Autonomous practical trolley and robot trolley platform

Abstract

A robotic dolly platform with navigation and mobile systems is integrated into a conventional utility dolly to provide both manual and autonomous modes of operation. The platform includes drive wheels that replace front wheels of the dolly. The platform and system includes a motor, an encoder, an IMU, a processor, and a microcontroller. The system has a work environment mapping sensor and a cable array of digital cameras, proximity sensors or radar sensors, and weight sensors, lights, 15 key control panels secured throughout the dolly. When in an autonomous mode, the system provides navigation, movement, and location tracking with or without a wireless connection to a server. A destination key allows autonomous navigation to a desired destination. A loop key, a boomerang key, and a home position key facilitate autonomous navigation with respect to various work environments and conditions. Radar sensors provide enhanced obstacle avoidance, trolley positioning, route planning, and human-computer interaction capabilities.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a robotic cart platform that converts a conventional hand-pushed utility cart into an autonomous utility cart having manual and autonomous modes of operation, tracks the movement of the cart in both modes of operation, issues warnings when unsafe loading conditions occur, and can operate with or without a wireless communication system. Background Art

[0002] A wide variety of businesses rely on utility carts to move items around their buildings. Dollies hold and transport tools, equipment, parts, and finished goods, many of which are heavy, bulky, or difficult to carry, and often include associated paperwork that needs to stay with the items as they are moved from one workstation to another, or from one room to another. Dollies come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and styles. The corners of a cart usually include vertical risers and multiple horizontal trays. Dollies are generally made of plastic or metal, and their front and rear corners are usually supported by casters. Plastic dollies usually have trays and risers made of molded foam plastic. Metal dollies often have metal tubes for the risers and mesh wire baskets for the trays. Some dollies have metal tube risers and reinforced plastic trays. Utility dollies are usually rated to carry 200 to 500 pounds (90 to 225 kg). Examples of these utility carts are Uline Model Nos. H-1053, H-2470, H-2471, H-2475, and H-2505 manufactured and sold by Rubbermaid Commercial Products, LLC of Winchester, VA, Uline Model Nos. H2505 and H7435 manufactured and sold by AMSA, Inc. of Boulder, CO, and Model No. PUCPN 1937 manufactured and sold by Suncast Technologies, LLC of Palm Beach Gardens, FL. These and other utility carts are shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. D618,418 and D618,419 to Cotron, U.S. Pat. Nos. D798,018 and D855,275 to Walter, and U.S. Pat. No. 10,377,403 to Lee, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0003] Autonomous mobile robots for manufacturing, warehousing and distribution applications are well known. Examples include 6River Systems' CHUCK robot and U.S. Patent Nos. 10,294,028 and D826,508, Amazon Robotics' MARTI robot and U.S. Patent Nos. 7,920,962, 8,280,547, 8,265,873 and 10,317,893, Aethon's TUG robot and U.S. Patent Nos. 7,100,725, 7,431,115, 8,204,624, 9,223,313, 9,563,206 and 9,679,270, GreyOrange's BUTLER robot and U.S. Patent Nos. 10,216,193 and 10,481,612, Clearpath Robotic's maneuverable mobile robot and U.S. Patent No. D812,663, Fetch Robotic's mobile warehouse robot and U.S. Patent No. 10,423,150, InVia Robotics’ autonomous warehouse robot and U.S. Patent No. 9,731,896, Locus Robotics’ warehouse robot and U.S. Patent No. 10,019,015, Canvas Technology’s robot, and MiR’s mobile industrial robot.

[0004] One problem with conventional autonomous mobile robots is their overall design. Many components form the autonomous navigation structure, such as environmental mapping and proximity sensors, power supplies, control and drive systems, alarm systems, and wireless systems. These components and their associated wiring are embedded in the overall robot design. Even if the robot takes the form of a cart, the components that form the autonomous navigation structure are also embedded in the overall cart design. It is particularly challenging to determine the location of the individual sensors and their wiring so that they can perform their intended functions while ensuring their safety, avoiding accidental damage, and avoiding interfering with the normal operation of the cart. Companies must either purchase a manual cart or a significantly more expensive autonomous robot cart. Due to their complexity, there is currently no known method to convert a manual cart into an autonomous cart. Existing navigation structures are not intended to convert off-the-shelf hand-pushed carts into autonomous mobile robot carts.

[0005] Another problem with traditional autonomous vehicles is that they rely on wireless communications with independent operating systems. Robots do not operate independently. They require wireless communications with off-board databases or control systems. Operators must interact with the operating system and database via a wireless communication system such as WiFi to control the movement of the robotic vehicle. The cost of installing a wireless communication system such as WiFi can be prohibitively expensive for many organizations. Furthermore, even when a wireless communication system is installed, the system may include dead zones that can cut off communications with the autonomous vehicle, or cause the vehicle to receive redundant signals when multiple communication units or transceivers are transmitting a given signal. When the autonomous vehicle stops in a dead zone, the robot must be manually pushed out of the dead zone and reset to communicate its current position.

[0006] Another problem with conventional robotic vehicles is that they are not compatible with manual operation. First, many conventional robotic vehicles do not allow manual movement. If a user attempts to push a robotic vehicle, the wheels drag or turn with great resistance. Second, when robotic vehicles are manually pushed to a location that is different from where the vehicle last moved autonomously, they lose their sense of direction. When a robotic vehicle is turned off and moved manually, they cannot determine its position. When power to the robot microprocessor and drive motors is disconnected, the robot loses the ability to track its movement and determine its position. When the robotic vehicle is turned off, its motor encoders do not monitor the drive shaft and wheel rotation. As a result, the robotic vehicle loses track of its position when it is turned off and pushed manually. When the robotic vehicle is restarted, the new position coordinates of the robot must be entered, or other means must be used so that the robot can determine its current position.

[0007] Another problem with conventional robotic vehicles is that they do not detect unsafe loading conditions. There is no mechanism to determine the weight of the vehicle or the items placed on it. Similarly, there is no mechanism to determine if the load is unbalanced, which could cause the vehicle to tip over when turning. There is also no mechanism to determine if an object extends outward from the vehicle to a point where it could strike other objects as the vehicle moves.

[0008] Another problem with conventional robotic vehicles is that they cannot determine the type and thickness of the material in their field of view (FOV), its distance from the radar input device, whether it is stationary or moving relative to the radar input device, and the angle of motion (if the material is moving relative to the vehicle).

[0009] Another problem with conventional robotic vehicles is that they have difficulty sensing information about the payload on the platform cart. This is due to the limited placement of sensors that allow line-of-sight viewing of the payload. Available locations include the platform and handlebar areas. Sensors located on the platform are obscured by the payload. Sensors mounted on the rear handlebars are obscured by the payload itself and cannot see the front of the payload. Since the payload cannot be viewed, the cart does not know if the payload is beyond the platform. If the payload does extend beyond the platform, the payload will collide with an obstacle when the cart moves autonomously.

[0010] Another problem with traditional robotic vehicles is that they cannot see through or around objects. They rely on line-of-sight sensors that have little time to adjust for collisions when passing through doorways or around corners. For example, when a vehicle is driving around a corner, its view of a person or object moving in the opposite direction around that corner is optically blocked, which significantly reduces the time and distance the vehicle has to sense and avoid a collision.

[0011] The present invention is directed to solving these and other problems. Summary of the invention

[0012] The present invention relates to a robotic car platform (RCP) with a navigation and mobility system, which is integrated into a traditional utility car to provide both manual and autonomous operating modes. The platform includes a housing with a processor and a memory, and an external electric drive wheel with an encoder, which replaces the front wheel of the car. The system has a working environment mapping sensor and a cable array of a depth camera, a proximity sensor or a radar sensor, a weight sensor, a light, a control panel, a battery, and an on / off button and an emergency stop button fixed to the entire car. The encoder obtains drive shaft rotation data, and the IMU obtains three-axis angular rate and acceleration data that the microcontroller periodically sends to the processor. When in autonomous mode, the system provides navigation, movement and position tracking with or without a wireless connection to a server. Use its position tracking to set a stored destination to autonomously navigate the car. When in manual mode, the battery power is turned off and backup power is provided to the encoder, IMU and microcontroller, which continue to obtain axis rotation data and angular rate and acceleration data. When in autonomous mode, the axis rotation, angular rate, and acceleration data acquired during manual mode are used to determine the current cart position.

[0013] One advantage of the robot car platform of the present invention is that it can be integrated into the traditional manually moved utility car design. The components forming the robot car platform (RCP) include electric drive wheels, RCP housing and autonomous mapping and navigation systems, environmental mapping and obstacle avoidance sensors, input components and structures that are easy to install on traditional cars. The housing is designed to be installed under the car, which is an area not used for payload transportation. This area also provides a basically unobstructed 360-degree view of the surrounding environment, which makes it suitable for installing LIDAR sensors. Proximity sensors or radar sensors are placed near the corners or ends or sides of the car so that they have the best view of where the car is moving. The front casters are removed and replaced by drive wheels. A prefabricated array of cables that are bundled together at one end near their terminal ports is inserted into the RCP housing. Separate cables for proximity sensors or radar sensors and input devices are routed through existing channels and openings in traditional cars. Existing openings or areas in risers and trays are also used to install proximity sensors or radar sensors and lights to convert traditional utility cars into autonomous robot cars. Minimal modifications to the cart are required. Companies using traditional off-the-shelf, hand-propelled utility carts can inexpensively convert them into autonomous mobile robotic carts.

[0014] Another advantage of the robotic cart platform of the present invention is its independent operating system. The cart platform design has an onboard operating system and database that can operate independently and does not require support from an off-board operating system or server. The staff interacts directly with the robotic cart to control the movement of the cart. The cost of installing an off-board server and wireless support system is avoided, so that the robotic cart can benefit many companies that cannot actually install a WiFi system or otherwise cannot afford a more expensive robotic cart system. In addition, the independent operation of the autonomous cart avoids the problems associated with dead zones that occur in many robotic cart systems.

[0015] Another advantage of the robot car platform of the present invention is its compatibility with autonomous and manual movement of the car. First, the car equipped with the robot platform can be pushed and pulled manually. When the drive motor is not powered, the motor allows their drive shaft to rotate basically freely, so that the wheels will not drag or turn under a lot of resistance. The staff can move the car delicately to a precise location, or move the car when the car is not powered. Secondly, the car equipped with the robot car platform keeps tracking their position when it is manually pushed to a new position. Both manual mode and autonomous mode allow the robot car to determine its position independently. When the power of the robot drive motor and the main processor is turned off, the independent power supply is activated to run its motor encoder, IMU and microcontroller, which continue to track the wheel rotation and the angular rotation and acceleration of the car to determine the position of the robot car. When the robot vehicle is turned back on, the microcontroller transmits the wheel and shaft rotation data to the on-board main processor to determine the current position of the robot car. When the robot vehicle is moved manually, the robot vehicle does not lose track of its position. Workers do not need to input the new location of the vehicle or otherwise ask the vehicle to determine its new location, such as through the use of RFID tags or off-board WiFi type operating systems.

[0016] Another advantage of the robotic cart platform is its clustered cable arrays for sensors, safety / status lights, and input devices such as control panels, batteries, and on / off and emergency stop buttons. Although the drive unit is located underneath the cart, these components are not. Cable sensors and lights that require substantial unobstructed or high visibility are located in optimal locations on the cart. Input devices that would be difficult to reach and use if placed underneath the cart are located in appropriate and easily accessible locations on the cart. Components that may require periodic recharging or replacement, such as batteries, are located in more accessible locations. The RCP drive unit circuitry has multiple power input terminals, allowing the battery pack to be hot-swapped while the RCP processor continues to operate. Charging the battery does not require shutting down the power to the RCP processor. Once a specific off-the-shelf cart is selected, a clustered cable array of appropriate sensors is selected so that the required number of individual cables and cable lengths are available to connect the appropriate components for that make and model of utility cart. Cable sensors and input devices conform to the unique makeup of a specific cart, rather than the cart conforming to the sensors and input devices. The cable length can be easily changed for different carts without changing the size, composition, mounting structure and internal components of the RCP platform.

[0017] Another advantage of the robotic vehicle platform is serviceability. The cables and each of these components can be replaced or upgraded without replacing or modifying the main robotic vehicle platform. Each cable has ports on both ends of it. To remove and replace external components such as sensors, lights, control panels, batteries, etc., simply disconnect the appropriate cable from the port of that specific external component. To replace a bundled array of cables, disconnect the ports on both ends of the cable.

[0018] Another advantage of the robotic car platform is that it is easily integrated into a conventional car. Cables are routed through existing channels and openings in a conventional car. Sensors and safety lights are installed in the car or installed in the car via existing openings. Speakers and WiFi units are installed in compartments in the tray. 4 external single-board computers (SBCs) and 2 external universal serial bus (USB) hubs increase the convenience of integrating the RCP into a conventional car to produce an autonomous car. One SBC is located near each proximity sensor or radar sensor and its accompanying set of LED lights to convert the communication protocol of the sensors and lights to the USB protocol. The external SBC and USB hub allow for easier wiring installation, reduce costs by replacing more expensive custom cables with USB wiring, and buffer data to reduce the real-time processing burden on the internal SBC and digital boards within the RCP housing. The external SBC and USB hub also improve manufacturability because the wiring in each column is assembled and tested as a sub-assembly, and the final assembly of the car is performed later. Because the cart pillars are the same for larger and smaller carts, the wiring for each pillar can be manufactured independently of the cart size. The external SBC and USB hub also improve reliability because if a component in one pillar (i.e., sensor, light, external SBC, or USB wiring) fails, the failure will not cause components in other pillars to fail. The external SBC and USB hub also provide enhanced flexibility because the sensors and lights in a cart pillar can be easily changed to other items (such as radar sensors) without requiring other changes in the cart, as long as the software or programming of the RCP processor can support the change.

[0019] Another advantage of the robotic cart platform is its close scanning area. Each corner riser of the autonomous cart has 4 proximity sensors. 2 sensors point to the side and 2 sensors point to the front or rear. 2 sensors are located higher on the frame and 2 sensors are located lower on the frame. The higher sensors are tilted downward and the lower sensors are tilted upward so that the scanning cones of the paired sensors intersect at about half the height of the cart. If one of the paired sensors fails, the other paired sensor will still cover the area where their scanning cones intersect. The upward tilted sensors detect when an item placed on the cart protrudes a considerable distance from the edge of the cart and alert the worker, as this would cause a collision with the overhanging item or an unbalanced payload. The downward tilted proximity sensors more reliably detect obstacles at lower heights and drop zones such as stairwells, which helps prevent the cart from falling into stairwells or falling out of loading and unloading areas.

[0020] Another advantage of the robotic cart platform is the location and scanning area of ​​its LIDAR sensor. The sensor is located in a protected position between the drive unit and the lower pallet. The LIDAR sensor looks out from between the drive unit and the lower pallet, thereby scanning almost a full 360 degrees. Only the drive wheels, drive unit mounting posts, and the top of the front caster assembly obstruct the full 360-degree view.

[0021] Another advantage of the RCP is its weight sensors. Two weight sensors are located just above the rear caster assembly and two sensors are located just above the RCP mounting assembly. These sensors measure the weight of the cart (not including the casters or RCP). The weight measurements are used in a variety of ways. The cart uses the measurements to determine whether an object has been placed on or removed from the cart. The cart also uses the weight measurements when planning its movement (for example, more power will be required for heavier payloads). The cart can also determine whether the payload exceeds a threshold and causes a safety issue, or whether the payload is balanced or unbalanced. The cart then alerts the staff and uses the weight information to take appropriate actions, such as turning at a slow speed or stopping completely. The weight measurement and safety determination can be performed when the cart is stationary or moving. If there is a change from balanced to unbalanced while moving, the cart can take action accordingly to prevent the loss of the payload or notify the user of the imbalance. Finally, the cart detects when someone presses the cart (such as pressing a button), which is recognized as user input, such as indicating that the cart is empty.

[0022] Another advantage of the RCP is the radar sensor’s ability to determine the type and thickness of material in its field of view (FOV). By pointing its radar device at the ground or floor, the RCP is not only better able to sense changes in elevation, but also the material composition of the floor, items or layers of material on the floor surface, and the ground or material beneath the floor surface. Observing and understanding the composition of the floor surface provides the RCP with information that contributes to its ability to provide better traction control. For example, as the cart moves from one surface to another, the RCP observes changes in the surface, such as moving from an unfinished concrete surface to a laminated concrete surface, a tile surface, or carpet, which allows the RCP to adjust its speed and acceleration for better traction. Additionally, the RCP detects liquids or discarded paper on the floor surface, which allows the RCP to adjust its speed and acceleration to obtain better traction or avoid the liquid or paper altogether.

[0023] Another benefit of the RCP is that its radar sensors enable the autonomous vehicle to navigate through open areas that are free of obstacles through which it would otherwise triangulate its position. Autonomous mobility requires the vehicle to localize and navigate through the environment. Both of these requirements are aided by sensing obstacles in the environment, thereby triangulating and determining its position. However, when the vehicle is in an area free of obstacles, the vehicle's ability to successfully reach its destination may be hindered. The RCP uses its radar sensing equipment to determine and map the material patterns beneath the floor surface. The composition of the ground or materials beneath the floor surface provides landmarks and unique characteristics through which the vehicle can triangulate to determine its current location and better navigate through the permissive environment. For example, metal bolts driven into concrete floors, embedded metal pipes, or embedded metal rebars that are commonly used to reinforce concrete floor slabs provide an excellent means of mapping the ground. The rebar in concrete floors is often constructed in a grid pattern. This grid pattern provides a very unique and regular pattern that can aid in the orientation and positioning of the vehicle relative to the environment. Localization enables the vehicle to determine its position within an internal map of its surroundings, thereby being able to identify its physical location within the actual surrounding environment. Underground wiring, conduits, pipes, tunnels and other underground items are also identified in the RCP map of the allowed environment or surrounding environment. The RCP uses its downward-aiming radar input device to sense the surface and underground components. The different properties of the surface and underground are recorded to provide a map for the trolley to locate and then navigate to the destination. The trolley and RCP can be either manually pushed on the surface or driven autonomously on the surface to create a map of the surface and underground material composition. Rebar, wiring, conduits, pipes, tunnels and other underground items are identified on the map.

[0024] Another advantage of the autonomous cart's RCP is its ability to determine the location of the payload in its pallet. The radar input device is pointed toward the area of ​​the pallet or shelf where the cart's payload is placed. This allows the RCP to determine the material type and thickness of the payload. This information is used to calculate the mass and center of gravity of the payload, as well as the positioning of the payload on the cart. With this information, the cart is better able to determine how to move to avoid unnecessary shifting of the payload or tipping of the cart. Additionally, this information is recorded or communicated to other systems or transmitted to the user. In addition, as objects are placed on or removed from the cart, calculations are performed to count the number of objects. The radar input device located below the pallet or platform senses the entire payload and allows the RCP to determine if any part of the payload extends beyond the platform. In addition, when the radar input device is aimed outward and upward from the edge of the platform, the radar input device senses the area of ​​the payload that extends beyond the platform. When moving autonomously, the RCP cart can consider not only the boundaries of the cart, but also the overhanging payload area to ensure that there is no collision with any obstacles.

[0025] Another advantage of the autonomous car's RCP is its ability to detect dynamic obstacles, as well as calculate their distance, direction, speed, and acceleration. While LIDAR sensors and cameras collect data and send it to the RCP processor for calculating the speed of moving people and objects, because the radar sensor sends the speed data directly to the processor, the processor requires less processing time to detect moving people or objects, and the navigation and control system and the autonomous car are able to detect and respond to moving people and objects faster. The radar sensor uses a radar sensor commonly known as a Doppler radar to calculate these measurements. The computing device or programmed processor of the RCP calculates the intersection of dynamic obstacles relative to the car. The RCP processor uses the radar sensor to determine the distance between the car and the stationary or moving obstacle, the angle of movement of the obstacle relative to the car, and the speed of the car relative to the obstacle. When an intersection is expected, the car makes navigation adjustments to avoid a collision, such as changing its route, changing its speed, or applying its brakes.

[0026] Another advantage of the autonomous car’s RCP is that it can sense objects where the line of sight is obstructed. The RCP’s penetrating radar senses materials and objects behind other materials and objects. This radar can sense both static and dynamic obstacles that are optically hidden from the car’s view. For example, as the car drives around the corner of a building, the radar equipment senses objects moving around or past the corner, which significantly reduces the time and distance for the RCP to sense the object and avoid a collision. Penetrating radar senses through optical obstructions to detect moving objects or people around corners or doorways, allowing additional time and distance for the RCP to avoid a collision.

[0027] Another advantage of the autonomous car's RCP is that it can determine objects that the car can pass through or over. For example, the user can instruct the car to pass through a plastic bar hanging in a doorway, or to drive over debris such as paper or liquid on the floor. By determining the material composition and thickness of the obstacle, the car's RCP can calculate when it is expected to avoid the obstacle, or pass through or over the obstacle.

[0028] Another advantage of the autonomous car's RCP is that it can distinguish human objects, such as human bodies or body parts, from non-human objects. The RCP interprets the position and movement of human body parts as direct human input to the car. This human input data is used to control the car or input data to the car. For example, waving a hand to indicate that the car should start moving, raising a hand to indicate that the car should stop moving, or raising two fingers to indicate that the car should enter the number "2", such as starting to go to the second set destination. Similarly, the RCP computing device can also interpret non-human objects.

[0029] Another advantage of the autonomous vehicle's RCP is that it detects when and how a worker is holding the vehicle's handles. A radar device placed in the handles and oriented toward the natural gripping position detects when a person is holding the handles. When the vehicle is moving autonomously and the RCP detects that the worker has just held the handles, the RCP aborts the autonomous movement. The RCP also detects the placement of the hand, fingers, and thumb on the handles to allow for additional data input. For example, when the hand is holding the handles, placement of the thumb close to the handle is interpreted as controlling the speed and direction of the drive wheels. Moving the thumb forward will reverse the direction of the drive wheels, while moving the thumb backward will move the drive wheels in the forward direction. The RCP interprets placement of the thumb further away from the center point on the handle as a command to increase the speed of the drive wheels.

[0030] Another advantage of the autonomous car's RCP is that it allows for human data entry and control without direct contact with the car. This contactless control greatly reduces the chances of electrostatic discharge (ESD) events. As the car is driven, a charge accumulates on the car. When the charge level becomes too high, ESD occurs. When ESD occurs, it can cause an interruption in the electrical operation of the car, which can cause permanent damage to the car. ESD events can also cause unnecessary electrical shocks to humans.

[0031] Another advantage of the autonomous vehicle’s RCP is the location of its radar input device. The radar input device is mounted inside or behind a vehicle component such as a shelf, column, or handle. Depending on the frequency, power output, and receiver strength of the radar input device, the correct selection of materials, equipment, and environment is critical. For example, a 60GHz radar passes through high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic with minimal signal loss and minimal signal quality degradation. The RCP allows its radar input device to be mounted behind or inside a vehicle component made of HDPE plastic, so the sensing capabilities of the radar input device are not significantly affected. In addition, the installation of the radar device does not require cutting or modifying the vehicle. The invisible internal placement of the radar input device maintains the aesthetics of the vehicle. Placing the radar sensor behind or inside the vehicle component also facilitates the RCP circuitry to be easily sealed outside its housing, so that these components remain waterproof and dustproof.

[0032] Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reference to the description, claims and accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] Figure 1A It is an elevated perspective view of a conventional plastic utility cart having a handle for pushing the cart, 4 caster assemblies, horizontal upper and lower trays, and 4 vertical risers that support the trays in a stacked, spaced arrangement.

[0034] Figure 1B yes Figure 1A , showing the structural webbing and risers of the upper and lower trays, and one caster assembly in exploded view.

[0035] Figure 2 is a view representing the robotic cart platform components, including the autonomous drive unit with its adjustable mounting assembly, the top mounted LIDAR scanner, the 6 button control panel, the battery pack, the 16 proximity sensors, the 8 safety lights, the "GO" button, the emergency stop button, the weight sensor, the audio speaker, the optional WiFi communication unit, and the array of cables connecting these components to the circuit input ports of the autonomous drive unit.

[0036] Figure 3 is an exploded view of the autonomous car and robotic car platform, showing the components relative to each other Figure 1A An orientation of a conventional plastic utility cart is shown, and a conventional rear caster and weight sensor assembly, an adjustable front mounting assembly and weight sensor assembly, and a battery pack and mounting bracket assembly are shown.

[0037] Figure 4is an exploded view of the autonomous drive unit, showing its housing, adjustable mounting rails, LIIDAR sensor, drive motor, drive wheels, motor controller, and circuit board.

[0038] Figure 5A is a bottom perspective view of the autonomous drive unit with the lower half of the housing removed to show the drive motor, drive wheels, encoder, motor controller, circuit boards and circuitry, contacts for the LIDAR scanner and encoder, and input ports for the externally mounted proximity sensor, safety light, on / off switch, "GO" button and emergency stop button, control panel, and battery.

[0039] Figure 5B is an electrical schematic diagram representing the various components and circuits of an autonomous drive unit, including a backup power circuit with supercapacitors that provide backup power to an encoder, a microcontroller (MCU), and a dynamic fast access memory (DRAM).

[0040] Figure 6 is a perspective diagram showing the integration into Figure 1A The traditional plastic utility car is transformed into a robotic car platform for an autonomous car, with its drive unit replacing the front casters, and showing its 6-button control panel, battery pack, and cable array for the proximity sensor, safety light, and "GO" button.

[0041] Figure 7 yes Figure 6 A lower perspective view of the autonomous vehicle showing the autonomous drive unit with wheels and emergency stop button at the front of the vehicle, the riser cover, and the audio speakers secured underneath the upper tray, with a portion of the lower side cover cut away to show the optional WiFi communication unit.

[0042] Figure 8 It is equipped with a robot car platform Figure 6 A side view of the autonomous utility vehicle showing the scanning cone of the proximity sensor.

[0043] Fig. 9 It is equipped with a robot car platform Figure 6 A front view of the autonomous utility vehicle and showing the scanning cone of the proximity sensor.

[0044] Fig.10 is a top view showing the scanning area of ​​the LIDAR scanner and the scanning cone of the proximity sensor.

[0045] Fig.11A yes Figure 3An enlarged side view of a weight sensor assembly of , showing a weight sensor support tab secured between a caster mounting bracket and a bulkhead, having an upward facing central raised crown formed in a central region of the caster mounting bracket and in a gap between a peripheral portion of the mounting bracket and the sensor plate.

[0046] Fig. 11B yes Figure 3 An enlarged side view of a weight sensor assembly showing a weight sensor support tab secured between a mounting bracket and a bulkhead, having a central focal area of ​​the support tab formed on a sensor plate and a downwardly facing central crown in a gap between a peripheral portion of the mounting bracket and the sensor plate.

[0047] Fig. 11C yes Fig. 11B Side view of the weight sensor assembly showing the sensor support tab bending when the load is placed on the cart, the tab and crown moving into the central opening of the bulkhead, the reduced gap between the peripheral portion of the mounting bracket and the sensor plate, and the gap formed between the head of the fastener and the bottom surface of the mounting plate, and showing the programming visual display (instead of the RCP) for mounting on the cart.

[0048] Fig.12 is a perspective view of a robotic cart platform integrated into a conventional metal utility cart having a wire mesh upper tray, lower tray and middle tray, tubular risers and tubular handles, with its front casters replaced by a wheeled autonomous base unit, showing its on / off switch secured to the cart, control panel with LED lights and GO button, battery pack, proximity sensor and WiFi unit, and an exploded view of the rear caster assembly.

[0049] Fig.13 is an aerial view of a building showing a work environment within the building having open areas and fixed structures, workers and computer workstations for monitoring and remotely controlling multiple autonomous RCP vehicles located at or moving between multiple desired destinations (including battery charging stations) throughout the building.

[0050] Fig.14 is a view of a computer screen on an off-board computer showing a map of a working environment of a building obtained by a LIDAR sensor, the map including a triangular symbol designating a current location of an autonomous vehicle and an arrow designating a destination location of the autonomous vehicle, a chart displaying four destination coordinates and a "Move to point" button, a joystick for remotely controlling the autonomous vehicle, a GO button for sending the vehicle to its next destination, a joystick on / off button for turning joystick control on and off, and a vehicle cycle on / off button for turning the vehicle cycle function on and off.

[0051] Fig.15A View showing a 6-button control panel having 5 buttons displaying destination icons and a sixth button displaying a battery charge level icon.

[0052] Fig. 15B Represents a view of a 6-button control panel having 4 buttons displaying arrow icons, a fifth button displaying a battery charge level icon, and a blank sixth button.

[0053] Fig.16A is an exploded perspective view showing an alternative mounting assembly and mounting bracket for securing the drive unit to a conventional cart, Fig. 16B Indicates the underside of one of the alternate mounting brackets.

[0054] Fig.17 Is integrated into Figure 1A A side view of a second embodiment of a Robotic Car Platform (RCP) for an autonomous car is shown in FIG. 1 from a conventional plastic utility cart to form an autonomous car, with the RCP housing and mounting assembly beneath the cart lower tray, the front drive wheel assembly replacing the front casters, and showing its control panel, battery pack, LIDAR sensor, and cable arrays for proximity sensors, safety lights, and cameras.

[0055] Fig.18 is a rear end view of the second embodiment of the autonomous vehicle, showing its RCP housing and mounting assembly, rear caster assembly, 15-button control panel, on-off power button, battery pack, LIDAR sensor, and cable array for proximity sensor, safety light, and rear camera.

[0056] Fig.19 is along Fig.18 A cross-sectional view taken along line 19-19 of FIG. 1 shows the rear caster assembly, the RCP mounting assembly, the rear weight sensor, and the frame.

[0057] Fig. 20 is a side sectional view of the front drive wheel assembly of the second embodiment, showing its motor winding, RCP mounting assembly, front weight sensor and frame, wherein Fig. 20A Shows the wiring and connectors extending inwardly.

[0058] Fig.21 is an exploded view of the RCP case showing the motor controller, single board computer, power board, digital board, IMU, circuitry, LIDAR scanner, mounting assembly rails, and input ports for externally mounted components.

[0059] Fig. 22 It is an exploded view of the lower part of the RCP housing and its electrical components.

[0060] Fig.23is an electrical schematic of a second embodiment of the RCP for an autonomous vehicle, showing its various components and circuits, including the internal IMU and external drive wheels, front and rear cameras, and an EZ Go navigation control panel with separate on / off switches.

[0061] Fig.24 Represents the cabling of the second embodiment connecting its components to the circuit input ports of the RCP for the autonomous vehicle.

[0062] Fig.25 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the autonomous cart with the addition of a radar input device mounted in a compartment on the cart's handlebars.

[0063] Fig.26 is a lower perspective view of a second embodiment of the autonomous cart showing the addition of a USB hub mounted in the structural web below the cart upper tray, the addition of a radar input device mounted in the center of the web below the 2 cart trays, and the addition of a radar input device mounted on the sides of the 2 cart trays.

[0064] Fig. 27 is a bottom view of the cart tray of the second embodiment showing the addition of a USB hub mounted in the structural web below the cart tray, the addition of a radar input device mounted in the center of the web below the cart tray, and the addition of a radar input device mounted on the side of the cart tray.

[0065] Fig.28 It is a bottom view of the undertray of the second embodiment, showing the RCP mounting assembly mounted below the undertray, the front drive wheel assembly and the rear caster assembly secured to the mounting assembly and the undertray, and showing the addition of a radar input device mounted in the center of the web below the undertray and the addition of a radar input device mounted on the side of the undertray.

[0066] Fig.29 A side view and a top view of the autonomous utility vehicle are shown, showing the scanning cone of the camera.

[0067] Fig. 30A A view showing a 15-button control panel with 11 buttons displaying destination icons, the others displaying cycle, saved map, and battery level icons, and with the home icon being blank.

[0068] Fig. 30B Represents a view of a 15-button control panel with 2 buttons displaying a destination icon, 4 buttons displaying arrow icons, 1 button displaying a battery charge icon, 1 button displaying a boomerang icon, 1 button displaying a check engine icon, and the other buttons being blank.

[0069] Fig. 30C A view showing a 15-button control panel with 11 buttons showing destination icons and the others showing home, loop, saved map, and battery level icons.

[0070] Fig.31 is an electrical schematic of an alternative version of a second embodiment including an external SBC for each cart post and 2 external USB hubs.

[0071] Fig.32 The electrical wiring of the second embodiment representing an alternative version, showing the location of the SBC and USB hub.

[0072] Fig.33 Side, rear and top views of a second embodiment of a radar version of an autonomous utility vehicle showing the scanning cone of the radar scanner, with the vehicle driving on a concrete slab with embedded pipes and rebar.

[0073] Fig.34 is the electrical schematic of a second embodiment of the radar version, which includes an external SBC and 2 external USB hubs for each cart pillar, and replaces the proximity sensor in each pillar with a radar input device.

[0074] Fig.35 Represents the electrical wiring of the second embodiment of the radar version, showing the location of the SBC, USB hub and radar input device.

[0075] Fig.36 is an aerial view of a building showing a work environment within the building having open areas and fixed structures, workers and computer workstations for monitoring and remotely controlling multiple autonomous RCP carts located at or moving between multiple desired destinations (including battery charging stations) throughout the building, and showing the cart's route through a strip hanging in a doorway, and the cart's radar input device detecting a person behind a corner wall and walking towards the cart.

[0076] Fig.37 is a view of a computer screen on an off-board computer showing a map of the working environment of a building obtained by a LIDAR sensor, a camera, and a radar sensor, the map including a triangle symbol designating the current location of the autonomous vehicle, an arrow designating the destination location of the autonomous vehicle, a chart showing 4 destination coordinates and a "Move to point" button, a joystick control for remotely controlling the autonomous vehicle, and a first set of icons of a 15-key control panel including a cycle button, an active / fixed map button, and a battery status button. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0077] Although the present invention can have many different forms of embodiment, the drawings and description describe the preferred embodiment of the present invention in detail. It should be understood that the drawings and description should be considered as illustrations of the principles of the present invention. They are not intended to limit the broad aspects of the present invention to the embodiments shown.

[0078] Conventional hand-pushed utility carts are widely used to move tools, equipment, parts, partially or fully assembled products and associated documentation from one room or workstation to another throughout a building. Figure 1A and Figure 1B An example of a conventional utility cart 2 is shown in FIG. The conventional plastic cart 2 has a front end 2a, a rear end 2b and sides 2c. The cart or vehicle 2 has a structure or frame 3 including a plurality of stacked trays 5 and vertical risers 10. Each tray 5 has a generally flat and horizontal surface 6 on which items are placed, and an upwardly extending lip 7 around its periphery to prevent items from sliding or rolling off the tray. Each riser 10 has a generally linear shape with a top end 11a and a bottom end 11b. Two risers 10 are located at the front end 2a of the cart 2 and two risers 10 are located at the rear end 2b. The vertical risers 10 connect and separate the horizontal trays 5. The trays 5 are fixed near the upper end 11a and the lower end 11b of the risers 10. A handle 12 is fixed near the upper end 11a of the rear riser 10 and extends rearwardly from the rear riser to provide walking space behind the cart 2. A worker grasps the handle 12 to push or pull the cart. The underside or bottom of the cart structure 3 or lower tray 5 includes caster mounting structures 8 to securely and reliably mount a plurality of caster assemblies 14. One caster mounting structure 8 is typically located near each lower corner 4 of the cart structure 3 or lower tray 5. The mounting structures 8 include a plurality of vertical fastener openings 8a that are deeper to ensure that the casters are securely attached to the frame or structure 3.

[0079] A conventional utility cart 2 typically has four caster assemblies 14. Each caster assembly 14 has a wheel 15 and a swivel hub 16. Each hub 16 supports an axle 15a that rotatably holds its wheel 15 so that the wheel can rotate and roll on the floor of a building. Each hub 16 also has a caster mounting structure 17 that rotatably secures the wheel 15 and hub 16 to the cart mounting structure 8. The upper surface of the caster mounting structure 17 often has a central region 17c having a circular crown 18 with an upwardly facing curved surface 18a, such as Figure 3 and Fig.11AAs shown in . The caster mounting structure 17 has a fastener opening 17a formed around its peripheral portion 17b and is fixed to the cart mounting structure 8 by fasteners 19 so that each wheel hub 16 can freely rotate or rotate around the wheel hub mounting axis, which allows the wheel to rotate 360 ​​degrees (360°) to the right or left and allows the cart 2 to move in any direction. Each wheel hub 16 can be freely oriented and rotated or rotated independently of the other caster hubs to allow the cart 2 to be pushed or pulled in any direction of 360° so that the cart can turn, move sideways or reverse. Two caster assemblies 14 are located near the corner 4 of the front end 2a of the cart 2, and two caster assemblies 14 are located near the corner of the rear end 2b of the cart. Although the cart 2 is shown as having a certain shape and height, having two trays 5, four uprights 10 and four caster assemblies 14, it is easy to understand that the cart can have various shapes and heights, one or more trays, and three or more caster assemblies.

[0080] Figure 1A , 1BA plastic embodiment 20 of a conventional utility cart 2 is shown in FIGS. 6-9. Although the size and shape of the plastic utility cart 20 can vary, the cart 20 shown has a length of about 39 inches (1 meter), a width of about 17 inches (43 centimeters), a height of about 33 inches (84 centimeters), and a weight of about 31 pounds (14 kilograms), and a caster assembly 14 having four wheels with a diameter of 5 inches (13 cm). The cart 20 has two plastic pallets 21 and 22 of solid design. The stacked pallets 21 and 22 have a rectangular shape and a depth of about 2-1 / 2 inches (6 cm). Each pallet 21 and 22 has a structural web 23 that supports its upper surface 6. The structural web 23 forms a compartment or opening 24 below the surface 6 of the pallet. The solid upper wall or surface 6 of each pallet evenly spans the length and width of the rectangular pallets 21 and 22. The cart 20 has four plastic risers 25 of solid design. Each riser 25 has an L-shaped cross-sectional shape with vertical sides 25a and 25b forming an internal channel 26 along its vertical length. Each riser 25 has a side 25a facing forward or rearward and a side 25b facing sideways. Openings 27 are formed at spaced locations along the vertical height of the two sides 25a and 25b of each riser 25. Each riser 25 has three openings 27 facing forward or rearward and three openings 27 facing sideways. The upper tray 22 includes an integrally formed rearward cantilevered tray 28. The handle 14 extends upward from the rear end 2b of the cantilevered tray 28. Each caster mounting structure takes the form of a plate or bracket 17, which is secured by four fasteners 19, such as screw-type fasteners. The fasteners 19 extend through the bracket holes 17a in the bracket peripheral portion 17b and enter the four aligned holes 8a of the mounting structure 8 to securely secure the caster assembly 14 to the cart structure 3 or the lower tray 21.

[0081] exist Fig.12 2 shows a metal embodiment 30 of a conventional cart 2 with two front caster assemblies 14 removed. The cart 30 has three firmly designed lower 31, upper 32 and middle 33 wire mesh trays or baskets. The stacked trays 31-33 have a rectangular shape. The corners of the trays 31-33 are connected together by four metal vertical tubular risers 35. Each tubular riser 35 has an open interior 36 and an open bottom end 37. The mounting structure for each caster assembly 14 takes the form of a mounting bracket or plate 17 with an upwardly extending mounting post 39. Each mounting post 39 is fixed to the cart mounting structure 8, which takes the form of an open bottom end 37 of a tubular riser 35 that receives the posts 39 in an in-line manner.

[0082] The present invention relates to a method for integrating into a conventional trolley 2, 20, 30 to form a Figure 2-124 and 45. The components forming the robotic vehicle platform 40 and its navigation and movement system 42 are shown in FIG. Figure 2-5B middle. Figure 6-12 4 shows the integration of these components into a conventional plastic cart 20 or metal cart 30 to form an autonomous cart 45 with a navigation and movement system 42. The robotic cart platform 40 has a drive unit 50 that propels itself and the autonomous cart 45 in a forward travel direction 47 or a backward travel direction 48 and is capable of Figure 8 , 10 13 , it is easily turned by moving along the arcuate direction of travel 49 .

[0083] The Robotic Car Platform or RCP 40 has Figure 2-5B The motor-driven autonomous drive unit 50 shown. The RCP 40 and its navigation and movement system 42 use the wheeled drive unit 50 to autonomously propel the cart 20, 30. The drive unit or base unit 50 is compact and has a small profile to fit under the cart structure 3 or the lower tray 21, 31. The drive unit 50 has a weight of about 20 kg, a width of about 45 cm, a height of about 11 cm, a length of about 23 cm and a maximum speed of about 2 m / s. The drive unit 50 has a housing 51 that is generally rectangular in shape, and it has a front side, a rear side, a top side, a bottom side, and right and left sides 52-57. The front side 52 of the drive unit is flush or close to the front end 2a of the cart structure 3 or the lower tray 21, 31. The front side 52 and the rear side 53 are generally parallel, and the top side 54 and the bottom side 55 and the right side 56 and the left side 57 are also respectively generally parallel.

[0084] The housing 51 is designed to be strong so as to maintain its shape during use. Figure 4 5 and 59. The load-bearing upper portion 58 is made of 1 / 4 inch (6 mm) steel plate and has side fins 58a that form the left and right housing sides 56 and 57. The lower portion 59 is made of 18 gauge metal plate and has fins 59a that form the front and rear housing surfaces 52 and 53. The thick metal structure of the housing 51 acts as a heat sink for heat dissipated from the internal electronic components. The top surface 54 of the upper portion 58 has a central LIDAR scanner opening. The side fins 58a have wheel holes 58b that are aligned to form a linear wheel axle that is parallel to the front and rear housing surfaces 52 and 53. The rear fin 59a includes a series of punched holes or openings 59b for various external input and communication devices, such as sensors, lights, power supplies, control panels, and optional WiFi units.

[0085] like Figure 3As shown in the drawings, an adjustable mounting assembly 60 secures the autonomous drive unit 50 to a conventional utility cart 20, 30. To adjust the height of the RCP 40 and its mounting assembly 60, a spacer 61 is inserted above each rear caster assembly 14. The adjustable mounting assembly 60 includes a mounting bracket or rod 62 that is securely secured to the top 54 of the housing 51 along the front end 52 or edge of the housing 51. The bracket 62 has a cross-sectional shape that forms a generally inverted T-shaped opening along its length. The bracket 62 and the T-shaped opening form an adjustable mounting track 63 along the length of the bracket. The adjustable assembly 60 and bracket 62 accommodate a cart 20 having a caster mounting structure 8 (the caster mounting structure 8 is formed with fastener holes 8a), and a cart 30 having a caster mounting structure formed by a mounting bracket 17 having a mounting post 39 received by the open bottom end 37 of a tubular cart riser. For a cart 20 ( Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 7 ), the headed fasteners 64 are slidably received by the track 63 and cooperatively held by the bracket 62. The wider head of each headed fastener 64 is received in the wider portion of the T-track opening, and the narrower elongated shaft of the fastener 64 extends upward through the narrower portion of the T-track 63 and protrudes therefrom. A spacer 65 is placed on each of the two fasteners 64 to adjust the height of the drive unit 50 and the mounting assembly 60. A mounting plate 66 having a fastener opening 66a formed around its peripheral portion 66b is fixed to the upper protruding end of the fastener 64. The mounting plate 66 has a threaded hole 67 for receiving the threaded shaft of the fastener 64 to securely secure and set the height of the mounting plate 66. When assembled, the top or tip 64a of the threaded fastener 64 protrudes a predetermined amount from the threaded hole 67 to form a raised abutment above the upper surface of the mounting plate 66. As described below, the focal area 78 of the sensor plate 71 is placed on the tip 64a of the fastener 64, such as Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, it forms a Fig.11A For a trolley 2, 30 having a caster mounting structure in the form of a mounting bracket 17 having a mounting post 39, as shown in FIG. Fig.12 As shown in , headed mounting posts 69 are used. The height of the drive unit 50 and mounting assembly 60 is generally equal to the height of the rear caster assembly 14 and spacers 61 so that the carts 2, 20, 30 and their trays 5, 21-22, 31-33 are level.

[0086] The cart has four weight sensor assemblies 70. Two weight sensor assemblies 70 are located directly above the mounting plate 66 of the mounting assembly 60, such as Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown in , the two weight sensor assemblies are directly located above the mounting structure or bracket 17 of the rear caster assembly 14, such as Figure 3 (bottom left), Fig.11A and Fig. 11B . Each sensor assembly 70 includes a sensing plate 71 and a spacer 85. The sensor plate 71 has a peripheral portion 72 with a fastener opening 72a. The sensor plate 71 has a generally U-shaped slot or opening 74 cut out of the plate about the center of the sensor plate 71 to form an inwardly extending weight support tab 75. The support tab 75 extends from one side of the peripheral portion 72 toward the center of the plate 71 and into the center of the plate 71. The support tab 75 has an upper surface 76, a semi-flexible neck 77 and a weight support center area 78. When desired, the center area 78 has a downwardly facing crown, dimple or depression 79 with a curved surface 79a, such as Fig. 11B and Fig. 11C . The neck 77 is semi-flexible in that it elastically flexes a small amount (less than about one eighth of an inch (3 mm)) in response to the applied weight or force, but continues to support the weight of the cart 45 and the item or payload 29 placed on the cart. A weight sensor 80, such as a piezoelectric sensor, is secured to the upper surface 76 of the semi-flexible neck 77. The threaded fastener 19 is non-load bearing and when an item is placed on the cart, the threaded fastener 19 moves downward to form a gap 89 between the fastener head 19b and the mounting plate 66. When the weight sensor assembly 70 is used without the RCP 40, a visual display 90 ( Fig. 11C ) is fixed to the cart 2. The processor 90a is in electrical communication with the visual display 90, and each sensor 80 sends weight data to the processor via wire 90c. When used with the RCP 40, each sensor 80 is in electrical communication with the RCP circuit via wire 82, or with a visual display 90 having a programmed processor 90a fixed to the cart structure.

[0087] Spacer 85 is located above weight sensing plate 71. Spacer 85 has a peripheral portion 86 with fastener openings 86a and a hollow central opening 88. Central opening 88 accommodates the upward bend of support tab 75 and provides a path for sensor wire 82 to be routed. The central weight focus area 78 of sensing plate 71 rides on mounting plate 17 ( Figures 11A-11C ) or the fastener tip 64a of the mounting plate 66 ( Figure 2-Figure 4 ) and engages with the weight support of the fastener tip 64a of the mounting plate 17 or the mounting plate 66. In some cases, such as for two rear weight sensor assemblies 70, such as Fig.11A, the upwardly extending central crown 18 of the caster mounting plate 17 supportingly engages the bottom surface of the central focal area 78. In other cases, such as for the drive unit mounting assembly 60, the downwardly facing crown, dimple or depression 79 ( Fig. 11B ) rides on and engages the upper surface of mounting bracket 66 or 366 ( Figure 3 and Fig.16A ). The sensing plate 71 and the spacer 85 above the rear caster assembly 14 are located between the caster mounting bracket 17 and the lower surface of the trolley mounting structure 8. The sensing plate 71 and the spacer 85 above the drive unit mounting assembly 60 are located between the upper surface of each mounting plate 66 or 366 and the lower surface of the trolley mounting structure 8.

[0088] The weight of the cart 20, 30 is supported by the central focal area 78 of the support tab 75 of the four sensor plates 71. The sensor 80 is firmly fixed to the semi-flexible portion or neck 77 of the sensor plate 71. The deformation of the support tab 75 caused by the weight of the cart 2, 20, 30 and its load causes a change in resistance in the sensor 80. When force is applied to the focal area 78 or the concave point 79 of the plate 71, the sensor 80 changes resistance. This change in resistance data or weight level data is sent to the processor 90a of the visual display or the RCP processor 102, and is automatically used by the processor to determine a digital weight measurement of the amount of weight carried by each sensing plate 71. The weight measurement data is then used by the higher-level functions of the visual display or RCP processor. For example, the weight measurement data is compared with the weight threshold stored in the memory 90b, 103 to determine whether the payload 29 exceeds the threshold or the maximum supportable weight, or to determine whether the load is balanced or unbalanced. For a balanced load, each sensor plate 71 carries one-fourth of the load weight. For an unbalanced load, one or both sensors carry significantly more of the load weight than the other sensor plates. The processor then sends a digital warning message to the visual display 90 or control panel 170 (discussed below) to display a warning message via an icon on the key (e.g., "Exceeding Load Capacity," "Unbalanced Load," and lighting the key "red"). Although the weight sensor 80 is shown and described as a strain gauge sensor, such as a piezoelectric sensor, it should be understood that other embodiments may also be used, such as a force sensitive resistor.

[0089] like Figure 4 , Figure 5A and Figure 5BAs shown in , the drive unit 50 has two drive motors 91 and 92 and two drive wheels 93 and 94. Each drive wheel 93, 94 has a hub 95 that securely receives the drive shaft or axle 96 of its associated motor 91 or 92. The motor 91 on the right side 56 of the base unit 50 drives the right wheel 93, and the motor 92 on the left side 57 of the base unit drives the left wheel 94. Each motor 91 and 92 independently drives or rotates its associated drive shaft 96 and drive wheel 93 or 94. Each motor 91 and 92 can rotate its drive shaft 96 and drive wheel 93 or 94 in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. The independent operation of the drive motors 91 and 92 allows the RCP drive unit 50 to rotate in place and allows the autonomous car 20, 30 to turn with a minimum travel distance.

[0090] The right motor 91 and the left motor 92 are mounted on the inner surface of the right side 56 and the left side 57 of the housing 51, respectively. The motors 91 and 92 are securely mounted by screw fasteners so that their drive shafts or axles 96 extend through the housing wheel holes 58b in the side wing 58a. The axles 96 are colinear, and the drive wheels 93 and 94 are parallel to the side 2c of the cart 2. The drive wheels 93 and 94 do not turn right or left like the rear casters 15. Turning is performed by making the right and left drive wheels 93 and 94 rotate at different speeds or directions. The drive wheels 93 and 94 have a diameter of about 6 inches (15 cm), are sized and positioned outside the housing 51, and the outer periphery travels along the ground. Preferably, there is a clearance of about 1 inch (2.8 cm) between the bottom 55 of the housing 51 and the horizontal ground so that the RCP 40 can cross deviations in the ground. The size of the drive wheels 93 and 94 are also adjusted in conjunction with the height of the base unit 50 and its mounting assembly 60 to ensure that the carts 20, 30 are level.

[0091] When the RCP 40 is turned on or activated, the carts 20, 30, 45 are in their autonomous mode. Power is provided to the motors 91 and 92, which rotate their respective drive wheels 93 and 94 to propel the cart from one position to another along the straight travel path 47, 48 or the curved travel path 49. When the RCP 40 is turned off or deactivated, the carts 20, 30, 45 are in manual mode and the power to the motors 91 and 92 is cut off. The deactivated motors 91 and 92 do not inhibit the free rotation of the drive wheels 93 and 94, so that the staff can easily push or pull the carts 20, 30 from one position to another. The drive motors 91 and 92 are preferably brushless direct current (BLDC) motors with both clockwise and counterclockwise rotation connected to a planetary reduction gearbox. Each high torque motor 91, 92 is about 6 inches (15cm) long, about 3 inches (7.5cm) in diameter, rated voltage of about 24 volts, no-load speed of about 600 rpm, rated torque of about 5 kg-cm, reduction ratio of about 1 / 10, and output shaft diameter of about 1 / 4 inch (6mm). The output shaft 96 extends about 0.6 inches (15mm) from the motor housing, and the end of the output shaft is notched to facilitate the rotational locking fixation of its associated drive wheel 93 or 94.

[0092] The motors 91 and 92 are interfaced with an associated dual motor controller 97. The speed and direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) of each output shaft 96 is controlled by the controller 97, which is in electrical communication with the motor 91 or 92 and controls the power supplied to each motor. The controlled power supplied to each motor 91 or 92 via the motor controller 97 controls the speed of the drive shaft 96 of each motor, thereby controlling the speed of the drive wheels 93 and 94. The controller 97 is preferably a brushless DC (BLDC) motor controller having a 6.5-50 volt input, a 350 watt brushless DC motor speed regulator control module, a 12 volt, 24 volt, 36 volt, 48 volt high power BLDC speed motor controller driver board with heat sink, and a 0-5 volt PWM duty cycle control using a FG pulse signal and 9 pulses / wheel.

[0093] Each motor 91 and 92 is interfaced with an associated "always on" encoder 98 and 99. Each encoder 98 and 99 has a rotary disk and an output cable. Each rotary disk is mounted on its respective motor 91 or 92 so as to optically observe the rotational movement of its associated motor drive shaft 96, and thereby observe the rotational movement of its associated drive wheel 93 or 94. The rotary disk transmits this shaft rotation movement data or information to the microcontroller 106 and its memory 107 via its output cable, and the shaft rotation movement data or information is then periodically transmitted to the RCP processor 102 and its memory 103. The RCP processor 102 uses this shaft rotation or wheel movement data to determine the travel distance and travel path taken by the RCP 40 and autonomous cart 45 from its starting position or starting position coordinates, as well as to determine the coordinates or coordinate data associated with the current physical position 100 of the RCP 40 and cart 45. The high shock resistant encoders 98 and 99 preferably have a power supply of approximately 5 volts DC, a resolution of approximately 400 pulses per revolution, a speed of approximately 2400 revolutions per minute, an optical code disk having a thickness of approximately 0.05 inches (1 mm), a diameter of approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) and an aperture of approximately 0.47 inches (12 mm), an AB 2 phase output and a line driver having ABZA-BZ channels.

[0094] The RCP navigation and movement system 42 and the drive unit 50 have a circuit board including a single board computer 101, a power board 104 and a digital board 105, such as Figure 5A and Figure 5B. The single board computer 101 includes a main processor or CPU 102 and associated long term hard drive memory 103. The digital board 102 includes a microcontroller 106 and associated short term dynamic fast access memory or (DRAM) 107. Circuitry 109 interconnects the boards 101-103, the processor 102, the microcontroller 106 and its associated memory 103 and 107, the motor controller 97, the drive motors 91, 92 and encoders 98, 99, and components external to the housing 51, such as a weight sensor 80, a power supply, a LIDAR scanner 140, a proximity sensor 150, a safety light 160, a control panel 170, etc., as described below. Components mounted within the drive unit housing 51, such as the motors 91 and 92, the motor controller 97 and the encoders 98 and 99 are wired directly to connection points in the drive unit circuitry 109 for power and communication with the processor 102 and microcontroller 106. Devices mounted on the cart structure 3 external to the drive unit 50 are electrically connected to the drive unit circuit 109 and circuit boards 101, 104, and 105 via a plurality of input / output terminals or ports 110 (including 2 battery ports 111 and 112, LED light port 113, control panel port 114, 2 proximity sensor line ports 115 and 116, weight sensor port 117, WiFi port 118, and audio port) for power and communication. The LIDAR scanner mounted atop the drive unit 50 is wired directly to the LIDAR connection point in the circuit 109, or to the LIDAR port 119. A control panel port 114 is provided for power and communication with switches such as the on / off switch and the "GO" and emergency stop buttons, as described below.

[0095] Data processing for the navigation and movement system 42 is handled by the programmed RCP processor 102 and microcontroller 106. The microcontroller 106 runs low-level firmware that provides very fast real-time processing. The RCP processor 102 provides high-level functions, such as planning routes 149 and motor movement instructions for the RCP 40, and communicating with personnel via safety lights, control panels, audio speakers, and WiFi units, as described below. The RCP mapping data obtained by the LIDAR sensor 140 flows from the microcontroller 106 to the main RCP processor 102. The microcontroller 106 saves the mapping data in its short-term memory or DRAM 107, and then periodically passes the data to the RCP processor 102 for storage in its long-term hard drive memory 103. Both the processor 102 and the microcontroller 106 perform some data processing. For example, the microcontroller 106 uses the proximity sensor 150 to scan or detect an obstacle that is present for a few seconds and then leaves (someone passing by). When the microcontroller 106 passes this data to the RCP processor 102, the RCP processor filters out the temporary or passing obstacle data from the long term memory 103 because the obstacle 262a is more transient and not as long term as a wall, pillar, or edge of the loading dock 262. The RCP processor 102 has both associated dynamic memory (such as DRAM that is deleted from storage when power is removed) and long term hard drive memory 103 that is retained even when power is removed.

[0096] The RCP 40 includes a portable power source or battery pack 120 mounted to the autonomous cart 45. The battery 120 has a power port 122 and a communication port 123, and provides power to all internal and external components and devices of the RCP 40 via the drive unit circuit 109 and terminals 110 of the RCP 40. The battery pack 120 is fixed to the cart 45 in a position that avoids interfering with the loading and unloading of the cart, or other activities of the personnel using the cart, and allows the first battery pack to be easily swapped out with a second replacement battery pack when the first battery pack needs to be recharged. The power source 120 is designed to provide sufficient power for the RCP 40 for a 4 hour work shift and to propel the cart carrying a 50-100 kg payload for 500-1500 meters at a walking speed of about 1 meter per second. The main power source 120 is preferably a multi-cell battery pack having a plurality of lithium-ion cells (approximately 50 cells) to produce approximately 129.5Wh (each cell having a rechargeable capacity of approximately 4.1V / 2500mAh), a 24V output port, and an RS-485 (two-wire) communication port. The battery pack 120 is secured to the cart 20, 45 via a mounting bracket assembly 125, which includes a support bracket 126 with a slide bar 127. The slide bar 127 allows the battery pack 120 to be quickly removed for recharging, and allows a fully charged battery pack to be quickly secured.

[0097] The RCP circuit 109 includes a backup power circuit 130 on the digital board 105, such as Figure 5B. When the RCP 40 is turned on, power from the battery 120 is provided to the encoders 98 and 99 via the normal encoder power line 131, and is provided to the microcontroller or MCU 106 and its memory or DRAM 107 via the normal microcontroller power line 132. When the battery 120 power is turned off or interrupted, the backup power circuit 130 provides backup power to the encoders 98 and 99, the MCU 106 and the DRAM 107. The backup power circuit 130 has a backup power supply 135, such as a supercapacitor. Power from the supercapacitor 135 is provided to the encoders 98 and 99 via the encoder backup line 136, and is provided to the microcontroller 106 via the microcontroller backup line 137. The backup power lines 136 and 137 are electrically connected to the supercapacitor and the normal power lines 131 and 132, respectively. Diodes 138 and 139 in the normal power lines 131 and 132 prevent power from the supercapacitor 135 from flowing to the battery 120. Then, when the battery 120 that powers the RCP 40 is reconnected, power from the battery 120 flows through diodes 138 and 139 and backup lines 136 and 137 to recharge the supercapacitor 135. The supercapacitor 135 maintains enough power to operate the encoders 98 and 99, the MCU 106, and the DRAM 107 for about a week. The supercapacitor 135 is preferably an SCCY83B507SLBLE from AVX Corporation.

[0098] The autonomous vehicle 45 includes a time-of-flight laser scanner 140, such as Figure 2-Figure 4 , Figure 8-Figure 9 and Fig.12 As described below, the laser scanner 140 creates continuously updated mapping data that is used by the processors 102 and 106 to create the surrounding working environment 260 ( Fig.13 ) of high-resolution image maps 260'( Fig.14 ) for navigating and avoiding fixed structures (such as walls, columns, support posts and stairs) and more permanent obstacles (such as furniture, workbenches and shelving units). Although the scanner 140 also detects temporary obstacles (such as a passing worker or a package temporarily placed on the floor), the processor 102 removes these temporary obstacles 262a from the environmental mapping data it stores in its long-term memory 103.

[0099] The laser scanner 140 is preferably a triangulation-type laser scanner, such as a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor having 2D imaging, a three hundred sixty degree (360°) omnidirectional laser range, a scan range of about 12 meters, a power input of about 5 volts, a sampling rate of about 8000, a configurable scan rate of about 2-10 Hz, a pulse wave (breakout) of about 940 nm, and plug-and-play, such as Slamtec's RPLIDAR A2. The RCP 40 uses the LIDAR scanner 140 to obtain environmental mapping data stored in its memory 103. The RCP 40 uses the mapping data to identify open areas 261 in the building that the RCP 40 and the cart 45 can pass through, and to identify fixed structures 262 in the building that the RCP 40 and the cart 45 cannot pass through. The RCP 40 uses the mapping data and the current position 100 data to determine a route 149 along which the cart 45 can travel to a selected destination 172, as described below ( Fig.13 and Fig.14 ). On the way to the destination, the RCP 40 also uses the LIDAR scanner 140 to detect obstacles.

[0100] The LIDAR scanner 140 is preferably mounted on the RCP drive unit 50 below the cart structure 3 and the lower trays 21, 31. The scanner 140 is fixed to the autonomous cart 45 in a fixed position that provides a substantially unobstructed 360° field of view or substantially circumferential sensing range of the cart's surroundings 260, protects the scanner 140 from inadvertent contact by personnel and objects, and does not interfere with the operation of the cart or personnel. A particularly good location for the 360° scanner 140 is in the middle of the top surface 54 of the drive unit housing 51, although other locations on the RCP drive unit 50 or cart 45 are possible. The rotating scanner (not shown) of the LIDAR scanner 140 is located above the drive unit mounting bracket 62 so that the bracket does not obstruct the scanner's field of view. As shown Fig.10 , only the drive unit mount 65 and a small portion of the rear caster assembly 14 obstruct the 360° scanning area or plane 142 of the LIDAR scanner 140. In this mounted position, the LIDAR scanner 140 observes a circular sensing or working range of greater than about 340° of the surrounding environment. The forward viewing area 144 in front of the cart 45 is substantially unobstructed within approximately 180° and is completely open and unobstructed within approximately 90°. The rearward viewing area 145 behind the cart 45 is substantially unobstructed within approximately 180° and is completely open and unobstructed within approximately 35°. When the LIDAR scanner 140 is mounted directly to the drive unit housing 51 via the mounting bracket 146, its power and communication lines 148 pass through the housing 51 ( Figure 4) through an opening in the top 54 of the device and connected directly to a designated LIDAR connection point in the drive unit circuit 109 as described above.

[0101] The proximity sensor 150 is installed in Figure 2-Figure 3 , Figure 6-Figure 10 and Fig.12 on the autonomous vehicle 45 shown in . These sensors 150 enable the autonomous vehicle 45 to detect and, when necessary, navigate around fixed obstacles 262 and temporary obstacles 262a. The proximity sensor 150 is a time-of-flight distance sensor or ranging system integrated into a compact module. The sensor 150 is preferably a laser ranging system having a maximum sensing range of approximately 4 meters, an operating voltage of approximately 2.6 volts to 5.5 volts, a supply current of approximately 15 milliamps, an eye-safe 940nm invisible emitter, a 27° programmable region of interest (ROI), field of view or field of view (FOV) or scanning cone, configurable detection interrupts, and dimensions of approximately 0.5×0.7×0.1 inches (2.5 mm). As Figure 8-10 As shown in FIG, each sensor 150 is pointed in a specific aiming direction 151 and has a 27° sensing cone 152 extending approximately 4 meters from the sensor. Each sensor 150 independently detects the presence of objects within its range and scanning cone 152. Each sensor 150 has terminals for receiving power and sending or receiving communication signals from the microprocessor 106 or the drive unit circuit 109, and is secured within the riser opening 27 by a mounting clip.

[0102] like Figure 6-Figure 10 As shown in , a plurality of proximity sensors 150 are mounted to the autonomous cart 45. Together, these sensors 150 provide a substantially unobstructed view of the cart's surroundings, particularly in the forward direction 47 and rearward direction 48 of travel, as well as in the direction outward from the side 2c of the cart 45. The RCP 40 uses the proximity sensors 150 to detect obstacles on the way to its destination, and the microcontroller 106 can determine which sensor 150 is triggered by the obstacle. The sensors 150 are placed in locations where they are protected from inadvertent contact by workers and objects and do not interfere with the operation of the cart or workers. For the plastic autonomous carts 20, 45, the proximity sensors 150 are mounted within the riser channels 26, with each sensor peeking out of a riser opening 27. Four proximity sensors 150 are mounted in each L-shaped riser 25. One sensor 150 is mounted to peek from the top opening on each side 25a and 25b of each of the four risers 25, and one sensor 150 is mounted to peek from the bottom opening on each side of the riser, as shown in FIG. Figure 8-104. Each riser 25 has 2 proximity sensors 150 pointing to the side 2c, and 2 proximity sensors pointing to the front 2a or rear 2b. The top sensor 150 is aimed downward 151 at an angle of about thirty degrees (30°), while the bottom sensor is aimed upward at an angle of about thirty degrees (30°) so that their scanning cones 152 begin to overlap 154 ​​at about half the height of the cart 45.

[0103] For metal autonomous vehicles 30, 45 ( Fig.12 ), proximity sensors 150 are mounted on the outside of the lip 7 of the upper tray 32. Two proximity sensors 150 are mounted along each side of the tray 32. Two sensors face outward or forward from the front end 2a of the cart 30. Two sensors face backward from the rear end 2b of the cart 30, and two sensors face sideways from each side 2c of the cart. Regardless of which direction the autonomous cart 20, 30, 45 is traveling, forward 47, backward 48, or turning right or left 49, the cart has two proximity sensors 150 facing that general direction.

[0104] Warning or safety lights 160 are mounted on and around the autonomous car 45. For the plastic autonomous car 20, 45, the lights 160 are mounted in the riser channels 26, each of which peeks out of the riser openings 27. Two safety lights 160 are mounted in each L-shaped riser 25. One light 160 is mounted to peek out of the middle opening 27 on each side 25a and 25b of each of the four risers 25. Each riser 25 has one light 160 facing the side 2c and one facing the front end 2a or the rear end 2b. The lights 160 are preferably LED lights that consume minimal power. When the car moves, the LED lights 160 flash slowly, and when an obstacle is detected, the LED lights 160 change color (orange) and do not flash. Different colors can mark different conditions, such as purple-proximity sensor is not working, white-the car is moving in that direction (front light), red-the car is leaving (tail light), green-all actions are completed and the car is ready for another command. Each lamp 160 has connection terminals for receiving electrical power and is secured within the riser opening 27 by a mounting clip 165 .

[0105] like Figure 3 , Figure 6 , Fig.15A and Fig. 15BAs shown in , a control panel 170 or suitable device is mounted on the autonomous vehicle 45 that allows the operator to communicate with the navigation and movement system 42. The panel 170 is mounted in a position that is easily accessible to the operator, such as on or near the handle 12 of the vehicle. The communication device 170 is preferably a 6-key input device with a customizable LCD key 171 and a microprocessor with non-permanent fast access memory, and is capable of displaying customized icons and animated gifs, such as Corsair's Eltato Stream Deck Mini keyboard (pad). Each key 171 has a surface that is touched or pressed to operate the key, but other activation mechanisms that physically operate the key are also possible. Each key also has a tap-to-switch scene to activate various customized programming capabilities.

[0106] The communication device or control panel 170 is preferably secured to the rear end 2b of the utility tray 28 by means of a mounting bracket and fasteners. The panel 170 has a connection point for receiving a USB cable to provide power from a battery and to send and receive signals, or otherwise communicate with the navigation and movement system 42, the processor 102, and the memory 103. The RCP memory 103 is loaded with groups of icon images 173 and 174 for selective display on the six control buttons 171. Each time a group of icons 173 or 174 is displayed on a button ( Fig.15A and 15B ). By pressing, touching or otherwise physically engaging or activating a designated key, such as the lower right key that displays battery charge level information and a "battery charge level" icon, the control panel 170 switches between displaying the first set 173 and the second set 174 of icon images. One set of icon images 173 or 174 is displayed at a time. When the key 171 is pressed to display a particular icon image, the control panel 170 sends a command signal or command identified as being associated with that icon image to the RCP processor 102, which then uses the navigation and control system 42 to perform the particular navigation and movement operations required to complete the command.

[0107] The 6-button control panel 170 allows the navigation and mobility system 42 to perform a variety of functions. When the RCP 40 is turned on, such as Fig.15A As shown in FIG. 1 , the RCP processor 102 displays a destination icon group 173 on the key 171. The worker uses the destination icon group 173 (e.g., icons "1", "2", "3", etc.) to enter a plurality of different desired destination locations 172 into the RCP memory 103. Fig.13As shown in the figure, the cart 45 is located at the desired destination 172, and the staff member long presses one of the keys 171 displaying the destination icon (e.g., icon "1") for more than a predetermined threshold time period, such as more than 3 seconds. Then, the RCP processor 102 uses the RCP movement data, such as the drive shaft rotation data obtained from the encoders 98 and 99 to determine the current physical position 100 of the cart 45 and the associated coordinates or coordinate data, and saves the coordinate data 265 of the position as the desired or selected destination 172 associated with the particular key 171 and its associated icon image ("1" icon) in the RCP memory 103. The background color of the destination key 171 will change from an unset color (gray) to a set color (green). This provides a visual indication to the staff member that the desired destination 172 has been successfully set and stored in the RCP memory 103. Now, when the key 171 with the destination icon ("1" icon) is subsequently pressed for less than a threshold time period (less than 3 seconds), the cart 45 will go to the previously set and stored destination location 172. Each key 171 having a particular destination icon ("1-5") is used to set and subsequently select a particular desired destination 172 associated with that icon.

[0108] The autonomous cart or vehicle 45 is programmable so that it stops when it reaches the desired destination 172 and waits for the operator to enter further control panel instructions, or moves from one predetermined destination 172 to another predetermined destination 172 in a cycle. For the latter, once the cart 45 reaches the first desired destination 172 ("1" icon) and waits for a predetermined period of time, the cart 45 proceeds to the next numerical predetermined destination 172 ("2" icon). The operator can change the order of the cycle by resetting the specific destination 172 associated with each destination icon. The operator can delete a predetermined destination 172 and replace it with another destination location 172 as described above if necessary.

[0109] The set of arrow or move icons 174 ( Fig. 15B) enables the worker to use the RCP drive motors 91 and 92 to move the cart or vehicle 45 in a self-propelled manner while they walk behind the cart. When a key 171 with an arrow icon (e.g., an "↑" icon) is pressed, the cart 45 moves in the direction of the arrow under its own power until the worker stops pressing the key with the arrow icon. The destination can be set by manually pushing the cart 45 or by moving the cart to the desired destination using the key 171 with the arrow icon. Given the backup circuit 130 and the "always on encoders" 98 and 99, the cart 45 can be turned off and manually pushed to the location to be set as the destination. When the key 171 displaying the destination icon (e.g., the "1" icon) is pressed, the RCP 40 uses its encoders 98 and 99 and the drive shaft rotation data to determine the current real-time position 100 of the cart 45. In order to set the desired destination 172, the autonomous cart 45 and the communication device 170 need to be powered on. When the cart 45 is not powered on, the 6-key control panel 170 does not work.

[0110] A large and conspicuous on / off switch 175 is provided on or near the control panel 170. The switch or depressible button 175 is used to turn on or activate the RCP drive unit 50 by allowing power from the battery 120 to provide power to the internal and external RCP drive unit 50 components and devices that form the RCP 40, thereby placing the RCP 40, the navigation and movement system 42, and the cart 45 in an autonomous operating mode. The switch 175 is also used to shut down or deactivate the RCP 40 by disconnecting the flow of power from the battery 120 to the RCP, thereby placing it and the cart 45 in a manual operating mode. The switch 175 is mounted through a hole drilled in the cart 20 and secured with a nut at the back. Two wires on the back of the button 175 provide its electrical connection to the system circuit 109. An emergency stop button 180 is located at the front end 2a of the cart 45. The button 180 can also be used by a worker to shut down or deactivate the RCP 40, thereby placing it and the cart 45 in a manual operating mode. The button 180 has a rear connection point 182 for receiving a USB cable to send and receive communication signals.

[0111] The control panel 170 has a "GO" button 185. For the plastic cart 20, 45 ( Figure 6 ), the 6-button control panel 170 is programmed so that one of its buttons acts as a GO button. For the metal carts 30, 45 ( Fig.12), a GO button 185 is located on the control panel 170. The "GO" button is a momentary switch that is pressed to signal the RCP processor 102 that it should instruct the RCP drive unit 50 to move. When the "GO" button 185 is pressed, the cart 45 will autonomously move to the next predetermined destination on the organized list of destination 264 coordinates 265 selected by the operator or stored in the RCP memory 103, as described below ( Fig.14 ). The cart 45 autonomously moves in a cycle to a series of predetermined destinations and then repeats the movement cycle. When the "GO" button 185 is pressed, the RCP 40 uses its navigation and movement system 42 to plan a route 149 to the selected destination or the next destination on its destination list, and then moves to the destination along the route. When more than one destination is entered, set or otherwise downloaded into the RCP memory 103, the RCP 40 will move from one destination to another in a cycle each time the "GO" button is pressed. Once the RCP drive unit arrives at the next destination, the RCP drive unit 50 and the cart 45 will stop. The control panel 170, switch 175, and emergency stop button 180 and GO button 185 are used by a staff member standing next to the cart 45, but can also be remotely controlled by an optional server and wireless communication system, as described below.

[0112] The RCP 40 is equipped with an audio speaker 190 for communicating with the staff. For the plastic cart 20, 45, the speaker 190 is fixed in the web compartment 24 on the lower side of the upper tray 22 ( Figure 7), but can be mounted inside the RCP housing. A speaker mount 194 is provided to secure the speaker in place. The speaker 190 is electrically connected to the RCP 40 and its processor 102 via a USB cable via the circuit 109 and input / output terminals of the RCP drive unit 51 for power and communication. The processor 102 is programmed to send one of several audio messages stored in its memory 103 to the speaker 190 for various reasons. For example, these reasons include when the proximity sensor 150 detects a nearby moving object 262a (such as a person), when the weight sensor 80 detects a load that exceeds the load capacity of the cart 45, when the weight sensor 80 detects an unbalanced load, when the battery pack 120 is low or needs to be recharged, or when an invalid destination coordinate is entered into the keyboard 170 by a staff member. The audio message can be a simple beep, buzzer or siren, or a verbal message (such as "Warning Overload", "Warning Unbalanced Load", "Low Battery", "Charge Battery" or "Invalid Destination Coordinates"). The message is repeated until the processor 102 detects corrective action, the identified moving object (person) leaves, or the operator acknowledges receipt of the message via the keyboard 170. The audio speaker 190 has rear connection terminals for receiving power and sending and receiving communication signals. Although not shown, the external speaker 190 can be mounted inside the RCP housing 51.

[0113] The RCP 40, the navigation and movement system 42 and the autonomous vehicle 45 are optionally equipped with a WiFi unit 195. The WiFi unit 195 is mounted in the web compartment 24 on the upper tray 22, such as Figure 7 , and is electrically connected to the RCP 40 and its processor 102 via the circuit 109 and input / output terminal 118 of the RCP drive unit 51 via a USB cable for power supply and communication. The WiFi unit 195 preferably has an input power of 5 volts, an operating wavelength of about 2.4 to 5.8 GHz, and a transmission range of about 10 meters, such as Techkey's B07J65G9DD.

[0114] Figure 2 The cable array 200 shown in FIG. 1 connects the RCP 40 and the external components of the navigation and movement system 42 to the input / output terminals 110 of the RCP drive unit 50 circuit 109. The cable assembly includes a weight sensor 80, a battery 120, a proximity sensor 150, a safety light 160, a control panel 170, an on / off switch 175, an emergency stop button 180, a "GO" button 185, an audio speaker 190, and a WiFi unit 195. As described above, the LIDAR sensor 140 mounted on top of the drive unit 50 can be as shown in FIG. Figure 3 Directly connected to the drive unit circuit 109 as shown in Figure 5BThe cable array 200 includes the following: Figure 2 , Figure 8 and Fig. 9 1 and 2. Two lines 201 and 202 are shown running through the cart 20 to connect external components to their associated input / output terminals 111-119. One line 201 runs along the right side of the cart 20 and one line 202 runs along the left side of the cart.

[0115] The right side circuit 201 and the left side circuit 202 each include a plurality of independent wiring circuits 205 for powering and communicating with the two weight sensors 80, the eight proximity sensors 150, and the four safety lights 160. The right side circuit 201 also includes independent wiring circuits 205 for powering and communicating with the control panel 170, the on / off switch 175, the emergency stop button 180, the "GO" button 185, the audio speaker 190, and the WiFi unit 195. A separate conductor 206 at one end of each power and communication wiring circuit 205 for a particular external component is connected to a component-specific connection point 210, which electrically connects its conductor 206 to the terminal of the external component. The individual conductors 206 at the other end of each wiring circuit 205 are connected to an input / output connector 215, which is inserted into the appropriate input / output port 111-119 of the drive unit 50, thereby electrically connecting the wiring circuit to the appropriate input / output port 111-119 of its drive unit 50. The wiring lines 205 for the proximity sensors 150 in one line 201 or 202 share a common input / output connector 215. The individual wiring lines 205 in the two lines 201 and 202 of the cable array 200 are bundled together 209 near the input / output ports 111-119 and connected to their appropriate terminals 215. The appropriate terminals 215 are then plugged into their appropriate input / output ports 111-119. It should be understood that the line of the cable array 200 can be divided into four lines 201-204, such as Figure 3 As shown in FIG. 1 , one of the lines is routed through the internal channel 26 of each of the four risers 25 .

[0116] When the RCP 40 is turned on via switch 175, power from the battery 120 is supplied to the RCP 40 and the navigation and locomotion system 42, including the circuit boards and internal components 91, 92, 97-99, 101-109 and 135, and external components 80, 140, 150, 160, 170, 175, 180, 185, 190 and 195, via the cable array 200. When the RCP 40 is turned off, power from the battery 120 to the RCP 40 and its navigation and locomotion system 42 is cut off, except for the encoders 91 and 92, MCU 106 and DRAM 107, which are still powered by the backup circuit 130 as described above. When the RCP processor 102 detects that the remaining power or charge in the battery 120 is insufficient or meets a predetermined charging threshold, the processor schedules the RCP 40 to the charging station 259 ( Fig.13 ) route, and navigate the trolley 45 to the charging station. Then, the staff connects the battery 120 to the power outlet at the charging station 259 to charge the battery, or replaces the battery with a charged battery at the workbench.

[0117] Conventional carts 20, 30 are modified to integrate the RCP 40 to form an autonomous cart 45. The front caster assembly 14 is removed and replaced with an RCP drive unit 50. For the conventional plastic cart 20, four riser channel covers 241 are secured within each riser 25 to enclose the interior channels 26 and to house and protect the proximity sensors 150, lights 160, and cable runs 201 and 202 within those channels. A tray cover 242 is secured to the bottom of the upper tray 22 to house and protect the audio speakers 190, WiFi devices 195 within the web compartments 24 of the upper tray, and the cable runs 201 and 202 extending through the walls forming its web compartment matrix. Routing holes 243 are formed at the corners of the flat tray face 6 of the lower tray 21. A first row of web holes 244 are formed in the structural web 23 of the lower tray 21 to route the cables 201 and 202 from the rear of the RCP drive unit 50 to the front end of the lower tray in a supported manner, as shown. Figure 8 and Fig. 9 Best shown.

[0118] The right and left lines 201 and 202 diverge and pass through the second row of web holes 244 along the front end 2a of the lower tray 21 to the front corner 4 of the tray. The lines 201 and 202 pass through their respective holes 243 in the lower tray 21 and extend upward to their respective riser channels 26. The third and fourth rows of web holes 244 are formed along the side 2c of the upper tray 22 so that the right and left lines 201 and 202 can be supported along the left and right tray sides to the rear end 2b of the tray, just above the rear riser channel 26. The lines 201 and 202 extend downward through these channels and through the tray holes to the two weight sensors 80 at the rear of the cart. The web holes 244 are also formed along the front end of the upper tray 22 so that one cable 201 can reach the emergency stop button 180 installed in the emergency stop button opening 245 formed in the center of the front end of the upper tray. Web holes 244 are also formed along the rear end of the upper tray 22 to allow the cable wiring 201 to reach the battery 120, control panel 170, on / off switch 175 and "GO" button 185, which is mounted in a GO button opening 249 formed in the center of the utility tray 28. For a conventional metal cart 30 having wire baskets 31-33, riser holes 249 are formed near the top and bottom ends of the tubular risers 35 to allow the cable wiring to extend protected from the lower tray to the upper tray.

[0119] RCP 40 uses its WiFi unit 195 to communicate with Fig.13 195. The conventional workstation 250 has a computer processor 252, a keyboard input device 254, and a monitor 255. The workstation processor 252 acts as a server or SRCP for the cart 45. The RCP 40 sends various data or information to the workstation SRCP 250. For example, environmental map data in the RCP memory 103, current or real-time RCP / cart position data, and selected desired destination data are sent to the SRCP 250 via the WiFi device 195. The SRCP 250 processes the data to display visually on its monitor 255, such as Fig.14 Monitor 255 visually displays a screen showing an environmental map 260' derived from environmental map data in RCP 40. Map 260' shows open areas 261' of a building through which cart 45 can travel, fixed structures 262' in the building, a real-time RCP location marker (triangle) 263 identifying the current physical location 100 of RCP 40 (the marker is a visual representation of the current location data), and a listing of destination markers (arrows) 264 currently stored in RCP memory 103.

[0120] The computer screen of the monitor 255 also shows a list 265 of coordinates for each listed destination. The screen provides touch screen buttons 266 and 267 to add destinations to or delete destinations from the RCP memory 103. New destination coordinates are entered via the keyboard 254. The SRCP 250 and its touch screen buttons are operable to remotely select a particular destination for the cart 45 to travel to next. A "GO" button 268, visually displayed on the screen of the SRCP monitor 255, is then pressed to remotely control the RCP 40 and send the cart 45 to the selected destination. The SRCP monitor 255 screen also visually displays a touchable joystick 269 to remotely control the operation of the RCP 40 and the movement of the cart 45.

[0121] When multiple autonomous carts 45 are used, the SRCP 250 communicates with each of them. The mapping data from the various carts 45 are combined to form a global map 260' of the working environment 260 in the SRCP memory 103, which is displayed on the SRCP monitor 255 along with the current position 100 of each cart. The data containing the master or global map of the SRCP 250 is sent to the memory 103 of each RCP cart 45 so that each cart learns from the others.

[0122] Fig.16A and Fig. 16B , an alternative embodiment of the mounting assembly 60 is shown. In this embodiment, the mounting assembly 60 takes the form of two mounting blocks 361 and 362 fixed to the top 54 of the drive unit housing 50. Each block 361 and 362 has a base portion 363 and two spaced apart columns 364. The right block 361 is located near the right 56 ​​corner of the front end 52 of the drive unit 50. The left block 362 is located near the left 57 corner of the front end 52 of the drive unit 50. The bottom surface of each block 361 and 362 is flush with the top 54 of the drive unit 50. Each block 361 and 362 is fixed to the drive unit 50 by two threaded front fasteners 365a. These front fasteners 365a pass through the openings in the top 54 of the housing 51 and the holes in the base portions 363 and front columns 364 of the blocks 361 and 362, and are received and fixed by threaded holes 367a in their mounting plates 366. The pillars 364 open up as much space as possible for the LIDAR scanner so as not to obstruct the LIDAR scan plane. The rear shim 61 may also take the form of blocks 361 and 362 with pillars 364. Since the rear shim is at a greater distance from the LIDAR scanner 140, the effect on the scan plane is less noticeable.

[0123] Each block 361 and 362 also has two rear fasteners 365b to help secure the mounting plate 366 to its block 361 or 362. The heads of these rear fasteners 365b are received in recesses 368 in the bottom surfaces of the blocks 361 and 362. These rear fasteners 365b also pass through holes in the base portions 363 and rear columns 364 of the blocks 361, 362, and are received and secured by threaded holes 367b in its mounting plate 366 to help secure the mounting plate to the drive unit 50. As with the mounting assembly 60, threaded fasteners 19 are used to secure the mounting plate 366 to the support structure 8, 8a of the cart 20. The shafts 19a of these fasteners 19 pass through holes or fastener openings around the peripheral portion of the mounting plate 366 that are aligned with the fastener holes 8a of the cart mounting structure 8. Likewise, as with Figure 2-Figure 4 , the weight sensor assembly 70 is retained between the mounting plate 366 and the cart mounting structure 8. Each inverted crown 79 of the four sensor plates 71 rides on the central area of ​​their associated mounting plate 366 with a gap 89 between the peripheral portions 72 and 366 of the plates 71 and 366. The weight of the cart 45 above the mounting bracket 366 is supported by the four crowns 79 riding on the central area 366c of the mounting plate 366. The threaded fastener 19 is non-load bearing so that when an item or load is placed on the cart 45, the neck 77 of the sensor plate 71 flexes while the fastener 19 moves downward to form a gap 89a between the fastener head 19b and the mounting plate 366. The base portion 363 has a V-groove 369 to secure the left and right cable lines 201 and 202 and prevent them from obstructing the field of view of the LIDAR scanner 140.

[0124] Second embodiment of the robotic vehicle platform 440, navigation and movement system 442, and autonomous vehicle 445

[0125] Figure 17-Figure 3 0 shows a second embodiment of a robotic vehicle platform 440, a navigation and movement system 442, and an autonomous vehicle 445, wherein Figure 31-32 An alternative wiring 610 version is shown in FIG. Figure 33-Figure 35640 version is shown in FIG. 640 , as described below. The structure of the cart 2 is similar to the first embodiment, and can take the form of a plastic cart 20 or a metal cart 30. The robotic cart platform or RCP 440, the navigation and movement system 442, and the autonomous cart 445 have many of the same components as the previous embodiments, such as their internal housing components (e.g., circuit boards 101, 104 and 105, processors 102 and 106, memories 103 and 107, circuit ports 110, backup power circuits 130) and external components (e.g., weight sensor 70, battery 120, LIDAR sensor 140, proximity sensor 150, LED light 160, on / off switch 175, emergency stop button 180, audio speaker 190, WiFi communication device 195). Nonetheless, the second embodiment has various modifications, such as a low-profile housing 451 , a housing mounting assembly 460 , an external drive wheel assembly 490 , an EZ Go navigation panel 570 with 15 buttons 171 , an IMU 545 , and front and rear depth cameras 550 .

[0126] The low profile housing 451 is designed to be sturdy to maintain its shape during use and has a generally rectangular box-shaped structure with a width greater than a height, such as Fig.21 and Fig. 22 The RPC housing 451 is approximately 11 inches in length, 17 inches in width, and 3 inches in height. The housing 451 is suitable for the sizes of various conventional carts 2 and is mounted on the lower side of the lower tray 21, 31, as shown in FIG. Fig.17 and Fig.18 As shown in . The housing 451 is preferably formed of steel plate and includes a shorter front side wall 452, a rear side wall 453, a right side wall 456 and a left side wall 457 to provide a gap of about 2.8 inches (7.1 cm) between the bottom wall 455 and the horizontal ground 1a. The construction of the low-profile housing 451 is possible given the external placement of the drive motors 491 and 492. The top portion 458 and the bottom portion 459 of the housing 451 are connected together to enclose and protect the RPC circuit 109 and components within the housing. The LIDAR sensor 140 is mounted to the housing top 454, and the housing 451 includes a LIDAR sensor input / output opening. When securely mounted to the cart 445, the housing 451 is centrally located between the side 2c of the cart 445 and the front end 2a and the rear end 2b. The housing sides 456 and 457 are generally parallel to the cart side 2c and are located on the inside of the cart side 2c. The housing front wall 452 and the housing rear wall 453 are respectively substantially parallel to and located inside the front end 2a and the rear end 2b of the trolley.

[0127] The housing mounting assembly 460 selectively and slidably receives, positions and secures the housing 451 to the underside of the lower tray 21. The assembly 460 includes two metal rails 461, such as Fig.21 As best shown in FIG. 4 , the two rails are securely fastened to the housing top 454 by bolts, screws or other means. The rails 461 are spaced apart and parallel to the housing front end 452 and rear end 453. Each rail 461 spans the width of the housing or from side 452 to side 457. When secured to the cart 445, the rails 461 are parallel to the front end 2a and rear end 2b of the cart 45.

[0128] like Fig.26 As shown in , the housing mounting assembly 460 includes four mounting plates 462 that are securely fixed to the web 23 on the underside of the lower tray 21. Each mounting plate 462 is located in one of the four quadrants of the rectangular lower tray 21 of the cart and extends from one of the four corners 4 of the cart 445 to the middle of the lower tray. Each mounting plate 462 has a flat corner portion 463, a staggered central portion 464, and a flat inner portion 465. These portions 463-465 are preferably formed integrally to maintain their shape and the shape of the mounting structure 462. Each flat corner portion 463 is adjacent to and securely fixed to the web 23 adjacent to the corner 4 of the lower tray 21 by bolts, screws or other means. The staggered portion 464 is inclined toward the middle of the cart 445 and securely connects the flat inner portion 463 and the outer portion 465. The inner end of the staggered middle portion 464 is lowered by the required amount to provide clearance for the LIDAR sensor 140.

[0129] The four flat inner sections 465 are aligned on a plane and are generally parallel to and spaced apart from the underside of the lower tray 21 of the cart. Each inner section 465 is located within its quadrant such that the inner section 465 is located at or adjacent to the middle of the lower tray 21. Each inner section 465 has a downwardly extending retaining rod 466 shaped to selectively and slidably receive and securely retain one of the slide rails 461 secured to the housing 451. The front slide rail 461 is slidably retained by the two front 2a housing mounting plate assemblies 460. The rear slide rail 461 is retained by the two rear 2b housing mounting plates 462. Mounting the RCP housing 451 on the slide rails 461 allows for faster and easier servicing of the RCP 440. When the external components are disconnected from the RCP housing port 110, the components and circuitry in the housing 451 are easily removed and exchanged with a replacement RPC housing and its internal components and circuitry.

[0130] Two conventional caster assemblies 14 mounted on the front end 2a of the cart 445 secure the two front mounting plates 462 to the cart 20, as shown in FIG. Fig.19. The mounting bracket 17 of each caster assembly 14 engages parallel to its corresponding flat corner mounting portion 463. The caster fastener 18 passes through the aligned holes in the mounting plate 17 and its mating corner portion 463 to securely secure them both to the web 23 on the underside of the lower tray 21. The weight sensor plate 71 and its spacer 85 are preferably placed between the mounting bracket 17 and the corner portion 463. When installed, the upper and lower surfaces of these plates 17, 71, 85 and 463 are approximately flush engaged and aligned in parallel.

[0131] The drive wheel assembly 490 is mounted on the outside of the housing 451. The right drive wheel assembly 490a is mounted at the right corner 4 of the front end 2a of the trolley 445, and the left drive wheel assembly 490b is mounted at the left corner of the front end of the trolley. Similar to the first embodiment, the right assembly 490a includes a drive motor 491, a drive wheel 493 and an encoder 498, and the left assembly 490b includes a drive motor 492, a drive wheel 494 and an encoder 499. Fig. 20 Each drive wheel 493 and 494 includes a hub 495 and a drive shaft or axle 496. Each drive motor 491, 492 has external power and control lines 109a, 497a (which are routed to the circuit 109 within the housing 451) Fig. 20A ). The drive motors 491, 492 are electric DC brushless servo hub motors. Each drive wheel assembly 490 provides a rated torque of 6.5 Newton-meters (Nm), a maximum torque of 13N-m, a rated voltage of 24V DC, a power of 150 watts, a phase current of 4 amps, a rated speed of 200 revolutions per minute (rpm), a maximum speed of 260 rpm, and a recommended load of 265 pounds (120 kg). The diameter of the drive wheels 493, 494 of each assembly 490 is approximately 6.5 inches (17 cm).

[0132] Similar to the first embodiment, each motor 491 and 492 is interfaced with its associated "always on" encoder 498 and 499. Each encoder 498 and 499 has a rotating code disk and an output cable 497a. Each rotating code disk is mounted on its respective motor 491 or 492 so as to optically observe the rotational movement of its associated motor drive shaft 496, and thus observe the rotational movement of its associated drive wheel 493 or 494. The rotating code disk transmits this shaft rotation movement data or information to the microcontroller 106 and its short-term memory 107 via its output cable 497a, and the shaft rotation movement data or information is then periodically transmitted to the RCP processor 102 and its long-term memory 103. As with the first embodiment, the RCP processor 102 uses this shaft rotation or wheel movement data to determine the travel distance and travel path taken by the RCP 440 and autonomous cart 445 from its starting position or starting position coordinates, as well as to determine the coordinates or coordinate data associated with the current physical position 100 of the RCP 440 and cart 445. The motors 491, 492 interface with an associated dual motor controller 97 located inside the housing 451. The speed and direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) of each output shaft 496 is controlled by the controller 97, which is in electrical communication with the motor 491 or 492 and controls the power supplied to each motor. The controlled power supplied to each motor 491 or 492 via the motor controller 97 controls the speed of the drive shaft 496 of each motor, thereby controlling the speed of the drive wheels 493 and 494.

[0133] Each drive wheel assembly 490 is securely fixed to the cart 445 via a drive wheel mount 501. Each drive wheel mount 501 has two opposing downwardly extending legs 502 that span across the drive wheel 493 or 494. Each leg 502 has an opening 502a at its lower end for receiving and securely fixing the drive shaft 496 ( Fig.17 and Fig.18 ), while allowing rotation of the drive shaft 496 and its drive wheel 493 or 494. Each wheel mount 501 has four spaced apart, upwardly extending arms 503 securely secured to the web 23 on the underside of the lower tray 21. Mounting the drive wheels 493 and 494 from the outside of the housing 451 allows the drive wheels to rotate more freely than the first embodiment, which in turn saves power and extends the life of the battery 120.

[0134] The two drive wheel assemblies 490a and 490b at the front end 2a of the cart 445 secure the two front mounting plates 462 to the cart 20. Fig. 20As shown in the figure, the wheel mounts 501 engage with their corresponding flat corner portions 463. The wheel mounting fasteners 505 pass through the aligned holes in their mating corner portions 463 to securely secure them both to the web 23 on the underside of the cart lower tray 21. The weight sensor plate 71 and its spacer 85 are preferably placed between the flat upper ends 504 of the arms 503 and the corner portions 463. When installed, these flat upper ends 504 are aligned parallel to the upper and lower surfaces of the plates 71, 85 and 463 in flush engagement.

[0135] As described above, the first and second embodiments of the RCP 40, 440, the navigation and control system 42, 442, and the autonomous vehicle 45, 445 have circuit boards 97, 101, 104, 105, processors 102 and 106, memories 103 and 107, and circuit 109 (see Figure 21-23 ). In a second embodiment, the digital board 105 of the RCP 440 also includes an internal measurement unit (IMU) 545. The IMU 545 obtains three axes (X, Y, and Z) of angular rate sensing (i.e., attitude, orientation, position) and three axes (X, Y, and Z) of acceleration of the RCP 440 and the cart 445. The velocity (i.e., cart movement data) is then calculated using the acceleration and angular rate measured over time. The linear distance and angular distance traveled are not calculated directly based on the IMU information, but are calculated based on the previously calculated velocity. Once the IMU 545 determines the linear distance and angular distance traveled, the position and orientation 100 of the cart 445 are obtained by adding these travel distances. The information collected by the IMU 545 (e.g., cart position data and cart movement data) is combined with the drive wheel encoder 98, 99 information (e.g., cart position information and cart movement data) in a customized manner. Fig.24 The wiring 600 of the second embodiment is shown in FIG. The circuit 109 and wiring 600 are substantially the same as the first embodiment, except that an IMU 545 and some additional external wiring 109a, 497a for the drive wheel motors 491, 492, encoders 498, 499, camera 550 and EZ Go navigation 570 are added, and the "Go" button 185 is removed.

[0136] The cart 445 has two conventional high resolution, 3D depth or digital cameras 550 for viewing or sensing the working environment 260, such as Figure 25-29. It should be noted that the working or global environment 260 includes a local environment 260a surrounding the cart 445, which is an area extending about three meters around the cart 445, but this distance can vary. Each digital camera 551 and 552 has its own electronics (e.g., processor and circuitry) and captures photos in its own digital memory. The processor of each camera 550 processes the image data and retains the image data as a digital image in its memory. The camera 550 then sends or outputs its depth map data (i.e., environmental mapping data and object movement data for the temporary object 262a) and the raw image to the RCP processor 102, 106 and memory 103, 107 of the RCP 440. The front camera 551 is mounted at the front end 2a of the cart 445 adjacent to the lower tray 21. The front camera 551 has a forward-facing aiming direction 553 to provide such as Fig.29 445. Similarly, a rear camera 552 is mounted at the rear end 2b of the cart 445 adjacent the lower tray 21. The camera 552 has a rearward-facing aiming direction 553 to provide a rearward-scanning field of view or scanning cone 555. The viewing or scanning cones 554 and 555 of the cameras 551 and 552. The aiming directions 553 of the two cameras 550 are directly forward and backward and are flush with the ground 1a below the cart 445, which allows the camera 550 to view objects above the cart 445 and to see when the cart 445 is about to drive onto a downward-sloping ramp, or when the cart is driving on the floor near a drop zone, such as driving over a loading and unloading area or stairs. Similar to the LIDAR sensor 140, the environmental mapping data of the camera 550 includes both global or working environment data 260' and local environment data 260a'.

[0137] Each camera 550 has left and right imagers, an IR projector, and an RBG module. They are lightweight and suitable for indoor and outdoor use. The length, depth, and height dimensions of each camera 550 are 90mm, 25mm, and 25mm, respectively. The camera 550 has a wide field of view (FOV) and a global shutter sensor for robot navigation and object recognition. The global shutter sensor provides excellent low-light sensitivity to allow the car 445 to navigate the space with the lights off. The camera 550 has stereo depth technology, global shutter image sensor technology, an ideal range of 1 to 10 feet, a depth FOV of 87° x 58°, a depth output resolution of 1280x 720, a depth accuracy of less than 2%, a RBG frame resolution of 1920x 1080, a frame rate of 30fps, a sensor FOV (Hx V) of 69° x 42°, and a sensor resolution of 2MP, and a USB-C 3.1Gen1 connector. The environmental mapping data from the camera 550 is combined with the data from the LIDAR sensor 140 in the RCP processors 102 and 104 to generate a 360 degree (360°) map 260 ′ of the surrounding environment 260 (see Fig.10 , Fig.29 and Figure 36-Figure 37 ). Although data from the proximity sensor 150 may be combined with the environmental mapping data to form the RCP map 260 ′, in this embodiment, the proximity sensor data is used for object avoidance.

[0138] Fig.18 and Fig. 30A -C shows the EZ Go navigation control panel 570. The control panel 570 has 15 keys 171. Similar to the 6-key panel, each individual key 171 is programmed to display its own individual icon image, gif image and / or text image 171i. Behind each key 171 is an integrated graphic color display for bright and clear identification, and its 15-key input device has a customizable LCD key 171 and a microprocessor with non-permanent fast access memory, and is capable of displaying customized icons, animated gifs and / or text messages. Each key 171 has a surface that is touched or pressed to operate the key, but other activation mechanisms that physically operate the key are also possible. Each key 171 also has a click-to-switch scene to activate various customized programming capabilities.

[0139] Similar to panel 170, control panel or communication device 570 is secured to utility tray 28 and has a connection to receive a USB cable to provide power from a battery and to send and receive signals or otherwise communicate with RPC 440, navigation and movement system 442, processors 102, 106 and memory 103, 107. RCP memory 103 is loaded with groups of icons 173 and 174 for selective display on 15 control keys 171. As with panel 170, each time a group of icons 173 or 174 is displayed on a key 171 of panel 570 ( Fig. 30A and Fig. 30B ). As with the 6-key panel 170, switching is performed from one group of icons 173 to another group of icons 174. Similarly, when a key 171 is pressed while a particular icon image 171i is displayed, the control panel 570 sends a command signal or command associated with the icon image being displayed via the key 171 to the RCP processor 102, which then uses the navigation and control system 442 to perform the particular navigation and movement operations required to complete the command.

[0140] The control panel 570 has 13 destination buttons 171a for storing the destination coordinates 265 (e.g., X, Y coordinates 264-1, 264-2, 264-3, 264-4, etc.) of up to 13 physical destinations 172. Eleven destination buttons 171a are shown in the first group of icons 173. Fig. 30A ), and two destination buttons 171a ( Fig. 30B ). Similar to the panel 170, each destination button 171a (e.g., 171a-1, 171a-2, 171a-3, ... 171a-13) can be set to a specific destination 172 (e.g., 172-1, 172-2, 172-3, ... 172-13). These buttons 171a do not necessarily all need to be set to the destination 172. Unset or unused destination buttons 171a are considered to be in a dormant state by the RCP 440 and its cart 445 memory 103. Similar to the panel 170 ( Fig. 15B ), the second icon screen 174 of the panel 570 ( Fig. 30B ) includes a set of arrow or move icon buttons 171m that operate in the same manner as described above with respect to panel 170. These move buttons 171m allow a worker to move the cart or vehicle 445 in a self-propelled manner using the RCP drive motors 91 and 92 as they walk behind the cart. While the description and drawings show a single or one-story work environment 260, it should be understood that the work environment can have multiple floors, with the cart 45, 445 going up and down a ramp or elevator to reach each floor, so that the destination coordinates 265 will include X, Y, and Z coordinates.

[0141] The cart destination 172 is easily set using the destination button 171a. When the cart 445 is pushed to a specific location or destination 172 (e.g., location 172 numbered "2" or 172-2, see Fig.36 ), and one of these keys 171a (e.g., Fig. 30A When the button 171a numbered "2" or 171a-2 in the figure is pressed for a specified time, such as 6 seconds, the location (e.g., the X, Y, and Z coordinates of the location 172-2) becomes the known destination 264 (e.g., the map destination coordinates 264-2, see the map destination coordinates 264-2) of the RCP 440 and the autonomous vehicle 445. Fig.37 ). Then, when the destination button 171a-2 is pressed again later, the car 445 autonomously navigates to the designated location 172-2. Fig.36 and Fig.37 , the destination buttons 171a-1, 171a-2, and 171a-3 are set to the corresponding destinations 172-1, 172-2, 172-3 and saved or stored as the corresponding map destination locations 264-1, 264-2, 264-3 in the cart memory 103. When any of these buttons 171a-1, 171a-2, or 171a-3 is pressed again, the cart 445 will determine the route 149 through the open area 261 of the working environment 260 and navigate and travel to the selected destination 172-1, 172-2, or 172-3. It is apparent from the above that the term navigation should be understood to mean that the navigation and movement system 42, 442 allows the vehicle 45, 445 to continuously determine its position 100, 263 in the working and mapping environment 260, 260' and avoid fixed structures 262 and temporary obstacles 262a as the vehicle autonomously drives along the route 149 or the adjusted route 149a to the destination 172.

[0142] The 15-key panel 570 also has several specialized or function keys, such as a battery key 171b, a cycle key 171c, a set map key 171d, a home key 171h, a boomerang key 171bg, and a check engine key 171ce. The battery key 171b displays the battery status (e.g., charge level). The check engine key 171ce notifies the operator of any cart operating anomalies and will flash a code identifying a specific cart operating anomaly detected by the RCP440, such as a code "1060" indicating that the cart is tilted. Other codes indicate that the payload or item 29 exceeds the cart payload capacity, the payload is not properly balanced, the payload extends too far from the side of the cart, etc. The individual icon images 171i displayed in the individual keys 171 and their accompanying text messages or codes can and do change depending on various events and changes in operation. For example, as described below, once the Save Map key 171d is pressed to save the map 260' to the RCP memory 103, the background of the function keys 171a, 171c, 171h, and 171d changes from gray to green, and the text of the Save Map key 171d changes from "Active Mode" to "Fixed Mode" ( Fig. 30A and Fig. 30C ).

[0143] The cycle mode key 171c enables or disables the cycle function or mode of the RCP 440 and the cart 445. When the cycle key 171c is pressed and the background of the cycle key 171c turns gray (e.g., not illuminated), the cycle mode is disabled. When the cycle key 171c is pressed and the background turns green (e.g., illuminated to appear green), the cycle mode is enabled. When the cycle mode programming is enabled, the set destination keys 171a (e.g., 171a-1, 171a-2, 171a-3, etc.) are illuminated to appear blue. Unset keys 171a remain gray. Then, when the user presses or selects the set (blue) destination button 171a (e.g., button 171a-2), the autonomous car 445 uses its stored mapped location coordinates (e.g., 264-2) of the destination (e.g., 172-2) and its current map location 263 and its environment map 260' to determine or plan a route 149 to navigate and travel to the set selected destination (e.g., 172-2) as usual. During the time that the car 445 determines its route 149 to the selected destination 172 (e.g., 172-2, 264-2), the car does not move, and the selected destination button 171a (e.g., 171a-2) displays a rotating circular gif to let the user know that it is determining its route. Once the route 149 is determined, the car 445 will begin to navigate and move along its selected route 149, and the background of the destination button 171a (e.g., 171a-2) flashes or blinks blue. After arriving at the destination 172 (e.g., 172-2, 264-2), the car 445 waits a predetermined or specified amount of time while determining its route 149 to the coordinates (e.g., 264-3) of the next sequential destination (e.g., 172-3), and the destination button (171a-3) of the next destination displays a rotating circular gif. The car 445 uses its current location 100, 263 at or near (e.g., within about one meter) its current destination (e.g., 172-2, 264-2), its environmental map 260', and its stored mapped location coordinates 265 (e.g., 264-3) of the next sequential destination (e.g., 172-3) to plan its route 149 and navigate and travel to the next sequential destination (e.g., 172-3). When the car 445 travels to the next destination 172 (e.g., 172-4), the background of the next sequential destination button (e.g., 171a-4) flashes blue. The cart 445 will skip over unset destinations (eg, not illuminated blue), and upon reaching the last set digital destination, the cart will return to the first digital destination (eg, position "1" or 172-1).The car 445 will continue to navigate and travel to each next set destination (e.g., in a set series of destinations, such as 172-1, 172-2, ... 172-5, 172-6, ... 172-11), wait a predetermined amount of time, and then proceed to the next sequentially set destination in a looping manner until the user presses any key 171 or moves the car (e.g., moves the car more than one meter while the car is waiting at the set destination 172). This looping mode feature allows the car 445 to autonomously move from one set destination to another throughout the day like a city bus.

[0144] The Save Map button 171d saves the data of the environment map 260' (i.e., the environmental mapping data) to the RCP memory 103. When the autonomous vehicle 445 is initially brought to the facility or environment 260 ( Fig.13 and 36 ) and turned on by switch 175, the car is in "active" mode. When the activated car 445 initially starts under its own power (e.g., via battery 120 and drive wheels 493, 494), its LIDAR sensor 140 and camera 550 continuously scan the environment 260 and send environmental map data to its processors 102, 106 to create a map 260' of the environment ( Fig.14 and 37 ), the map 260' is saved in its short-term memory 107. The user then pushes the activated cart 445 to a specific desired destination 172 within the entire allowed area 260, and sets the specific coordinates of these specified locations 264 in the cart memory 103, 107 via the destination button 171a ( Fig.15A and 30A ). Once these steps are completed, the cart 45, 445 will navigate and travel within the allowed area 260 using its map 260' and the set destination 264 and return to the designated original starting location (e.g., key position "1" or 172-1). The user then presses the save map key 171d to save the scanned map 260' of the allowed area 260 to its long-term memory 103. Once the map 260' is saved, it is stored in the long-term RCP memory 103 of the RCP 440 so that when the cart 445 is powered off and then turned back on, the map will still be present in the RCP memory. If the map 260' is not saved via the save map key 171 before the cart 445 is turned off (deactivated) via the switch 175, the map 260' has been discarded when the cart is powered back on (started).

[0145] The home key 171h is used to position or orient the cart 445 relative to a map 260' of the cart's 445 actual environment 260. Positioning enables the cart 445 to determine its position (i.e., current position data) 263 in an internal map 260' of its surroundings, thereby enabling it to identify its physical location 100 in the actual surroundings 260. Once the map 260' is saved to the RCP long-term memory 103, the cart 445 may occasionally become mispositioned or disoriented, such that the RCP 440 is unable to determine or identify its current location 100, 263. For example, when the cart 445 is turned off with the map 260' previously saved, the user may move the cart. Then, when the cart 445 is powered back on (started up), the RCP 440 may not be able to locate or orient itself (determine the current position 100, 263 of the cart 445) on its previously saved map 260' despite the presence of encoders 498 and 499, IMU 545, and backup power circuit 130. If this occurs, the user places the cart 445 in a designated "home" position 172h, 264h ( Fig.33 , Fig.36 and Fig.37 ), and presses the home key 171h, which informs the cart 445 that its current location 100 is now at or near its designated home location 264h. The RCP 440 then determines the position or X, Y coordinates of the cart 445's current location 100, 263 (including rotational orientation) in its environment 260 on its previously saved map 260'. The designated home location 172h, 264h is marked by a marker 1c in the ground 1b of floor 1. The underground marker 1c may be a metal stake placed in floor 1 at the home location 172h, 264h, or a unique rebar pattern, buried pipe, or some other underground 1b anomaly detected by the cart sensor 140, 550, or 640. Although only one home location 172h is shown and described, it should be understood that several different home locations are possible if additional home keys 171h are provided for each additional home location, or if the map profile 260' is sufficiently different at each home location 172h, 264h to allow the cart 445 to identify (distinguish) different home locations throughout the work area 260.

[0146] As described above, the RCP 440 uses its weight sensor 70 to determine when an object is placed on or removed from the cart 445. The RCP 440 uses these weight measurements to plan the movement of the cart 445, such as traveling between selected destinations 172 in a circular manner. For example, a first staff member often places an item on the cart 445 at a first position 172-1, and then sends the cart to a second position 172-2 so that the item is removed by a second staff member. The second staff member then returns the cart 445 to where it came from (i.e., the first position 172-1). However, the second staff member may not know where the first or starting position 172-1 is located. Moreover, even if the second staff member knows where the first or starting position 172 is located, the second staff member must actively choose where to return the cart. The robot cart platform 440 uses its navigation and movement system 442 and its weight sensor 70 to allow the autonomous cart 445 to operate in a boomerang mode to solve this problem.

[0147] The boomerang mode programming operates with the destination button 171a set to or not set to the desired destination 172. Table 1 below describes an example of the boomerang mode, where the boomerang method 580 uses the destination buttons 171a (e.g., 171a-1, 171a-2, 171a-3, etc.) bound or programmed to the first, second, third and working active locations 172 (e.g., 172-1, 172-2, 172-3, etc.). Table 2 below describes an alternative example 590 of the boomerang method, where the control panel 570 does not have a destination button 171a, or the destination button 171a is not programmed to set a destination (e.g., 172-1, 172-2, 172-3, etc.), or is not used to perform the method.

[0148] The boomerang method 580 uses two or more set destination buttons 171a ( Fig. 30A At 583, the boomerang mode programming of the processor 102, 106 is enabled by pressing or touching the boomerang mode key 171bg on the control panel 570 ( Fig. 30B ). When enabled, the cart 445 begins recording the weight of one or more items 29 placed on or removed from the cart 445 at the designated destination. At 584, the first worker adds one or more items 29 to the cart 445 at a starting location or first work activity location 172 (e.g., 172-1, 264-1) within the first designated area 172-A1. The worker can push or otherwise move the cart to a more convenient location 172-1a, 264-1a within the first designated area 172-A1 to place the selected items on the cart ( Fig.36 and Fig.37). The cart 445 weighs the selected one or more items 29 and stores the corresponding item weight data in its memory 103, 107. At 585, the staff then presses the second desired destination button 171a (e.g., 171a-2), thereby sending the cart to the second work activity location 172 (e.g., 172-2) within the second designated area 172-A2 at 586. The staff can push or otherwise move the cart to a more convenient location 172-2a, 264-2a within the second designated area 172-A2 to facilitate the removal of the selected items from the cart. At the second work activity location 172 (e.g., 172-2 or 172-A2), at 587, the second staff member removes one or more items 29 from the cart 445. When one or more items 29 are removed, the cart 445 will sense the removal of one or more items by weighing the cart's payload via its weight sensor 70, and determine whether the removed item weight data corresponds to the added item weight data. After confirming that the added and removed weight data correspond (e.g., are substantially equal) and waiting for a set amount of time (e.g., 30 seconds), at 588, the cart will automatically determine and navigate along the return path 149b to the previously specified location (e.g., 172-1 or 172-1a) where the payload weight was added. When the cart 445 is in boomerang mode, at 589, the staff can also press the cycle key 171c to enable cycle mode programming so that the cart will continue to move back and forth between the original boomerang position 172-1bg and the set destination 172-2 in a cyclic manner.

[0149]

[0150]

[0151]

[0152] The alternative boomerang method 590 does not require or use a set destination key 171a that is bound to a set destination 172 (eg, 172-1, 172-2, 172-3, etc.) Two examples demonstrate the usefulness of the boomerang method 590. Fig.36A first example is outlined in . The cart 445 is brought to a cart storage location in the storage area 172-A1 of the warehouse 260. The cart 445 is activated by the switch 175 and the boomerang mode programming is enabled by pressing the boomerang key 171bg. One or more items 29 are then removed from the storage area and added to the cart, the cart using its weight sensor 70 and processor 102 to determine the weight of the item and determine that the item was added at this storage location, which becomes the first boomerang location (e.g., 172-1bg) saved in the cart memory 103, 107. The cart 445 is then pushed to the packing location or area 172-A2, where the item 29 is removed from the cart, the cart using its weight sensor 70 to determine the weight of the item removed at the packing location, which becomes the second boomerang location (e.g., 172-2bg). The RCP 440 then automatically sends a cart 445 to obtain one or more additional items 29 from the storage areas 172-A1, 172-1bg. In the second example, the cart is pushed to several storage areas (e.g., 172-1bg and 172-2bg), from which items 29 (e.g., tools and test fixtures) are taken and placed on the cart 445. The cart 445 is then pushed to a subsequent location (e.g., 172-3bg) where a certain job using the tools and test fixtures is performed. Once the job is completed, the tools and fixtures need to be returned to their appropriate storage locations (e.g., 172-1bg and 172-2bg). In both examples, the staff at the second or later location may not know where to send the cart 445 to obtain more items, nor where to return the items. When boomerang mode programming is enabled via boomerang key 171bg, RCP 440 automatically sends cart 445 to get more items from a storage location, or to return a tool to its storage location.

[0153] Table 2 below describes an alternative boomerang method 590 in which the cart 445 does not have or use a set destination 172 (e.g., 172-1, 172-2, 172-3, etc.) stored in its memory 103. Also, at 593, the boomerang mode programming of the processor 102, 106 is enabled by pressing or touching the boomerang mode key 171bg on the control panel 570. When the boomerang mode 590 is enabled, the cart 445 records the locations 172 to which it went when the boomerang mode was enabled, and also records the weight of one or more items 29 added to (i.e., placed on) or removed from the cart 445 at those locations 172 (e.g., the first and second boomerang locations). At 594, an item 29 is added to the payload of the cart 445 at the starting position or first boomerang position 172-1bg, the cart senses the addition of the item to the weight of the cart payload 29 through its weight sensor 70, and stores a second boomerang position (e.g., 264-2bg) and the item weight data corresponding to the second boomerang position. At 595, the cart 445 is then pushed to the second boomerang position, at 596, the item is removed from the cart at the second boomerang position. After a set amount of time (e.g., 30 seconds), at 597, the cart 445 will automatically return to the first boomerang position (e.g., 172-1bg) where the payload weight was last added or subtracted. When the cart 445 is in boomerang mode, at 599a, the staff member can also press the cycle key 171c to enable cycle mode programming so that the cart will continue to move back and forth between the original boomerang position and subsequent positions in a cycle (e.g., 172-1bg, then 172-2bg, then 172-1bg, then 172-2bg, etc.).

[0154]

[0155]

[0156]

[0157] Although not shown in the table, it should be understood that the boomerang mode programming can include a first, second and subsequent boomerang positions (e.g., 172-1, 172-2, 172-3, etc., or 172-1bg, 172-2bg, 172-3bg, etc.). At the subsequent or operational activity position 172 (e.g., 172-3, 172-4, etc., or 172-3bg, 172-4bg, etc.), when additional one or more items 29 are added to or removed from the cart 445, the cart senses the addition or removal of one or more items in the weight of the cart payload 29 through its weight sensor 70, and stores each subsequent position (e.g., 264-1bg, 264-2bg, 264-3bg, etc.) and the item weight data corresponding to each subsequent position. After the vehicle reaches the final destination position in boomerang mode, and after waiting a set amount of time (e.g., 30 seconds), the vehicle 445 will automatically return to the subsequent position where the payload weight was last increased or decreased, the second position, and the starting position in reverse order (e.g., 172-3bg, then 172-2bg, then 172-1bg). Similarly, when the vehicle 445 is in boomerang mode, the staff can press the cycle key 171c to enable the cycle mode programming so that the vehicle will continue to move back and forth between the original boomerang position and the subsequent position in a cyclic manner (e.g., 172-1bg, then 172-2bg, then 172-3bg, then 172-2bg, then 172-lbg, then 172-2bg, etc.).

[0158] Fig.31 and Fig.32 An alternative wiring 610 version of the RCP 440 and autonomous vehicle 445 is shown. In the first embodiment, the battery 120, proximity sensor 150, LED light 160 are wired directly to the port 110 of the RCP housing 51. In this alternative version, the wiring 610 includes additional external circuitry 109a including wiring 497a for the external wheel motors 493, 494 and encoders 498, 499, and the wiring 610 includes 4 external single board computers (SBCs) 611 and 2 external universal serial bus (USB) hubs 615. The wiring 610 for each of the 4 lines 201-204 of the proximity sensor 150 and its associated LED light 160 has an external SBC 611, such as one SBC for each of the 4 vehicle posts 25 ( Fig.32). Each SBC 611 (including its associated SBC processor 612 and SBC memory 613) helps control the LED lights 160 and manages or simplifies the input signals from the proximity sensors 150 to the main SBC 101 within the RCP housing 451. Each external SBC 611 converts the communication protocol of the sensors 150 and lights 160 to the USB protocol of its corresponding line 201, 202, 203 or 204 (e.g., cart pillar 25).

[0159] The external SBC 611 and USB hub 615 allow for easier installation of the cabling 610, reduce costs by replacing more expensive custom cables with USB cabling, and buffer data to reduce the real-time processing burden on the internal SBC 101 and digital board 105. The external SBC 611 and USB hub 615 also improve manufacturability because the cabling 610 in each line or column 25 is assembled and tested as a subassembly, and the final assembly of the cart 445 is performed later. Since the cart column 25 is the same for larger and smaller sizes of the cart 445, the cabling 610 for each column is manufactured independently of the cart size. The external SBC 611 and USB hub 615 also improve reliability because if a component in one line or column 25 (i.e., sensor 150, light 160, SBC 611 or USB cabling 610) fails for any reason, the failure will not cause the components in other lines or columns to fail. The external SBC 611 and USB hub 615 also provide enhanced flexibility in that the sensors 150 and lights 160 in one line or cart post 25 can be easily changed to other items (e.g., radar sensor 640) without requiring other changes in the cart 445, as long as the software or programming of the RCP 440 can support the change.

[0160] Figure 33-Figure 35 A radar sensor 640 version of the RCP 440 and autonomous vehicle 445 is shown. In this radar sensing version, the proximity sensor 150 is replaced by an array 630 of radar input devices 640. The array 630 of radar input devices 640 is located on the vehicle 445 and is oriented in a direction that maximizes the total field of view (FOV) 631 around the vehicle so that the array senses the maximum amount of the environment 260. Although Figure 25-28 The cart 445 shown in FIG. 4 has both a proximity sensor 150 and a radar input device 640, but the radar version need not include a proximity sensor. The environmental mapping data from the radar sensor 640 is combined with the environmental mapping data from the LIDAR sensor 140 and the camera 550 in the RCP processors 102 and 104 to produce an enhanced 360 degree (360°) map 260′ of the surrounding environment 260 (see FIG. Fig.10 , Fig.29 , Fig.33 and Figure 36-Figure 37 ). Similar to the LIDAR sensor 140 and the camera 550, the environment mapping data of the radar sensor 640 includes both global or operating environment data 260' and local environment data 260a'.

[0161] The radar version of the RCP 440 and autonomous vehicle 445 preferably has several conventional radar sensors or radar input devices 651-656. Each radar sensor or device 651-656 is mounted to point in a specific aiming direction 658 so that its scanning cone 659 faces that specific desired direction, such as Fig.33 Although Figure 25-28 FIG. 4 shows radar sensors 651-654 located at the front end, rear end and opposite sides of the vehicle, but Fig.35 Cable routing 635 is shown for these sensors located in the cart column 25. Either radar array 630 mounting configuration may provide the best total scan cone FOV 631 for the cart 445, depending on the particular operating environment 260.

[0162] Each radar sensor 640 transmits radio waves at a specific frequency to penetrate material objects (e.g., walls, floor surfaces, door curtains, payload items, etc.), reflect from and refract through material objects, and return to the radar sensor. Each device 640 senses the global environment 260 around the cart 445 (via working environment data), including various materials and humans near the cart 260a (local environment data). In this version, each radar input device 640 has a preferred vertical and horizontal FOV of twenty degrees (120°). Although this version includes multiple radar sensors 640, each radar sensor having a FOV facing a specific direction, it should be understood that the broad aspects of the present invention will include a single radar input device with a wider FOV (such as 360°).

[0163] Each radar input device 640 has a preferred radar frequency of 60-64 gigahertz (GHz) to allow the radar to penetrate or see through various materials commonly found in manufacturing, office, restaurant or other workplace environments, such as plastics, cloth, plaster, drywall wood, metal, concrete, brick, wiring conduit, liquids such as water, humans, etc. Each radar device 640 has a resolution of 3.75 centimeters and a range of 20 centimeters to a maximum distance of 100-400 meters. The radar device 640 directly senses or picks up moving items 262a, 262m, making it highly detectable to sense and determine the speed of a walking or running person 262p or a fast or slow moving forklift. While the LIDAR sensor 140 and the camera 550 collect data and send the data to the processors 102 and 106 to calculate the speed of the moving person and object 262a, since the radar sensor 640 sends the speed or moving object data about the moving object 262m (e.g., a walking person, other moving carts 445, etc.) directly to the processor, the processor requires less processing time to detect the moving object 262m and the moving person 262p, and the navigation and control system 442 and the cart 445 are able to detect and respond to the moving objects and people more quickly.

[0164] Each radar sensor 640 is mounted at a specific location on the cart 445 and is oriented to sense a desired FOV direction and area (e.g., volume) of the sensing environment 260. Each device 640 collects a radar input data stream from the environment 260 within its FOV area. The RCP computing device (e.g., programmed processor 102, 106) processes the radar input data stream from the device 640 to characterize voxels (i.e., cubic portions of space) by material type, material thickness, distance from the radar input device, stationary or moving relative to the radar input device, and angle of movement when the material moves relative to the cart 445. The computing device 102, 106 performs further calculations based on the characterization data or radar sensor data (e.g., working environment data, local environment data, moving object data) to create a three-dimensional map 260' ( Fig.36 and Fig.37 ). Some voxels in the map 260' are open and do not contain any objects or materials, while other voxels are occupied by objects or materials.

[0165] Radar sensors 651-654 pointing toward the ground 1 sense changes in the height and material composition of the surface 1a and the ground or underground 1b below the vehicle 445. The RCP 440 uses the composition of the surface 1a below the vehicle 445 to assist in traction control of the vehicle 445. One or more downwardly pointing radar sensors 651-654 determine the material type of the floor 1 and may determine whether its surface 1a has a coating (e.g., epoxy, oil, water, etc.). The RCP 440 uses the floor type and coating data to slightly adjust the way the vehicle 445 accelerates or decelerates. The radar sensor data also includes the composition of the ground surface 1a (surface data) and the composition of the underground 1b (underground data) to provide landmarks and unique features 1c (e.g., metal bolts driven into the concrete floor, embedded pipes, embedded metal rebar grid patterns, etc.) to obtain current position data on which the vehicle 445 is based for positioning and navigation, and to assist in the orientation and positioning of the vehicle 445 relative to the environment 260 (see Fig.33 ).

[0166] As the cart 445 is pushed or autonomously driven over the ground or floor surface 1a, environmental mapping data from the radar sensor 640 (and preferably the LIDAR sensor 140 and the camera 550) is used by the programmed processor 102, 106 to create an internal map 260' of the surrounding environment 260. The environmental map 260' includes working environment data from the radar sensors 651-654 regarding the composition of the ground surface 1a, the composition, patterns or anomalies 1c of the underground materials 1b and the underground objects (see Fig.33 and 36 ). Thus, rebar, conduits, pipes, tunnels and other underground objects, patterns or anomalies 1c' are identified on the map 260' and the trolley uses them to obtain current position data ( Fig.37 ). Liquids, paper, and other types of debris 262d on the floor surface 1a are also detected by the radar input devices 651-654 to allow traction control or avoidance.

[0167] Autonomous movement requires that the RCP 440 and the cart 445 be positioned 100, 263 to navigate in the environment 260, 260'. Both positioning 100, 263 and navigation are aided by sensing fixed structures 262 or obstacles 262a in the environment 260, through which the RCP 440 triangulates the real-time physical and mapped position 100, 263 (current position data) of the cart 445. This is easily accomplished when the cart 445 is located in an open area 261 (open area 261a within sensor range) near a fixed obstacle 262 that can be detected by its line of sight or vision sensor 140, 150 or 550. When the cart 445 is in an open area 261 without fixed obstacles 262 (open area 261b outside the range of the visual sensor), the RCP 440 uses downward-aiming radar sensors 651-654 to sense the surface 1a and subsurface 1b components (e.g., surface and subsurface data), including any subsurface patterns, structural anomalies or markers (e.g., rebar, pipes, metal markers, etc.) 1c. The changing nature of the ground 1a (including grooves in or on the surface, surface markings, undulating patterns), subsurface 1b components and subsurface patterns or structural anomalies 1c are recorded in the RCP long-term memory 103 to provide a map 260', from which the RCP 440 of the cart 445 will obtain current position data for positioning 100, 263 and then navigate to the desired destination 172, 264.

[0168] In addition to sensing the surroundings 260 of the cart 445, the two radar sensors 655 and 656 are also oriented toward the shelves or pallets 21, 22 supporting the payload items 29, and toward the payload areas or regions 21a and 22a above the pallets where the payload items are placed ( Fig. 27 , Fig.28 and Fig.33). These radar devices 655 and 656 scan the shelves and payload areas and send material type and size information (i.e., radar sensor item data) to the RCP 440 so that it can determine the material type and thickness of the payload item 29. The RCP 440 processor 102 uses this material and thickness information to calculate the mass, weight, and center of gravity of the payload 29, as well as the location of the payload item on the shelves 21, 22 of the hand cart 445. The RCP 440 uses the center of gravity and payload 29 position information to better determine its navigational movements to avoid unnecessary movement of the payload 29 or tipping of the cart 445. The RCP 440 also records this radar voxel information in its long-term or short-term memory 103, 107, or transmits this information through other systems (e.g., SBC 101, SRCP 250, etc.), or transmits it to the user through its control panel buttons 171, audio speakers 190, wifi 195, etc.). RCP 440 also uses radar voxel information from these radar input devices 655 and 656 to perform calculations to count the number of payload objects 29 as they are placed on or removed from cart 445 .

[0169] The radar sensors 655 and 656 located below the upper and lower pallets 21, 22 sense the entire payload 29 and when any portion of the payload extends beyond the lip or perimeter 7 of the pallet. By viewing the payload 29, the RCP 440 determines whether the payload extends beyond the perimeter 7 of the pallet 21 or 22 and whether the payload will collide with stationary or moving obstacles 262, 262a, 262m, 262p (e.g., walls, shelves, furniture, doorways, other carts, people, etc.) when the cart 445 moves autonomously. The radar input devices 651-654 are aimed outward and upward from the outer edge or perimeter 7 of the pallet or support platform 22 so that they sense the area of ​​the payload 29 that extends outward and upward from the pallet. When moving autonomously, the RCP 440 considers not only the size of the cart 445, but also the portion of the payload 29 that overhangs or extends upward from the cart to ensure that there is no collision with any obstacles 262, 262a, 262m, 262p.

[0170] The RCP 440 detects dynamic obstacles 262a, 262m, 262p (e.g., moving forklifts, moving people, other moving carts, etc.) and calculates their distance, direction, speed and acceleration (distance, direction, speed and acceleration data). The radar device 640 of the RCP 440 can collect Doppler radar information or moving object data to calculate these measurements. The RCP processors 102, 106 calculate the intersection of the dynamic obstacles 262a, 262m, 262p relative to the navigation path 149 of the cart 445. When the RCP 440 uses the radar moving object data to calculate that an expected intersection or collision will occur along its navigation path 149, the RCP 440 takes measures to avoid the collision, such as by changing the navigation path 149a of the cart 445, changing the speed of the cart, stopping the cart for a predetermined time, or applying a cart braking force by energizing the wheel hub motors 491, 492 to keep the drive wheels 493, 494 stationary.

[0171] The radar device 640 senses materials and objects behind other materials and objects. This allows the RCP 440 to sense both static obstacles 262 and dynamic obstacles 262a, 262m, 262p that would otherwise be optically hidden from view of the cart 445 (i.e., not sensed by its line of sight sensors). For example, when the cart 445 passes or goes around a corner 262c, or travels through or through a doorway 262dw, as shown in FIG. Fig.36 As shown in FIG. 4 , a fixed obstructing structure 262 (e.g., a wall forming a corner 262c or a doorway 262dw, or other shelves, furniture, etc.) optically or visually obstructs or otherwise blocks the view of the vehicle through its line of sight sensor (e.g., LIDAR sensor 140, proximity sensor 150, depth camera 550, etc.) to the adjacent open area 261 on the other side of the fixed structure. These fixed structures (e.g., walls) significantly reduce the time and distance for the vehicle 445 to sense and avoid collisions with moving objects or people 262m, 262p. However, the radar device 640 senses through optical obstacles 262, 262a (e.g., walls forming a corner or crossing a doorway, people at a corner or doorway, etc.) to collect moving object data including obstructed adjacent moving object data, thereby leaving additional time and distance for the vehicle 445 to avoid collisions with moving objects 262m, 262p by changing the navigation path 149a or the speed of the vehicle.

[0172] The radar sensor 640 also allows the cart 445 to pass through or over certain obstacles along the cart's navigation path 149. For example, the radar sensor 640 can detect thin, flexible, lightweight materials, such as a thin, transparent plastic strip 262ps (1 / 8 inch (1 / 8")) hanging from a doorway 262dw. Fig.36). These thin, flexible, lightweight materials are used for ventilation, dust control or noise control, or for separating two areas of a room for privacy control, but are not intended to prevent people or vehicles from passing through them. The user can program or set the RCP processor 102 and memory 103 to allow the navigation and movement system 442 to plan a route 149 through thin, flexible materials (e.g., strips 262ps hung on doorways 262dw, door curtains, or plastic or fabric sheets, etc.) and allow the vehicle 445 to pass through them. This requires programming by the RCP processor 102, 106 or the user to selectively set the VOX resolution of at least one radar sensor 640 to less than about 3.75 cm. The user can also program or set the RCP processor 102 and memory 103 to allow the vehicle 445 to drive over liquids or debris 262d on the floor surface 1a, such as spilled water or paper. By determining the material composition and thickness of the various obstacles 262, 262a, 262d, 262ps, the RCP 440 can determine (e.g., calculated via radar sensor data and pre-selected memory settings) when the user wants the cart 445 to avoid a certain type of obstacle 262, 262a (e.g., a wall, a moving person or other moving cart, etc.), pass through a certain type of obstruction 262ps (e.g., a plastic hanging strip, a drape, etc.), or pass over a certain type of obstruction 262d placed on the floor surface 1a (e.g., debris, paper, liquid, etc.). Based on the internal map 260' of the environment 260 stored in the memory 103 of the RCP 440, the processor 102, 106 of the RCP 440 calculates or otherwise determines the planned route 149 for the vehicle 445 and navigates that route, and an altered route 149a when necessary, via its sensors 140, 150, 550, 640, to avoid fixed and temporary obstacles 262, 262a and reach the desired destination 172.

[0173] The RCP 440 classifies humans and human body parts 262p (through human body part data of faces, hands, fingers, etc.) as distinct from non-human objects (through non-human body part data of objects such as walls, furniture, shelves, etc.). The positioning and movement of the human body parts are then interpreted as direct human input to the cart 445 (human body part positioning and movement data). The RCP 440 can also be programmed to recognize and respond to the shape or movement of certain non-human objects (non-human object shape and movement data). The RCP 440 is programmed or set to use human input data (e.g., hand input data, finger input data, etc.) to control the cart 445 or input a series of data to the cart. For example, the RCP 440 is programmable to direct the cart 445 to recognize and move or otherwise respond to a person waving his or her hand, raising a hand to stop the cart from moving, or inputting a number by a person raising one or more fingers.

[0174] Another aspect of the RCP 440 is that one or more radar devices 651 are placed in the handle 12 of the cart 445 and are oriented toward the natural hand position when a user grasps the handle to detect when a person has grasped the handle. When the RCP 440 of the autonomously moving cart 445 determines that a person 262p is grasping its handle 12, the RCP 440 suspends any autonomous motion, such as movement of the cart along the navigation path 149. In addition, the RCP 440 uses the radar device 651 to detect the placement of the hand, fingers, and thumb on the handle 12 to allow additional data input. For example, when a person's hand grasps the handle 12, the placement of the thumb near the handle is interpreted as controlling the speed and direction of the drive wheels 93, 94. Extending the thumb forward toward the front end 2a of the cart 445 will command the cart 445 to move forward by rotating the drive wheels 93, 94, 493, 494 forward or clockwise. Extending the thumb backwards away from the cart (towards the human) will command the cart 445 to move backwards by reversing the rotation of the drive wheel (counterclockwise). The RCP 440 is programmed to determine how far the thumb is from the center point (i.e., the axis of the grip area of ​​the handle) and interpret a greater distance from the center point as a command to increase the speed of the drive wheels 93, 94, 493, 494.

[0175] The RCP 440 also allows the user to control the cart 445 through manual data input without the human being having direct contact with the cart, which reduces the chance of an electrostatic discharge (ESD) event. As the cart 445 is driven, an electrical charge builds up on the cart. When the level of this charge becomes high enough, ESD occurs. When ESD occurs, it can cause an interruption in the electrical operation of the RCP 440 and the cart 445, which can cause permanent damage to the cart and cause unnecessary electrical shock to the human being.

[0176] The radar input device 640 is mounted behind or inside a component of the cart 445, such as a shelf 21, 22, a column 25, or a handle 12 of the cart 445. The frequency, power output, and receiver strength of the radar input device 640 are selected based on the materials of the cart components that exist between the environment 260 and the radar input device. For example, many components of the conventional cart 20 are made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic, and a 60GHz radar passes through the HDPE plastic with minimal signal loss and minimal signal quality degradation. The radar input device 640 is mounted behind or inside these HDPE components without affecting the sensing capabilities of the radar input device. In addition, no secondary installation operations (e.g., cutting or modifying the cart) are required for the conventional cart 20, which maintains the expected aesthetics of the cart.

[0177] When the radar input device 640 is mounted on the cart 445 close to any material covering the radar input device, the distance between the device and the material is important. The ideal distance is half the wavelength of the operating frequency of the radar device 640. For example, for a 60 GHz radar input device 640, the wavelength is about 5 mm. Therefore, half of this wavelength is 2.5 mm. The radar input device 640 is located 2.5 mm from the covering material of the cart 445. The shape of the covering material is also selected to minimize reflection and refraction of the radar signal. These characteristics are taken into account when performing calculations using the radar input device 640 data.

[0178] While the present invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the invention in its broader aspects.

Claims

1. An autonomous utility vehicle for use by workers in a work environment having an open area and fixed structures to move items, the autonomous utility vehicle comprising: A trolley structure suitable for carrying articles, the trolley structure having at least one rotatable and rotatable wheel; a platform having first and second drive wheels, the platform being fixed to the cart structure and the drive wheels being spaced apart from the rotatable wheels, the platform having a navigation and movement system, the navigation and movement system comprising a first drive motor having a first drive shaft for selectively rotating the first drive wheel, and a second drive motor having a second drive shaft for selectively rotating the second drive wheel, a programmed processor having a processor memory, first and second motor encoders for obtaining rotational movement data for each of the drive shafts and one of an IMU for obtaining three-axis data, circuitry electrically communicating the processor, the memory, the motors, and one of the encoders and the IMU, the processor sending movement instructions to the drive motors, the drive motors being sufficient to independently rotate the first and second drive shafts to propel the cart structure along a straight and curved travel path, and the processor using one of the rotational movement data and the three-axis data to determine current position data when the platform is in a current position; a communication device having at least one key for obtaining selected destination data when the current position of the platform is at the selected destination, the communication device being in electrical communication with the navigation and movement system and mounted to one of the cart structure and the platform, and the operator touching the at least one key to store the selected destination data in the processor memory; a scanning device and a digital camera having a substantially circumferential sensing range, said scanning device and said camera obtaining working environment data sufficient to locate open areas and fixed structures, said scanning device and said digital camera being mounted on one of said platform and said cart structure and being in electrical communication with said circuit; a power source in power supply communication with the circuitry, the communication device, the scanning device, and the digital camera, the power source being mounted to one of the platform and the cart structure; and, The navigation and movement system uses the working environment data, the selected destination data and the current location data to plan a route and movement instructions for the platform and cart structure to travel through the working environment to the selected destination.

2. The autonomous utility vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle structure has a lower tray, a vehicle front end and a vehicle rear end, the drive wheel and the encoder are mounted below the lower tray adjacent to the front end, the at least one rotatable and turnable wheel is mounted below the lower tray adjacent to the rear end, the processor, the memory and the circuit for the navigation and movement system are enclosed in a housing mounted below the lower tray, the drive wheel and the at least one rotatable and turnable wheel are mounted outside the housing, and the circuit in the housing is in electrical communication with external wiring of the drive wheel and the encoder.

3. The autonomous utility vehicle of claim 2 wherein said housing is selectively slidably secured to said vehicle structure beneath said lower tray.

4. The autonomous utility vehicle of claim 2 further comprising a plurality of wiring circuits, proximity sensors, and SBCs, each of said wiring circuits extending through said vehicle structure and in electrical communication with said circuits, each of said proximity sensors and SBCs being mounted to said vehicle structure and in electrical communication with said circuits, each of said wiring circuits comprising at least one of said proximity sensors being communicatively coupled in series with one of said SBCs, and wherein an operating environment comprises temporary obstacles, each of said proximity sensors obtaining proximity sensor data, said SBCs buffering said proximity sensor data and converting said proximity sensor data into a USB protocol, and said navigation and mobility system using said proximity sensor data to avoid temporary obstacles while travelling along said route to said selected destination.

5. The autonomous utility vehicle of claim 4 further comprising a USB hub mounted to said vehicle structure, and wherein each of said plurality of wiring lines is in electrical communication with said USB hub, and wherein said USB hub is in electrical communication with said circuitry via a USB cable.

6. The autonomous utility vehicle of claim 2 further comprising a plurality of wiring circuits, radar sensors, and SBCs, each of said wiring circuits extending through said vehicle structure and in electrical communication with said circuits, each of said radar sensors and SBCs being mounted to said vehicle structure and in electrical communication with said circuits, each of said wiring circuits comprising one of said radar sensors connected in series with one of said SBCs, and wherein an operating environment comprises temporary obstacles, each of said radar sensors acquiring radar sensor data, said SBC buffering said radar sensor data and converting said radar sensor data into a USB protocol, and said navigation and mobility system using said radar sensor data to avoid temporary obstacles while travelling along said route to said selected destination.

7. The autonomous utility vehicle of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of radar sensors mounted to said vehicle structure, each said radar sensor acquiring radar sensor data and in electrical communication with said circuitry, and wherein said operating environment includes temporary obstacles, and said navigation and movement system uses said radar sensor data to avoid temporary obstacles while traveling along said route to said selected destination.

8. The autonomous utility vehicle of claim 7, wherein said navigation and movement system uses said radar sensor data obtained by said radar sensor and said working environment data obtained by said sensing device and said camera to locate open areas and fixed structures in a working environment.

9. The autonomous utility vehicle of claim 1 further comprising a radar sensor mounted to said vehicle structure and in electrical communication with said circuit, and wherein said autonomous vehicle travels on a floor surface supported by an underground structure including an underground structure, said radar sensor obtains radar sensor data including underground data of at least one of said underground structures, and said navigation and movement system uses said underground data to determine said current position of said platform.

10. An autonomous utility vehicle as described in claim 9, wherein at least one of the underground structures is an underground marker located at a specified home position, and when the vehicle is near the underground marker, the home key is pressed and the navigation and movement system uses the specified home position to determine the current position of the platform.

11. The autonomous utility vehicle of claim 10, wherein said underground marker is a metal marker placed into said underground at said designated in-situ location.

12. The autonomous utility vehicle of claim 10, wherein the underground marker is one of underground rebar, underground pipeline, and underground anomaly formed in the underground.

13. The autonomous utility vehicle of claim 1 further comprising a radar sensor mounted on said vehicle structure and in electrical communication with said circuit, said vehicle structure comprising an item support surface for supporting items and a payload area above said item support surface, wherein when an item is placed on said item support surface, the item has an item position, said radar sensor is aimed at said item support surface and said payload area to obtain radar sensor item data including item position data related to said item position.

14. The autonomous utility vehicle of claim 13 wherein said item locations extend beyond said sides of said vehicle structure and said navigation and movement system uses said radar sensor item data to plan said routes and movement instructions for said platform and said vehicle structure to navigate through a work environment.

15. The autonomous utility vehicle of claim 1 further comprising a radar sensor mounted to said vehicle structure and in electrical communication with said circuit, said radar sensor obtaining radar sensor data, and wherein one of the fixed structures is a blocking structure that visually blocks an adjacent open area outside of the blocking structure, and said radar sensor data includes blocked adjacent moving object data, and said navigation and movement system uses said blocked adjacent moving object data to plan an alternative route to avoid collision with a moving object.

16. The autonomous utility vehicle of claim 1 further comprising a radar sensor mounted to said vehicle structure and in electrical communication with said circuit, said radar sensor obtaining radar sensor data, and wherein one of said fixed structures is a thin, flexible material, and said navigation and movement system uses said radar sensor data to identify said thin, flexible material as an object through which said vehicle can travel, and said route passes through said thin, flexible material.

17. The autonomous utility vehicle of claim 16, wherein the thin, flexible material is one of a plastic strip, a curtain, a piece of fabric, and a piece of plastic that is hung on a doorway.

18. A boomerang method for controlling movement of an autonomous vehicle in a working environment, the working environment having an open area, a first designated position within a first designated area, and a second designated position within a second designated area, the first designated area containing various items, each item having an item weight, the boomerang method comprising: Providing an autonomous cart having a navigation and locomotion system having electric drive wheels, a programmed processor and memory, a weight sensor, at least first and second destination keys for setting first and second desired destinations, and a boomerang key for enabling boomerang mode programming; Placing the vehicle in a working environment and activating the navigation and movement system, loading the mapping environment of the working environment into the memory, and positioning the navigation and movement system; setting the first destination button to a first coordinate of a first designated location, setting the second destination button to a second coordinate of a second designated location, and storing the first coordinate and the second coordinate of the first and second destination points in the memory; moving the cart to a first designated area and selecting a selected item from among various items in the first designated area; pressing said boomerang key to enable boomerang mode programming; adding the selected item to the cart in a first designated area, obtaining added item weight data of the selected item from the weight sensor, and storing the added item weight data in the memory, the added item weight data being associated with the first designated area; pressing the second destination button for the second designated destination; When the cart is located in the first designated area, using the navigation and movement system to determine a route, and navigating along the route with the selected item through an open area of ​​the work environment to the second coordinate of the second designated location; removing the selected items from the cart in a second designated area, obtaining removed item weight data of the selected items from the weight sensor, the processor comparing the added item weight data with the removed item weight data to confirm that the selected items are being removed; and, When the vehicle is located in the second designated area, the navigation and movement system is used to automatically determine a return route, and the vehicle is navigated along the return route through an open area of ​​the working environment to reach the first coordinates of the first designated location.

19. The boomerang method of claim 18, wherein after moving the cart to the first designated area, further moving the cart to a desired location within the first designated area to add the selected item to the cart; and, After the trolley travels along the route to the second designated location, the trolley is moved to another location within the second designated area to remove items from the trolley.

20. The boomerang method of claim 18, wherein said step of pressing said boomerang key occurs before said step of moving said cart into said first designated area.

21. The Boomerang method of claim 18, wherein said step of pressing said second destination button occurs before said step of adding said selected item to said cart in a first designated area.

22. The boomerang method of claim 18, wherein said cart has at least one scanning device for collecting said environmental mapping data to generate said mapped environment of a working environment.

23. The boomerang method of claim 18, wherein said cart includes a cycle key for enabling cycle mode programming, and further comprising the step of pressing said cycle key after said step of pressing said boomerang key and storing said second boomerang coordinates in said memory, and further comprising continuously repeating the following steps: adding another selected item to the cart in the first designated area, obtaining added item weight data of the weight of the another selected item from the weight sensor, and storing the added item weight data in the memory, the added item weight data being associated with the first designated area; When the cart is in the first designated area, determining a route using the navigation and movement system, and navigating along the route through an open area of ​​the work environment with the other selected object to the second coordinate of the second designated location; removing the other selected item from the cart in a second designated area, obtaining removed item weight data of the other selected item from the weight sensor, the processor comparing the added item weight data with the removed item weight data to confirm that the other selected item is being removed; and, When the vehicle is located in the second designated area, the navigation and movement system is used to automatically determine a return route, and the vehicle is navigated along the return route through an open area of ​​the working environment to reach the first coordinates of the first designated location.

24. The boomerang method of claim 23, wherein after the cart travels along the return route to the first designated location, the cart is moved to an alternate location within the first designated area to add the other selected item to the cart; and, After the cart travels along the route to the second designated location, the cart is moved to another location within the second designated area to remove the other selected item from the cart.

25. The boomerang method of claim 18, wherein after said step of pressing said second destination button, said vehicle waits a predetermined time before traveling along said route to said second designated location.

26. The boomerang method of claim 18, wherein after said step of removing said selected items in a second designated area, said vehicle waits a predetermined time before traveling along said return route to said first designated location.

27. The Boomerang method of claim 18, wherein said confirmation that said selected item is being removed is determined by said removed item weight data being substantially equal to said added item weight data.

28. The boomerang method of claim 18 wherein said route to a second designated location is determined in response to said pressing of said second destination button, and a return route to a first designated location is automatically determined in response to said confirmation that said selected item is being removed without pressing any of said buttons.

29. A boomerang method for controlling movement of an autonomous vehicle in a working environment, the working environment having an open area and first and second designated areas, the first designated area containing various items, and each item having an item weight, the boomerang method comprising: providing an autonomous cart having a navigation and mobility system having electric drive wheels, a programming processor and memory, a weight sensor, and a boomerang key for enabling boomerang mode programming; Placing the vehicle in a working environment, starting the navigation and movement system, loading the mapping environment of the working environment into the memory, and positioning the navigation and movement system; moving the cart to a first designated area and selecting a selected item from among various items in the first designated area; pressing said boomerang key to enable boomerang mode programming; adding the selected item to the cart at a first boomerang position having first boomerang coordinates in a first designated area, obtaining added item weight data of the selected item from the weight sensor, and storing the added item weight data and the first boomerang coordinates in the memory; pushing the cart to a second boomerang position having second boomerang coordinates within a second designated area; removing the selected items from the cart in a second designated area, obtaining removed item weight data of the selected items from a weight sensor, the processor comparing the added item weight data with the removed item weight data to confirm that the selected items are being removed; and, When the vehicle is located in the second designated area, a return route is automatically determined using the navigation and movement system, and the vehicle is navigated along the return route through an open area of ​​the working environment to reach the first boomerang coordinates of the first boomerang position.

30. The boomerang method of claim 29, wherein said step of pressing said boomerang key occurs before said step of moving said cart into said first designated area.

31. The boomerang method of claim 29, wherein said cart has at least one scanning device for collecting said environmental mapping data to generate said mapped environment of a working environment.

32. The boomerang method of claim 29, wherein after said step of removing said selected items in a second designated area, said vehicle waits a predetermined time before traveling along said return route to said first boomerang location.

33. The Boomerang method of claim 29, wherein said confirmation that said selected item is being removed is determined by said removed item weight data being substantially equal to said added item weight data.

34. The boomerang method of claim 29, wherein said cart includes a cycle key for enabling cycle mode programming, and further comprising the step of pressing said cycle key after said step of pressing said boomerang key and storing said second boomerang coordinates in said memory, and further comprising continuously repeating the following steps: adding another selected item to the cart at the first boomerang coordinate within the first designated area, obtaining added item weight data of the another selected item from the weight sensor, and storing the added item weight data of the another selected item in the memory; while in the first designated area, determining a new route using the navigation and movement system and navigating along the new route through an open area of ​​the work environment with the other selected object to the second boomerang coordinates in the second designated area; removing the other selected item from the cart in a second designated area, obtaining removed item weight data of the other selected item from a weight sensor, the processor comparing the added item weight data with the removed item weight data to confirm that the other selected item is being removed; and, While in the second designated area, a new return route is determined using the navigation and movement system, and navigation is performed along the new return route to the first boomerang coordinates in the first designated area.

35. An autonomous utility vehicle for use by workers in a work environment having open areas and fixed structures to move items, the autonomous utility vehicle comprising: A trolley structure suitable for carrying articles, the trolley structure having at least one rotatable and rotatable wheel; a platform having first and second drive wheels, the platform being secured to the cart structure and the drive wheels being spaced apart from the rotatable wheels, the platform having a navigation and movement system, the navigation and movement system including a first drive motor having a first drive shaft for selectively rotating the first drive wheel, and a second drive motor having a second drive shaft for selectively rotating the second drive wheel, a programmed processor having a processor memory, circuitry connecting the processor, memory, and motor in electrical communication, the processor sending movement instructions to the drive motors, the drive motors being sufficient to independently rotate the first and second drive shafts to propel the cart structure along both straight and curved travel paths; a communication device having at least one key for obtaining selected destination data when the platform and cart are at the selected destination, the communication device being in electrical communication with the navigation and movement system and mounted to one of the cart structure and the platform, and the operator touching the at least one key to store the selected destination data in the processor memory; a radar sensor for obtaining operating environment data and current position data sufficient to locate open areas and fixed structures, the current position data sufficient to allow the navigation and movement system to locate the platform and cart in the operating environment, the radar sensor being mounted on one of the platform and the cart structure and in electrical communication with the circuit, and the processor using the current position data to determine when the platform is in a current position; a power source in power supply communication with the circuitry, the communication device, and the scanning device, the power source being mounted to one of the platform and the cart structure; and, The navigation and movement system uses the working environment data, the selected destination data and the current location data to plan a route and movement instructions for the platform and cart structure to travel through the working environment to the selected destination.

36. An autonomous utility vehicle as described in claim 35, wherein the radar sensor is a plurality of radar sensors mounted to the vehicle structure, the operating environment data includes local environment data, and each of the radar sensors obtains moving object data and electrically communicates with the circuit, and wherein the operating environment includes moving objects, and when traveling along the route to the selected destination, the system uses the local environment data and the moving object data to avoid moving objects.

37. An autonomous utility vehicle according to claim 35, wherein the autonomous vehicle travels on a floor surface supported by underground structures including underground structures, the radar sensor obtains underground data of at least one of the underground structures, and the navigation and movement system uses the underground data to locate the platform and the vehicle structure in a working environment.

38. An autonomous utility vehicle as described in claim 37, wherein at least one of the underground structures is an underground marker located at a specified home position, and when the vehicle is near the underground marker, the home key is pressed and the navigation and movement system uses the specified home position to locate the platform.

39. The autonomous utility vehicle of claim 38, wherein said underground marker is a metal marker placed into said underground at said designated in-situ location.

40. The autonomous utility vehicle of claim 38, wherein said underground marker is one of underground rebar, underground pipes, and underground anomalies formed in said underground.

41. The autonomous utility vehicle of claim 35, wherein the vehicle structure includes an item support surface for supporting items and a payload area above the item support surface, wherein the items have an item position when placed on the item support surface, and wherein the radar sensor is aimed at the item support surface and the payload area to obtain radar sensor item data including item position data related to the item position.

42. The autonomous utility vehicle of claim 41 wherein said item locations extend beyond said perimeter of said vehicle structure and said navigation and movement system uses said radar sensor item data to plan said routes and movement instructions for said platform and said vehicle structure to navigate through a work environment.

43. An autonomous utility vehicle according to claim 36, wherein one of the fixed structures is a blocking structure that visually blocks a moving object in an adjacent open area outside the blocking structure, and the moving object data includes obscured adjacent moving object data, and the navigation and movement system uses the obscured adjacent moving object data to plan an alternative route to avoid collision with the moving object.

44. An autonomous utility vehicle as described in claim 36, wherein one of the fixed structures is a thin and flexible material, and the navigation and movement system uses the working environment data to identify the thin and flexible material as an object that the vehicle structure can travel through, and the navigation and movement system plans the route to pass through the thin and flexible material.

45. The autonomous utility vehicle of claim 44, wherein the thin, flexible material is one of a plastic strip, a drape, a sheet of fabric, and a plastic sheet.

46. ​​An autonomous utility vehicle as described in claim 36, wherein the vehicle structure includes a handle, and one of the radar sensors is mounted adjacent to the handle and directed toward the handle to obtain human movement data, and wherein the navigation and movement system uses the human movement data when sending the movement instructions to the drive motor.

47. The autonomous utility vehicle of claim 36, wherein said moving object data acquired by said radar sensor is transmitted directly to said processor of said platform.

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