used to represent the code of the forklift, and this part of the code is formed by the first half of the mark on each side of the corresponding forklift.

[0042] The forklift A, forklift B, forklift C and forklift D mentioned above may form a forklift system or a part thereof.

[0043] Figure 2 The method 200 for interaction between an intelligent mobile robot and a transportation vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention is schematically shown. The method 200 includes a detection step S202 and a processing step S204.

[0044] In the detection step S202, the intelligent mobile robot may detect markings on the transport vehicle to detect the transport vehicle and identify information related to the transport vehicle. The markings detected by the intelligent mobile robot may include at least a portion of the markings on the transport vehicle, such as one or more markings located above the transport vehicle's load-bearing components, or at least one marking forming a code on the transport vehicle. If necessary, the intelligent mobile robot may move relative to the transport vehicle to perform detection from different angles, thereby achieving more comprehensive detection and information identification.

[0045] In processing step S204 , in response to detecting the transportation vehicle, the intelligent mobile robot may perform an operation based on the identified information.

[0046] The operation performed in processing step S204 may include one of a plurality of possible operations. These possible operations may be various operations that the intelligent mobile robot may perform depending on the situation during interaction with a transportation vehicle or to achieve an interaction purpose, such as docking. The possible operations may be pre-set and may include, for example, but not limited to, docking operations and obstacle avoidance operations.

[0047] The intelligent mobile robot can be equipped with various devices / equipment required for it to interact with the means of transport to achieve interaction purposes such as docking and detection for interaction, including, for example, but not limited to: devices / equipment required to perform docking operations, such as jacking devices, upper loading platforms, docking devices, etc.; devices / equipment required to perform navigation and movement, such as movable chassis, visual sensors, motion sensors, etc.; Lidars such as reflective strips and / or v-markers for identifying marks; cameras or scanners for identifying QR codes and / or bar codes for forming marks.

[0048] When performing docking or obstacle avoidance operations, the intelligent mobile robot may consider available information to operate and move appropriately, such as planning and following an appropriate docking route or obstacle avoidance route. This available information may include information related to or corresponding to the detected marker or the code it represents, as well as other information that the intelligent mobile robot may obtain in various ways (e.g., through sensors such as visual sensors), such as the location information of a forklift.

[0049] In one embodiment, the information related to the transportation tool detected in the detection step S202 includes identity information for identifying the identity of the transportation tool, and the operation performed in the processing step S204 includes a docking operation or an obstacle avoidance operation. In this case, the processing step S204 may include step S2042 and an optional step S2044, such as Figure 3 shown.

[0050] In step S2042, the intelligent mobile robot determines whether the transport vehicle is its target docking object based on the identified identity information; if the judgment result is affirmative, the intelligent mobile robot determines that the operation to be performed is a docking operation with the transport vehicle; if the judgment result is negative, the intelligent mobile robot determines that the operation to be performed is an obstacle avoidance operation to avoid the transport vehicle.

[0051] In step S2044, the intelligent mobile robot determines the type of the transport, the size of the transport and / or the size of the load-bearing component based on the identified identity information, and performs the determined operation to be performed accordingly. Specifically, in the case where the operation to be performed is a docking operation, the intelligent mobile robot performs the docking operation at least in part based on the type of the transport, the size of the transport and / or the size of the load-bearing component; in the case where the operation to be performed is an obstacle avoidance operation, the intelligent mobile robot performs the obstacle avoidance operation at least in part based on the type of the transport, the size of the transport and / or the size of the load-bearing component. Here, it should be noted that it is possible to determine further relevant information of the transport, such as its type, its size, the size of its load-bearing component, etc., from the identity information of the transport.

[0052] In another embodiment, in addition to the identity information for identifying the identity of the transport vehicle, the information related to the transport vehicle detected in the detection step S202 also includes surface information for identifying each of at least one surface of the body of the transport vehicle. In this case, in addition to the above-mentioned steps S2042 and S2044, the processing step S204 may also optionally include the following steps: the intelligent mobile robot determines the orientation of the transport vehicle, the posture of the transport vehicle and / or the orientation of the supporting component based on the surface information, and performs the determined operation to be performed accordingly. Specifically, in the case where the operation to be performed is a docking operation, the intelligent mobile robot performs the docking operation at least in part based on the orientation of the transport vehicle, the posture of the transport vehicle and / or the orientation of the supporting component; in the case where the operation to be performed is an obstacle avoidance operation, the intelligent mobile robot performs the obstacle avoidance operation at least in part based on the orientation of the transport vehicle, the posture of the transport vehicle and / or the orientation of the supporting component. In one embodiment, the position and posture of a vehicle can be defined by the xy coordinates of the vehicle in a rectangular coordinate system with the intelligent mobile robot as the origin, and the angle between the plane of a surface on which its surface information is detected and the x-axis and / or y-axis in this coordinate system. It should be noted that it is possible to determine information about the position and orientation of a vehicle, such as its direction, its position, and the direction of its supporting components, from the surface information of one or more surfaces of the vehicle. Such determination can be achieved in various possible ways, including using various means known in the prior art. If necessary, other available information can be considered when making this determination, such as, but not limited to, the position information of the vehicle relative to the intelligent mobile robot, the angle information of the plane on which the surface information of the surface is detected relative to the intelligent mobile robot, the physical dimensions of a marker representing surface information, such as a reflective strip, and the position of the marker representing surface information on the corresponding surface. As examples, CN110414650A and CN110824494A describe relevant content in this regard.

[0053] For example, in an embodiment involving a forklift, the intelligent mobile robot detects the code formed by the relevant mark on the forklift by detecting the mark, including the identity information of the forklift (such as the model or number of the forklift). If the intelligent mobile robot determines that the model or number of the forklift is consistent with the model or number of the target docking forklift, it can be determined that the forklift is its target docking forklift, thereby determining to perform a docking operation, and then a docking route can be planned, and the planned docking route can be followed to travel to the docking position with the forklift, and a docking operation can be performed to dock with the forklift. If the intelligent mobile robot determines that the model or number of the forklift is inconsistent with the model or number of the target docking forklift, it can be determined that the forklift is not its target docking forklift, thereby determining to perform an obstacle avoidance operation, and then an obstacle avoidance route can be planned, and the planned obstacle avoidance route can be followed to perform an obstacle avoidance operation to avoid the forklift.

[0054] When planning a docking route or an obstacle avoidance route, the intelligent mobile robot can take into account some available information. For example, based on the identity information of the detected forklift (such as the model or number), the intelligent mobile robot can determine further information about the forklift, especially information that can be relied upon or considered when performing the operation to be performed, such as the docking operation or the obstacle avoidance operation, such as the specific type and size of the forklift, the size of the forklift's tines and / or the range or area occupied by the forklift, etc., and then consider this information, for example, based on this information to plan a docking route or an obstacle avoidance route. For another example, based on the surface information of the detected forklift, the intelligent mobile robot can determine information about the position and orientation of the forklift, such as the direction, posture and / or direction of the forklift's tines, etc., and then consider this information, for example, based on this information to plan a docking route or an obstacle avoidance route. In addition, if necessary, the position of the tines can be determined, and the docking route or the obstacle avoidance route can be planned based on this. For example, when the intelligent mobile robot detects the surface information of the surface on which the fork tines are located, the intelligent mobile robot can combine other available information such as the position information of the forklift relative to the surface, the angle information of the plane on which the surface is located relative to the intelligent mobile robot, etc. to determine the orientation of the forklift and its fork tines. For another example, when the intelligent mobile robot detects the surface information of two adjacent surfaces of the same forklift, the intelligent mobile robot can determine the orientation of the forklift and its fork tines based on this information by combining relevant available information such as the angle information of the plane on which each of the two surfaces is located relative to the intelligent mobile robot. In one embodiment, the position and posture of the forklift can be defined by the xy coordinates of the forklift in a plane rectangular coordinate system with the intelligent mobile robot as the origin and the angle between the plane on which the surface information is detected and the x-axis and / or y-axis in the coordinate system. For example, when the markings on one or more surfaces are formed by reflective strips, the intelligent mobile robot can calculate the position and posture of the forklift by the propagation distance of each cluster of laser beams returned from the reflective strips forming the markings and the angle information when the laser beams are emitted. For example, the specific position of the fork tines may be determined based on the orientation, posture, or orientation of the fork tines of the forklift, combined with the position information of the forklift and the installation position of the fork tines on the forklift.

[0055] In one embodiment, a computer device is provided, comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores computer instructions executable by the processor, and wherein the computer instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the steps of the method of the present invention to be performed. The computer device can be broadly defined as a server, a terminal, or any other electronic device having the necessary computing and / or processing capabilities. In one embodiment, the computer device can include a processor, a memory, a network interface, a communication interface, etc. connected via a system bus. The processor of the computer device can be used to provide the necessary computing, processing, and / or control capabilities. The memory of the computer device can include a non-volatile storage medium and an internal memory. An operating system, a computer program, etc. can be stored in or on the non-volatile storage medium. The internal memory can provide an environment for the operation of the operating system and the computer program in the non-volatile storage medium. The network interface and the communication interface of the computer device can be used to connect to and communicate with external devices via a network. When the computer program is executed by the processor, the steps of the method of the present invention are performed.

[0056] The present invention can be implemented as a computer-readable storage medium having computer instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, cause the steps of the method of the present invention to be performed. In one embodiment, the computer instructions are distributed across a plurality of computer devices or processors coupled to a network so that the computer instructions are stored, accessed, and executed in a distributed manner by one or more computer devices or processors. A single method step / operation, or two or more method steps / operations, can be performed by a single computer device or processor or by two or more computer devices or processors. One or more method steps / operations can be performed by one or more computer devices or processors, and one or more other method steps / operations can be performed by one or more other computer devices or processors. One or more computer devices or processors can perform a single method step / operation, or perform two or more method steps / operations.

[0057] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that all or part of the steps of the method of the present invention may be performed by computer instructions to instruct relevant hardware such as a computer device or a processor, and the computer instructions may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, which causes the steps of the method of the present invention to be performed when the computer instructions are executed. Depending on the circumstances, any reference to memory, storage, database or other media herein may include non-volatile and / or volatile memory. Examples of non-volatile memory include read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, magnetic tape, floppy disk, magneto-optical data storage device, optical data storage device, hard disk, solid-state disk, etc. Examples of volatile memory include random access memory (RAM), external cache memory, etc.

[0058] The various technical features described above can be combined arbitrarily. Although not all possible combinations of these technical features are described, any combination of these technical features should be considered to be covered by this specification as long as such combination does not conflict.

[0059] Although the present invention has been described in conjunction with the embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the above description and the accompanying drawings are only exemplary and non-restrictive, and the present invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. A means of transport, comprising: ontology; as well as A bearing component mounted on the body and extending from the body, One or more marks are formed on the body, and at least some of the one or more marks are located above the supporting component. At least one of the one or more marks each forms a code, the code being used to represent information related to the transport vehicle; the information related to the transport vehicle comprising: identity information for identifying the identity of the transport vehicle; and surface information for identifying each of at least one surface of the body; The at least one marker includes a reflective strip for Lidar and / or a v-marker, and the reflective strip for Lidar and / or the v-marker form a binary code for detection and information identification.

2. The transportation vehicle according to claim 1, wherein: Each of the at least one marking has a common marking portion, the common marking portion forming an information item encoding representing one or more information items selected from at least one information item associated with the means of transport, the at least one information item including identity information for identifying the means of transport, wherein for each of the at least one marking, the common marking portion is at least a portion of the marking.

3. The transportation vehicle according to claim 2, wherein: The at least one information item includes the model of the transport vehicle and / or the serial number of the transport vehicle.

4. The transportation vehicle according to claim 1, wherein: The at least one mark includes a first mark formed on the first surface of the body, at least a portion of the first mark forms a surface code indicating the first surface where the first mark is located, and the surface code is used to identify the first surface, wherein the supporting component is installed on the first surface and extends from the first surface.

5. The transportation vehicle according to claim 1, wherein: The at least one mark includes at least two marks respectively formed on different surfaces of the body, and the at least two marks are at least partially different from each other. The different parts of the at least two marks each form a surface code representing the surface where the corresponding mark of the at least two marks is located, and each surface code is used to identify the corresponding surface.

6. The transportation vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The at least one mark further includes at least one of the following: a QR code, a barcode.

7. The transport vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which is a forklift, wherein: The main body is the body of the forklift, and the bearing component is the fork tine of the forklift.

8. A method for an intelligent mobile robot to interact with a transportation vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising the following steps performed by the intelligent mobile robot: The detection steps include: detecting the at least one marker to detect the transport vehicle and identify information associated with the transport vehicle; as well as The processing step includes: in response to detecting the transportation vehicle, performing an operation based on the identified information.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein The operation includes a docking operation or an obstacle avoidance operation, wherein The information related to the transportation means includes identity information for identifying the identity of the transportation means, and the processing steps include: Determine whether the transport vehicle is the target docking object of the intelligent mobile robot based on the identity information; if the determination result is positive, perform a docking operation to dock with the transport vehicle; if the determination result is negative, perform an obstacle avoidance operation to avoid the transport vehicle, and / or determining the type of the transport vehicle, the size of the transport vehicle, and / or the size of the load-bearing component based on the identity information; performing the docking operation based on the type of the transport vehicle, the size of the transport vehicle, and / or the size of the load-bearing component; and performing the obstacle avoidance operation based on the type of the transport vehicle, the size of the transport vehicle, and / or the size of the load-bearing component; and / or, The information related to the transportation means includes surface information for identifying each of at least one surface of the body, and the processing step includes: The orientation of the transport vehicle, the posture of the transport vehicle and / or the orientation of the carrying component are determined based on the surface information; when performing a docking operation, the docking operation is performed based on the orientation of the transport vehicle, the posture of the transport vehicle and / or the orientation of the carrying component; when performing an obstacle avoidance operation, the obstacle avoidance operation is performed based on the orientation of the transport vehicle, the posture of the transport vehicle and / or the orientation of the carrying component.

10. A system comprising a plurality of transport vehicles, wherein: Each of the plurality of transport vehicles is a transport vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein: Each of the plurality of transport vehicles has a different number, and / or the plurality of transport vehicles include transport vehicles of the same model or multiple different models.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein Each of the plurality of transport vehicles is a transport vehicle according to claim 2 or 3, and for each of the plurality of transport vehicles, the information item thereon is encoded in a binary code, the number of bits of the binary code being dependent on the one or more information items represented by the information item encoding, or Each of the plurality of transport vehicles is a transport vehicle according to claim 4 or 5, and for each of the plurality of transport vehicles, the surface code thereon is a 2-bit binary code.

13. A computer device comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory has computer instructions stored thereon, and when the computer instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the method according to claim 8 or 9 are performed.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, cause the steps of the method according to claim 8 or 9 to be performed.

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