Vertical operation equipment position alignment method and system for port autonomous driving

Abstract

The present application discloses a method and system for aligning the position of a vertical operation device for port autonomous driving. The autonomous driving vehicle looks up a table according to the vertical operation device number to obtain the parameters required for position alignment with this vertical operation device by using lidar sensing; determines the timing of position alignment according to the position and speed information of the vertical operation device; adjusts the vehicle position according to the results of the geometric dimensions of the vertical operation device sensed by laser until the position alignment parameters are matched, and completes the position alignment with the vertical operation device. The present application can automatically complete the position alignment between the autonomous driving vehicle and the vertical operation device by using the GPS information provided by the GPS device installed on the vertical operation device, the geometric information of the vertical operation device, and the contour information of the vertical operation device sensed by the lidar of the autonomous driving vehicle, without being limited to the situation where the port cannot provide information such as the operation vehicle number, motion state, and vehicle guidance of the vertical operation device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the technical field of driverless automatic alignment, and particularly to a method and system for aligning the position of vertical operation equipment for port autonomous driving. Background Art

[0002] The main operation processes of port autonomous driving include the process of transferring containers from the yard to the yard, the process of loading containers from the yard to the ship, and the process of unloading containers from the ship to the yard.

[0003] The realization of the autonomous driving operation process mainly relies on autonomous driving vehicles and vertical operation equipment. The autonomous driving vehicle travels to the target position according to the operation task instruction, and then interacts with the vertical operation equipment to complete the movement of containers from the vehicle to the yard or the ship, and from the yard or the ship to the vehicle.

[0004] When the vertical operation equipment interacts with the vehicle to complete the container unloading operation, its spreader locks the container on the vehicle, raises, translates, lowers, and places it in the yard or on the ship; when completing the container loading operation, its spreader locks the container in the yard or on the ship, raises, translates, lowers, and places it on the vehicle (the yard refers to the area on the port land where containers are concentrated. The vertical operation equipment for moving containers between the vehicle and the yard usually refers to a rubber-tyred gantry crane or a rail-mounted gantry crane; the vertical operation equipment for moving containers between the vehicle and the ship waiting at the berth for loading and unloading containers is usually called a quay crane).

[0005] Before the autonomous driving vehicle interacts with the vertical operation equipment, the autonomous driving vehicle needs to align its position with the vertical operation equipment to ensure that the spreader of the vertical operation equipment can accurately load or unload the container from the autonomous driving vehicle.

[0006] Usually, the port provides information such as the interaction vehicle number, motion state, vehicle guidance state, and vehicle guidance distance of the vertical operation equipment to the autonomous driving vehicle. The autonomous driving vehicle matches with the vertical operation equipment according to the operation vehicle number; determines the vehicle position alignment timing according to the motion state and vehicle guidance state of the vertical operation equipment; adjusts the position back and forth according to the vehicle guidance distance until the vehicle guidance distance is close to zero, then it is considered that the autonomous driving vehicle and the vertical operation equipment have completed the position alignment.

[0007] However, some terminals do not have the ability to provide information about the vertical operation equipment, resulting in the inability of the autonomous driving vehicle to align its position with the vertical operation equipment, and thus unable to complete the vertical interaction operation and the container operation process. Summary of the Invention

[0008] To solve the above technical problems, an embodiment of the present application provides a method and system for aligning the position of a vertical operation device for port autonomous driving, which can achieve autonomous alignment of the position of an autonomous driving vehicle and a vertical operation device without directly relying on the information provided by the vertical operation device.

[0009] In a first aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a method for aligning the position of a vertical operation device for port autonomous driving is provided, which may include:

[0010] S1: Obtain the GPS data of each vertical operation device, the relative installation position where the corresponding GPS hardware device is located, and the geometric dimensions of the vertical operation device, and construct a top view contour map and central coordinates of the vertical operation device based on the geometric dimensions of the vertical operation device; the outer shape of the top view of the vertical operation device is regarded as a rectangle;

[0011] S2: Obtain the reference moving speed of the vertical operation device in real time based on the GPS position change and the update time of the GPS data;

[0012] S3: Based on the vertical operation device information and the autonomous driving vehicle operation task information, select the information of the vertical operation device closest to the target position of the autonomous driving vehicle for driving and operation;

[0013] S4: After the autonomous driving vehicle reaches the target position, use the device number, reference moving speed pushed by the remote server, and its own laser sensing ability to align the position with the vertical operation device.

[0014] Further, the step S3 includes:

[0015] After the autonomous driving vehicle receives the dock operation task, obtain the target position coordinates in the operation task;

[0016] Send the specified target position to the selected vertical operation device and drive the vertical operation device to move to the target position coordinates.

[0017] Further, in the step S3:

[0018] After the vertical operation device moves to the target position coordinates, traverse the rectangular coordinates of the vertical operation device, and determine whether the target position coordinates are included in the rectangle through geometric calculation. When and only when the target position coordinates are included in the rectangle, push the number and reference moving speed of the current vertical operation device to the autonomous driving vehicle.

[0019] Further, the step S4 includes:

[0020] After driving the autonomous driving vehicle to reach the target position, use the laser sensing ability of the autonomous driving vehicle to align the position with the vertical operation device;

[0021] After the autonomous vehicle receives the vertical operation information, it determines whether the reference moving speed is close to zero. If the reference moving speed is not zero, it is determined that the vertical operation device is not ready, and the position is continuously adjusted until the reference moving speed is zero.

[0022] Further, the step S4 includes:

[0023] After the reference moving speed is zero, the autonomous vehicle turns on laser sensing to obtain the contour of the vertical operation device, moves forward and backward to adjust the vehicle position, and at the same time matches the contour information with the position alignment parameters obtained by looking up the table according to the device number:

[0024] If the matching is successful and the reference moving speed remains zero all the time, the position alignment is completed.

[0025] If the matching fails or the reference moving speed changes to non-zero, the position alignment fails. The autonomous vehicle stops the position alignment and continues to wait until the vertical operation device number and the reference moving speed meet the position alignment conditions and then performs the position alignment again.

[0026] The second aspect of the embodiment of the present application provides a vertical operation device position alignment system for port autonomous driving, including:

[0027] A driving control module, which acquires the control right of the autonomous vehicle to be aligned and the operation task;

[0028] A vertical operation module, which controls multiple vertical operation devices and acquires the dynamic and static data of each vertical operation device in real time;

[0029] A remote control module, which interacts with the driving control module and the vertical operation module; the remote control module acquires the operation task in the driving control module and selects a vertical operation device to align with the target position coordinates based on the principle of the shortest distance between the target position and the vertical operation device.

[0030] Further, the dynamic and static data includes:

[0031] The device number of the vertical operation device;

[0032] The GPS data of the vertical operation device and the relative installation position where the corresponding GPS hardware device is located;

[0033] The geometric dimensions of the vertical operation device and the top view contour map and center coordinates constructed based on the geometric dimensions;

[0034] The reference moving speed of the vertical operation device updated in real time based on the GPS position change and the update time of the GPS data.

[0035] Further, after the driving control module drives the autonomous vehicle to the target position, it aligns the position with the vertical operation device relying on the device number, reference moving speed pushed by the remote control module, and the laser sensing ability of the autonomous vehicle.

[0036] Further, after the vertical operation device moves to the target position coordinates, the remote control module traverses the rectangular coordinates of the vertical operation device, and judges whether the target position coordinates are included in the rectangle through geometric calculation. When and only when the target position coordinates are included in the rectangle, it pushes the number and reference moving speed of the current vertical operation device to the driving control module.

[0037] Further, the driving control module controls the autonomous vehicle to turn on laser sensing to obtain the contour of the vertical operation device, moves the vehicle forward and backward to adjust the vehicle position, and at the same time matches the contour information with the position alignment parameters obtained by looking up the table according to the device number:

[0038] If the matching is successful and the reference moving speed has always been zero, the position alignment is completed.

[0039] If the matching fails or the reference moving speed changes to non-zero, the position alignment fails. The autonomous vehicle stops the position alignment and continues to wait until the device number and reference moving speed of the vertical operation device meet the position alignment conditions and then performs the position alignment again.

[0040] This application can automatically complete the position alignment between the autonomous vehicle and the vertical operation device by using the GPS information provided by the GPS device installed on the vertical operation device, the geometric information of the vertical operation device, and the contour information of the vertical operation device sensed by the laser of the autonomous vehicle, without being limited to the situation where the port cannot provide information such as the operation vehicle number, motion state, and vehicle guidance of the vertical operation device, which is simple, fast and universal. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0041] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings.

[0042] Figure 1 It is the flowchart of the alignment method provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0043] Figure 2 It is the block diagram of the alignment system provided by the embodiment of the present application. Detailed Embodiments

[0044] To make the application purpose, features, and advantages of this application more obvious and understandable, the following will describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application clearly and completely in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the embodiments described below are only a part of the embodiments of this application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts belong to the scope of protection of this application.

[0045] The following further clarifies the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0046] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "upper", "lower", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and is only for the convenience of describing this application 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 should not be construed as a limitation to this application.

[0047] A method for aligning the positions of vertical operation devices for port autonomous driving involved in this application includes:

[0048] S1: Obtain the GPS data of each vertical operation device, as well as the relative installation positions where the corresponding GPS hardware devices are located and the geometric dimensions of the vertical operation devices, and perform UTM conversion on the GPS longitude and latitude coordinates to obtain the earth plane geometric coordinates. Calculate the plane projection geometric center and vertex coordinates of the vertical operation devices according to the GPS coordinates, the relative installation positions of the GPS devices, and the geometric dimensions of the vertical operation devices.

[0049] The top view of the vertical operation device can be regarded as a rectangle, and the position coordinates provided by the GPS device are the coordinates of a certain point in the rectangle. Calculate the coordinates of this vertex according to the relative distances in the length direction and width direction relative to a certain vertex of the rectangle recorded when the GPS device is installed, then calculate the other vertices of the rectangle according to the length and width of the vertical operation device, and finally calculate the average value of the coordinates of the four vertices to obtain the geometric center coordinates.

[0050] S2: Obtain the reference moving speed of the vertical operation device in real time based on the GPS position change and the update time of the GPS data;

[0051] S3: Based on the vertical operation device information and the autonomous driving vehicle operation task information, select the information of the vertical operation device closest to the target position of the autonomous driving vehicle for driving and operation;

[0052] After the autonomous driving vehicle receives the dock operation task, obtain the target position coordinates in the operation task;

[0053] Send the specified target location to the selected vertical working device and drive the vertical working device to move towards the target location coordinates.

[0054] After the vertical working device moves to the target location coordinates, traverse the rectangular coordinates of the vertical working device, and determine whether the target location coordinates are contained within the rectangle through geometric calculations. When and only when the target location coordinates are contained within the rectangle, push the number and reference moving speed of the current vertical working device to the autonomous driving vehicle.

[0055] S4: After the autonomous driving vehicle reaches the target location, use the device number, reference moving speed, and its own laser sensing ability pushed by the remote server to align the position with the vertical working device.

[0056] After driving the autonomous driving vehicle to reach the target location, use the laser sensing ability of the autonomous driving vehicle to align the position with the vertical working device;

[0057] After the autonomous driving vehicle receives the vertical working information, determine whether the reference moving speed is close to zero. If the reference moving speed is not zero, it is determined that the vertical working device is not ready, and continue to adjust the position until the reference moving speed is zero.

[0058] After the reference moving speed is zero, the autonomous driving vehicle turns on the laser sensing to obtain the contour of the vertical working device, moves the vehicle forward and backward to adjust the vehicle position, and at the same time matches the contour information with the position alignment parameters obtained by looking up the table according to the device number:

[0059] If the matching is successful and the reference moving speed has been zero, the position alignment is completed.

[0060] If the matching fails or the reference moving speed changes to non-zero, the position alignment fails. The autonomous driving vehicle stops the position alignment and continues to wait until the device number and reference moving speed of the vertical working device meet the position alignment conditions and then perform the position alignment again.

[0061] This application also proposes a vertical working device position alignment system for port autonomous driving, including a driving control module, a vertical working module, and a remote control module. Install GPS devices on each vertical working device in the port and send the GPS data to the remote control module through the network.

[0062] The driving control module obtains the control right of the autonomous driving vehicle to be aligned and the operation task.

[0063] The vertical working module controls multiple vertical working devices and obtains the dynamic and static data of each vertical working device in real time. The so-called dynamic and static data includes but is not limited to:

[0064] The equipment number of the vertical operation device; the GPS data of the vertical operation device and the relative installation position where the corresponding GPS hardware device is located; the geometric dimensions of the vertical operation device and the top-down contour map and center coordinates constructed based on the geometric dimensions; the reference moving speed of the vertical operation device updated in real time based on the GPS position change and the update time of the GPS data.

[0065] The remote control module interacts with the driving control module and the vertical operation module.

[0066] The remote control module obtains the operation task in the driving control module and selects the vertical operation device to align with the target position coordinates based on the principle of the closest distance. After the driving control module drives the autonomous vehicle to the target position, it relies on the device number, reference moving speed, and the laser perception ability of the autonomous vehicle pushed by the remote control module to align with the vertical operation device.

[0067] The remote control module provides the autonomous vehicle with the information of the vertical operation device closest to the target position according to the maintained vertical operation device information and the autonomous vehicle operation task information.

[0068] Before the autonomous vehicle aligns with the vertical operation device, the vehicle needs to drive to the target position specified by the task according to the received terminal operation task, and the vertical operation device also needs to drive to this target position.

[0069] According to the characteristic that the vertical operation device will definitely operate above the autonomous vehicle, it can be known that when the autonomous vehicle interacts with the vertical operation device, the target position coordinates will definitely be located within the rectangular projection of the vertical operation device.

[0070] Specifically, when the autonomous vehicle receives the terminal operation task, the remote control module obtains the target position coordinates in the operation task, traverses the rectangular coordinates of the vertical operation device, and judges whether this target position coordinate is contained within the rectangle through geometric calculation. If it is contained within the rectangle, the device number and reference moving speed are pushed to the autonomous vehicle, otherwise, they are not pushed.

[0071] After the driving control module drives the autonomous vehicle to the target position, it uses the device number, reference moving speed, and its own laser perception ability pushed by the remote control module to align with the vertical operation device. After the autonomous vehicle reaches the target position, it judges whether it has received the vertical operation information pushed by the remote control module. If not, it waits in place. After receiving the vertical operation device information pushed by the remote control module, the driving control module judges whether the reference moving speed is close to zero. If the reference moving speed is not zero, it is considered that the vertical operation device is not ready, so the position alignment does not start.

[0072] When the reference moving speed is zero, the driving control module controls the autonomous vehicle to turn on the laser sensing to obtain the contour of the vertical working device, move back and forth to adjust the vehicle position, and at the same time match the contour information with the position alignment parameter obtained by looking up the table according to the device number.

[0073] If the matching is successful and the reference moving speed remains zero all the time, the position alignment is completed.

[0074] If the matching fails or the reference moving speed changes to non-zero, the position alignment fails. The autonomous vehicle stops the position alignment and continues to wait until the vertical working device number and the reference moving speed pushed by the remote server meet the position alignment conditions and then performs the position alignment again.

[0075] The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific details in the above embodiments. Within the scope of the technical concept of the present invention, various equivalent transformations (such as quantity, shape, position, etc.) can be made to the technical solution of the present invention, and these equivalent transformations all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for aligning the position of a vertical operation device for port autonomous driving, characterized in that, Including: S1: Obtain the GPS data of each vertical working device, the installation relative position where the corresponding GPS hardware device is located, and the geometric dimensions of the vertical working device. Based on the geometric dimensions of the vertical working device, construct a top view and center coordinates of the vertical working device; the outer shape of the top view of the vertical working device is regarded as a rectangle. S2: Obtain the reference moving speed of the vertical working device in real time based on the GPS position change and the update time of the GPS data. S3: Based on the vertical working device information and the automatic driving vehicle operation task information, select the vertical working device closest to the target position for driving and operation. S4: After the automatic driving vehicle reaches the target position, use the device number, reference moving speed pushed by the remote server, and its own laser sensing ability to align the position with the vertical working device. The step S3 includes: After the automatic driving vehicle receives the dock operation task, obtain the target position coordinates in the operation task. Send the specified target position coordinates to the selected vertical working device and drive the vertical working device to move towards the target position coordinates; in the step S3 After the vertical working device moves to the target position coordinates, traverse the rectangular coordinates of the vertical working device, and judge whether this target position coordinate is included in the rectangle through geometric calculation. When and only when the target position coordinate is included in the rectangle, push the number and reference moving speed of the current vertical working device to the automatic driving vehicle. The step S4 includes: After driving the automatic driving vehicle to reach the target position, use the laser sensing ability of the automatic driving vehicle to align the position with the vertical working device. After the automatic driving vehicle receives the vertical working device information, judge whether the reference moving speed is close to zero. If the reference moving speed is not zero, it is determined that the vertical working device is not ready, and continue to adjust the position until the reference moving speed is zero. The step S4 includes: After the reference moving speed is zero, the automatic driving vehicle turns on laser sensing to obtain the contour of the vertical working device, moves forward and backward to adjust the vehicle position, and at the same time matches the contour information with the position alignment parameters obtained by looking up the table according to the device number. If the matching is successful and the reference moving speed has always been zero, the position alignment is completed. If the matching fails or the reference moving speed changes to non-zero, the position alignment fails. The automatic driving vehicle stops the position alignment and continues to wait until the vertical working device number and reference moving speed meet the position alignment conditions and then performs the position alignment again.

2. A vertical operation equipment position alignment system for port autonomous driving, characterized in that, Including: A driving control module that obtains the control right of the automatic driving vehicle to be aligned and the operation task. A vertical operation module that controls multiple vertical working devices and obtains the dynamic and static data of each vertical working device in real time. A remote control module that interacts with the driving control module and the vertical operation module; the remote control module obtains the operation task in the driving control module and selects the vertical working device closest to the target position based on the distance principle to align with the target position coordinates. The dynamic and static data includes: The device number of the vertical working device. The GPS data of the vertical working device and the installation relative position where the corresponding GPS hardware device is located. Geometric dimensions of the vertical operation device, as well as the top view and central coordinates constructed based on these geometric dimensions; the outer shape of the top view of the vertical operation device is regarded as a rectangle; The reference moving speed of the vertical operation device updated in real time based on the GPS position change and the update time of the GPS data; after the driving control module drives the autonomous vehicle to the target position, it relies on the device number, reference moving speed, and the laser sensing ability of the autonomous vehicle pushed by the remote control module to align the position with the vertical operation device; after the vertical operation device moves to the target position coordinates, the remote control module traverses the rectangular coordinates of the vertical operation device and judges whether the target position coordinates are included in the rectangle through geometric calculation. Only when the target position coordinates are included in the rectangle, it pushes the number and reference moving speed of the current vertical operation device to the driving control module; the driving control module controls the autonomous vehicle to turn on the laser sensing to obtain the contour of the vertical operation device, moves back and forth to adjust the vehicle position, and at the same time matches the contour information with the position alignment parameters obtained by looking up the table according to the device number: If the matching is successful and the reference moving speed has always been zero, the position alignment is completed; If the matching fails or the reference moving speed changes to non-zero, the position alignment fails, the autonomous vehicle stops the position alignment, and continues to wait until the device number and reference moving speed of the vertical operation device meet the position alignment conditions and then performs the position alignment again.

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