Automatic guided vehicle control method, device and system and storage medium

Abstract

The invention relates to a control method, device and system of an automatic guided vehicle and a storage medium, and relates to the technical field of intelligent vehicles. The control method of the automatic guided vehicle comprises the following steps: acquiring a current walking path of the automatic guided vehicle; determining the walking type of the automatic guided vehicle according to the current walking path; locking the position area according to the current walking path, the walking type and the size of the automatic guided vehicle; and controlling the automatic guided vehicle to walk in the position area. The control method of the automatic guided vehicle ensures that the automatic guided vehicle can safely arrive at the destination.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of intelligent vehicle technology, and in particular to a control method, device, system and storage medium for an automatic guided vehicle. Background Art

[0002] Automatic Guided Vehicle (AGV) is often used in warehouse handling. For example, a multi-layer container robot is an AGV that carries a backpack and a fork. It lifts and lowers the fork to grab the container on the external shelf or conveyor line, and puts the container into the backpack to pick up the goods.

[0003] During the operation of the AGV, the sensor installed at the bottom scans the identification code on the ground and decodes it, so that the control system can obtain the current position of the AGV. The control system navigates based on the current position of the AGV and issues a travel path to the AGV, so that the AGV goes to the destination to perform the task of picking up or unloading goods.

[0004] Since there are usually multiple AGVs performing tasks in the warehouse at the same time, conflicts may arise between the walking paths of different AGVs, causing safety accidents such as AGV collisions. Therefore, how to ensure that the AGV arrives at its destination safely is an important issue. Summary of the invention

[0005] A technical problem to be solved by the present disclosure is: how to ensure that the AGV reaches the destination safely.

[0006] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a method for controlling an automated guided vehicle is provided, including: acquiring a current walking path of the automated guided vehicle; determining a walking type of the automated guided vehicle based on the current walking path; locking a position area based on the current walking path, the walking type, and the size of the automated guided vehicle; and controlling the automated guided vehicle to walk within the position area.

[0007] In some embodiments, according to the current walking path, walking type, and size of the automatic guided vehicle, locking the position area includes: when the walking type is straight, according to the size of the automatic guided vehicle, locking the first position area based on the current walking path.

[0008] In some embodiments, according to the size of the automated guided vehicle, locking the first position area based on the current walking path includes: determining, according to the size of the automated guided vehicle, a rectangular area covered by the automated guided vehicle when walking from the current position in the current walking path to the next position, the next position maximizing the covered rectangular area without intersecting with position areas locked by other automated guided vehicles; locking the rectangular area, the first position area including the rectangular area.

[0009] In some embodiments, the width of the rectangular area is the width of the automated guided vehicle; the length of the rectangular area is obtained by determining the path length from the current position to the next position and adding half the length of the automated guided vehicle on both sides of the path length.

[0010] In some embodiments, according to the size of the automatic guided vehicle, locking the first position area based on the current walking path also includes: determining whether the next position is within the rotation point range; when the next position is within the rotation point range, locking the first rotation area at the next position, or when the next position is the end point of the current walking path, the end point is not within the rotation point range, and the automatic guided vehicle needs to rotate at the end point, locking the first rotation area at the end point, wherein the first rotation area is determined based on the size of the automatic guided vehicle, and the first position area also includes the first rotation area.

[0011] In some embodiments, the first rotation area is a circular area, and the circular area is obtained by taking the next position as the center of the circle and half the length of the automated guided vehicle as the radius.

[0012] In some embodiments, locking the first rotation area includes: determining whether the first rotation area intersects with position areas locked by other automated guided vehicles; if the first rotation area intersects with position areas locked by other automated guided vehicles, locking the first rotation area after the other automated guided vehicles leave; if the first rotation area does not intersect with position areas locked by other automated guided vehicles, directly locking the first rotation area.

[0013] In some embodiments, the next position is determined from an identification code on the ground of the current travel path in a direction from the end point of the current travel path toward the current position of the automated guided vehicle.

[0014] In some embodiments, controlling the automatic guided vehicle to move in the location area includes: controlling the automatic guided vehicle to move along the identification code on the ground in the location area until the automatic guided vehicle reaches the next location; redefining the next location as the current position of the automatic guided vehicle, and iteratively executing the aforementioned control method until the automatic guided vehicle reaches the end point of the current walking path.

[0015] In some embodiments, according to the current walking path, walking type, and size of the automatic guided vehicle, locking the position area includes: when the walking type is rotation, locking the second position area based on the current walking path according to the size of the automatic guided vehicle.

[0016] In some embodiments, according to the size of the automatic guided vehicle, locking the second position area based on the current walking path includes: locking the second rotation area at the current position in the current walking path of the automatic guided vehicle, the second rotation area is determined based on the size of the automatic guided vehicle, and the second position area includes the second rotation area.

[0017] In some embodiments, the second rotation area is a circular area, and the circular area is obtained by taking the current position of the automated guided vehicle as the center and half the length of the automated guided vehicle as the radius.

[0018] In some embodiments, locking the second rotation area includes: determining whether the second rotation area intersects with position areas locked by other automated guided vehicles; if the second rotation area intersects with position areas locked by other automated guided vehicles, locking the second rotation area after the other automated guided vehicles leave; if the second rotation area does not intersect with position areas locked by other automated guided vehicles, directly locking the second rotation area.

[0019] In some embodiments, obtaining the current walking path of the automatic guided vehicle includes: obtaining the overall path of the automatic guided vehicle based on the current position and destination of the automatic guided vehicle; dividing the overall path to obtain multiple walking paths; and obtaining the current walking path from the multiple walking paths based on the current position of the automatic guided vehicle.

[0020] In some embodiments, based on the current position and destination of the automatic guided vehicle, obtaining the overall path of the automatic guided vehicle includes: scanning an identification code on the ground at the current position of the automatic guided vehicle by a sensor at the bottom of the automatic guided vehicle to obtain the current position of the automatic guided vehicle; based on the current position and destination of the automatic guided vehicle, obtaining the overall path of the automatic guided vehicle, the overall path including the identification code on the ground between the current position of the automatic guided vehicle and the destination.

[0021] According to other embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a control device for an automatic guided vehicle, comprising: an acquisition module configured to acquire a current walking path of the automatic guided vehicle; a determination module configured to determine a walking type of the automatic guided vehicle according to the current walking path; a locking module configured to lock a position area according to the current walking path, the walking type, and the size of the automatic guided vehicle; and a control module configured to control the automatic guided vehicle to walk within the position area.

[0022] According to some other embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a control device for an automatic guided vehicle, comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor, for storing instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by the processor, the processor executes any one of the aforementioned control methods for an automatic guided transport vehicle.

[0023] According to some further embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a control system for an automated guided vehicle, comprising: a control device of any of the aforementioned automated guided vehicles, and an automated guided vehicle, wherein a sensor is installed at the bottom of the automated guided vehicle, and the control device controls the movement of the automated guided vehicle by receiving information from an identification code scanned by the sensor on the ground.

[0024] According to some other embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein the program, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of any of the aforementioned methods for controlling an automated guided vehicle.

[0025] In the above embodiment, a position area is locked for the automatic guided vehicle according to the size, current travel path, and travel type of the automatic guided vehicle, so that other automatic guided vehicles cannot enter the locked position area, thereby ensuring that the automatic guided vehicle can safely reach the destination.

[0026] Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0028] Figure 1 A schematic flow chart of a control method for an automatic guided vehicle according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0029] Figure 2 A schematic structural diagram of a rectangular area in some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0030] Figure 3 A schematic flow chart showing a control method for an automated guided vehicle according to other embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0031] Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing the structure of a control device for an automatic guided vehicle according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0032] Figure 5 A schematic structural diagram of a control device for an automatic guided vehicle according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0033] Figure 6 A schematic structural diagram of a control device for an automatic guided vehicle according to some further embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0034] Figure 7 A schematic structural diagram of a control system of an automatic guided vehicle according to some disclosed embodiments is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, rather than all of the embodiments. The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is actually only illustrative and is by no means intended to limit the present disclosure and its application or use. Based on the embodiments in the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0036] The AGV walks along the identification code on the ground during the walking process. After the control device that controls the walking of the AGV sends the walking path to the AGV, the AGV walks along the identification code on the ground in the walking path. There may be conflicts between the walking paths of different AGVs. For example, when different AGVs pass the same identification code at the same time, there will be a collision between the AGVs. For example, in order to retain the capacity of the storage space, the spacing between the paths in the warehouse will not be too large, and it is usually impossible for more than one AGV to rotate at the same time. When an AGV rotates, it may block the safe movement of another nearby AGV.

[0037] When considering the control of AGVs, the identification codes on the ground in the AGV's walking path are usually locked to prevent other AGVs from approaching these identification codes, thereby ensuring the safe walking of the AGVs. However, since the distribution of identification codes on the ground is not uniform, locking the identification codes cannot completely prevent collisions or obstructions between AGVs. When the distance between identification codes is small, collisions or obstructions between AGVs will still occur.

[0038] Therefore, based on the above problems, the present disclosure provides a control method for an automatic guided vehicle.

[0039] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing a control method for an automated guided vehicle according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 1 As shown, the control method of the automatic guided vehicle includes steps S102 to S108.

[0040] In S102, the current travel path of the automatic guided vehicle is obtained.

[0041] When using an automated guided vehicle to perform a task, the automated guided vehicle needs to move to the task location, which is recorded as the destination. The control device that controls the movement of the AGV needs to navigate based on the current position of the automated guided vehicle to obtain the overall path to the destination. The automated guided vehicle moves in segments as it moves toward the destination. That is, the overall path is divided into multiple walking paths, and the automated guided vehicle obtains the current walking path from the overall path based on the current position and walks along the current walking path. After reaching the end point of the current walking path, the current position of the automated guided vehicle is updated to the end point position, and it continues to obtain a new current walking path from the overall path to move until it reaches the destination.

[0042] In some embodiments, the current position of the automatic guided vehicle is obtained by scanning an identification code on the ground at the current position of the automatic guided vehicle through a sensor at the bottom of the automatic guided vehicle; based on the current position and destination of the automatic guided vehicle, the overall path of the automatic guided vehicle is obtained, and the overall path includes the identification code on the ground between the current position of the automatic guided vehicle and the destination.

[0043] The identification code on the ground can be, for example, a QR code. A sensor is installed at the bottom of the automatic guided vehicle. When the automatic guided vehicle reaches the location of the identification code, the sensor scans the identification code, so that the control device obtains the current location of the automatic guided vehicle. Based on this method, the dynamic automatic acquisition of the location of the automatic guided vehicle is realized.

[0044] In some embodiments, based on the current position and destination of the automatic guided vehicle, the overall path of the automatic guided vehicle is obtained; the overall path is divided to obtain multiple walking paths; based on the current position of the automatic guided vehicle, the current walking path is obtained from the multiple walking paths.

[0045] By dividing the overall path, the automated guided vehicle moves in sections until it reaches the destination. The division of the overall path can be set as needed, for example, each section of the walking path can be set to a preset length, or each section of the walking path can be set to a different preset length.

[0046] Compared with walking directly towards the destination, the automated guided vehicle walks towards the end of a walking path. The road conditions it encounters are simpler, and it is easier to plan the movement of the automated guided vehicle based on the walking conditions, thereby better ensuring that the automated guided vehicle arrives at the destination safely.

[0047] In S104, the travel type of the automatic guided vehicle is determined according to the current travel path.

[0048] In some embodiments, the walking type includes, but is not limited to, straight walking and rotation. Straight walking means that the automatic guided vehicle keeps the current direction and walks forward, and rotation means that the automatic guided vehicle needs to change the current direction by rotation before proceeding to the next walking step.

[0049] In S106, the position area is locked according to the current travel path, travel type, and size of the automatic guided vehicle.

[0050] According to different travel types, different position areas are locked for the automatic guided vehicle.

[0051] In the case where the travel type is straight travel, the first position area is locked based on the current travel path according to the size of the automatic guided vehicle.

[0052] Based on the current walking path, a first position area is locked for the automated guided vehicle. There are no other automated guided vehicles in the first position area and the automated guided vehicle is not locked by other automated guided vehicles and is not allowed to be locked by other automated guided vehicles in the future until the automated guided vehicle passes through the first position area.

[0053] In order to reduce the time it takes for the AGV to reach its destination, the AGV should move as continuously as possible during its movement, that is, it should move as far as it can to reduce waiting time. Therefore, the first position area should be as large as possible, so that the path of the AGV can be as long as possible. That is, when the AGV moves to the end of the current path, each path should be as long as possible. For example, in the best case, the AGV can move directly to the end of the current path, and the first position area will cover the current path.

[0054] In other cases, in the current walking path, there are other automated guided vehicles or positions locked by other automated guided vehicles, so that the automated guided vehicle cannot directly walk to the end of the current walking path. In this case, it is necessary to plan the farthest position that the automated guided vehicle can reach in the current walking path as the next position, and lock the first position area based on the next position.

[0055] In some embodiments, the next position is determined from an identification code on the ground of the current travel path in a direction from the end point of the current travel path toward the current position of the automated guided vehicle.

[0056] In some embodiments, according to the size of the automated guided vehicle, locking the first position area based on the current walking path includes: determining, according to the size of the automated guided vehicle, a rectangular area covered by the automated guided vehicle when walking from the current position in the current walking path to the next position, the next position maximizing the covered rectangular area without intersecting with position areas locked by other automated guided vehicles; locking the rectangular area, the first position area including the rectangular area.

[0057] In some embodiments, all identification codes on the ground in the current walking path are first locked, and then it is determined whether the rectangular area from the current position of the automatic guided vehicle in the current walking path to the end point intersects with the position area locked by other automatic guided vehicles. If not, the next position of the automatic guided vehicle is determined as the end point of the current walking path; if intersecting, it is determined whether the rectangular area from the current position of the automatic guided vehicle in the current walking path to the previous position of the end point intersects with other automatic guided vehicles. If not, the next position of the automatic guided vehicle is determined as the previous position of the end point of the current walking path, and the identification code of the position of the end point is released; if intersecting, the above judgment is performed based on the first two positions of the end point, and so on, until a rectangular area that does not intersect with the position area locked by other automatic guided vehicles is determined, and the identification code not in the rectangular area is released.

[0058] In some embodiments, the width of the rectangular area is the width of the automated guided vehicle; the length of the rectangular area is obtained by determining the path length from the current position to the next position and adding half the length of the automated guided vehicle on both sides of the path length.

[0059] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of a rectangular area in some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 2 The box in the middle rectangular area represents the identification code on the ground. The automatic guided vehicle moves along the identification code and stops at the center of the identification code after reaching the next position (such as the dot in the box represents the center of the identification code), and continues to move after determining the next position again.

[0060] Figure 2 Where a represents the length of the AGV, and b represents the width of the AGV. Figure 2 As shown, the rectangular area includes not only the rectangular area between the current position and the next position, but also small rectangular areas of half the length of the AGV added on both sides of the rectangular area between the paths. Different from locking the rectangular area according to the path between the current position and the next position, locking the area involved in the actual movement of the AGV from the current position to the next position can ensure the safe movement of the AGV. For example, it can prevent the front of the AGV from colliding with other AGVs after it reaches the next position.

[0061] After locking the rectangular area, it is also necessary to determine whether the next position is within the range of the rotation point, which refers to the position for the AGV to rotate. In order to prevent the AGV from being blocked by other AGVs rotating at the next position after the AGV reaches the next position, a rotation area needs to be locked to prevent other AGVs from entering the rotation area.

[0062] In some embodiments, after the AGV reaches the destination and docks with the shelf for unloading, it needs to drive out from the inside again. That is, the AGV needs to rotate at the destination, and at this time, it also needs to lock a rotation area.

[0063] In some embodiments, according to the size of the automatic guided vehicle, locking the first position area based on the current walking path also includes: determining whether the next position is within the rotation point range; when the next position is within the rotation point range, locking the first rotation area at the next position, or when the next position is the end point of the current walking path, the end point is not within the rotation point range, and the automatic guided vehicle needs to rotate at the end point, locking the first rotation area at the end point, wherein the first rotation area is determined based on the size of the automatic guided vehicle, and the first position area also includes the first rotation area.

[0064] In some embodiments, the first rotation area is a circular area, and the circular area is obtained by taking the next position as the center of the circle and half the length of the automated guided vehicle as the radius.

[0065] In some embodiments, locking the first rotation area includes: determining whether the first rotation area intersects with position areas locked by other automated guided vehicles; if the first rotation area intersects with position areas locked by other automated guided vehicles, locking the first rotation area after the other automated guided vehicles leave; if the first rotation area does not intersect with position areas locked by other automated guided vehicles, directly locking the first rotation area.

[0066] By locking the first rotation area, it is ensured that the automated guided vehicle will not be blocked from moving by the rotation of other automated guided vehicles, thereby ensuring that the automated guided vehicle safely arrives at the destination and safely leaves the destination.

[0067] In the above embodiments, when the walking type is straight walking, the first position area locked for the automatic guided vehicle includes a rectangular area, and in some cases, the first position area also includes a first rotation area, thereby ensuring the safe walking of the automatic guided vehicle.

[0068] In case the travel type is rotation, the second position area is locked based on the current travel path according to the size of the automated guided vehicle.

[0069] Based on the current walking path, a second position area is locked for the automated guided vehicle. In the second position area, there are no other automated guided vehicles and no position locked by other automated guided vehicles, and no position is allowed to be locked by other automated guided vehicles in the future until the automated guided vehicle passes through the second position area.

[0070] In some embodiments, according to the size of the automatic guided vehicle, locking the second position area based on the current walking path includes: locking the second rotation area at the current position in the current walking path of the automatic guided vehicle, the second rotation area is determined based on the size of the automatic guided vehicle, and the second position area includes the second rotation area.

[0071] In some embodiments, the second rotation area is a circular area, and the circular area is obtained by taking the current position of the automated guided vehicle as the center and half the length of the automated guided vehicle as the radius.

[0072] In some embodiments, locking the second rotation area includes: determining whether the second rotation area intersects with position areas locked by other automated guided vehicles; if the second rotation area intersects with position areas locked by other automated guided vehicles, locking the second rotation area after the other automated guided vehicles leave; if the second rotation area does not intersect with position areas locked by other automated guided vehicles, directly locking the second rotation area.

[0073] By locking the second rotation area, it is ensured that the automated guided vehicle can complete the rotation safely.

[0074] In some embodiments, the coordinate representation of the region may be used to determine whether the regions intersect. For example, the lower left corner coordinates and upper right corner coordinates of the rectangular region may be used to represent the rectangular region, and the center and radius of the circular region may be used to represent the circular region.

[0075] The intersection of a rectangular area and a rectangular area means that: the maximum value of the horizontal coordinate of the left rectangular area is smaller than the minimum value of the horizontal coordinate of the right rectangular area and / or the maximum value of the vertical coordinate of the lower rectangular area is smaller than the minimum value of the vertical coordinate of the upper rectangular area.

[0076] The intersection of two circular areas means that the distance between the coordinates of the centers of the two circles is less than the radius.

[0077] To determine whether the rectangular area intersects with the circular area, firstly determine whether the circular area is within the rectangular area or whether the rectangular area is within the circular area using coordinate representation, and then determine whether the rectangular area intersects with the circular area.

[0078] In S108, the automatic guided vehicle is controlled to move within the location area.

[0079] After locking the position area, a command is issued to the automatic guided vehicle to control the automatic guided vehicle to pass through the position area and then proceed to the next stage of walking.

[0080] In some embodiments, controlling the automatic guided vehicle to move within the location area includes: controlling the automatic guided vehicle to move along an identification code on the ground within the location area until the automatic guided vehicle reaches the next location; redefining the next location as the current location of the automatic guided vehicle, and iteratively executing the control method of the foregoing embodiment until the automatic guided vehicle reaches the end of the current moving path.

[0081] After the automatic guided vehicle reaches the next position, the next position is re-determined as the current position of the automatic guided vehicle, and the position area is locked again, so that the automatic guided vehicle performs the next walking until the automatic guided vehicle reaches the end of the current walking path.

[0082] After the automatic guided vehicle reaches the end point of the current walking path, a new current walking path is obtained from the multiple walking paths divided according to the overall path, and the control method of the above embodiment is executed until the automatic guided vehicle reaches the destination.

[0083] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the flow chart of the control method of the automatic guided vehicle of other embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 3 As shown, the control method of the automatic guided vehicle includes steps S302 to S318.

[0084] In step S302, the entire path is segmented to obtain the current walking path;

[0085] In step S304, it is determined whether the automatic guided vehicle needs to rotate according to the current travel path. If yes, step S306 is executed, otherwise, step S308 is executed.

[0086] In step S306, the second location area is determined and locked.

[0087] In step S308, it is determined whether the next position is the end point of the current walking path. If so, step S310 is executed, otherwise, step S312 is executed.

[0088] In step S310, the rectangular area is locked based on the end point, and the identification code on the ground in the current walking path is completely locked.

[0089] In step S312, the next position that makes the rectangular area the largest is determined, and the rectangular area is locked based on the next position. At this time, the identification code on the ground in the current walking path is partially locked.

[0090] In step S314, it is determined whether the next position is within the rotation point range or whether rotation is required. If so, step S316 is executed, otherwise, step S318 is executed.

[0091] In step S316, the first rotation area is locked.

[0092] In step S318, a command is issued to make the automatic guided vehicle move in the locked position area.

[0093] In the above embodiment, a position area is locked for the automatic guided vehicle according to the size, current travel path, and travel type of the automatic guided vehicle, so that other automatic guided vehicles cannot enter the locked position area, thereby ensuring that the automatic guided vehicle can safely reach the destination.

[0094] Figure 4 The schematic diagram of the structure of the control device of the automatic guided vehicle of some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 4 As shown, the control device 40 of the automatic guided vehicle includes:

[0095] The acquisition module 410 is configured to acquire the current walking path of the automatic guided vehicle;

[0096] The determination module 420 is configured to determine the travel type of the automatic guided vehicle according to the current travel path;

[0097] The locking module 430 is configured to lock the position area according to the current walking path, walking type, and size of the automated guided vehicle;

[0098] The control module 440 is configured to control the automatic guided vehicle to move in the location area.

[0099] In some embodiments, the locking module 430 is configured to lock the first position area based on the current walking path according to the size of the automated guided vehicle when the walking type is straight walking.

[0100] In some embodiments, the locking module 430 is configured to determine, based on the size of the automated guided vehicle, a rectangular area covered by the automated guided vehicle when it moves from a current position in a current walking path to a next position, wherein the next position maximizes the covered rectangular area without intersecting with position areas locked by other automated guided vehicles; and to lock the rectangular area, wherein the first position area includes the rectangular area.

[0101] In some embodiments, the width of the rectangular area is the width of the automated guided vehicle; the length of the rectangular area is obtained by determining the path length from the current position to the next position and adding half the length of the automated guided vehicle on both sides of the path length.

[0102] In some embodiments, the locking module 430 is configured to determine whether the next position is within the rotation point range; when the next position is within the rotation point range, the first rotation area is locked at the next position; or when the next position is the end point of the current walking path, the end point is not within the rotation point range, and the automatic guided vehicle needs to rotate at the end point, the first rotation area is locked at the end point, wherein the first rotation area is determined based on the size of the automatic guided vehicle, and the first position area also includes the first rotation area.

[0103] In some embodiments, the first rotation area is a circular area, and the circular area is obtained by taking the next position as the center of the circle and half the length of the automated guided vehicle as the radius.

[0104] In some embodiments, the locking module 430 is configured to determine whether the first rotation area intersects with the position areas locked by other automated guided vehicles; if the first rotation area intersects with the position areas locked by other automated guided vehicles, lock the first rotation area after the other automated guided vehicles leave; if the first rotation area does not intersect with the position areas locked by other automated guided vehicles, directly lock the first rotation area.

[0105] In some embodiments, the next position is determined from an identification code on the ground of the current travel path in a direction from the end point of the current travel path toward the current position of the automated guided vehicle.

[0106] In some embodiments, the control module 440 is configured to control the automated guided vehicle to walk along the identification code on the ground in the location area until the automated guided vehicle reaches the next location; redefine the next location as the current location of the automated guided vehicle, and iteratively execute the control method of claim 1 until the automated guided vehicle reaches the end of the current walking path.

[0107] In some embodiments, the locking module 430 is configured to lock the second position area based on the current walking path according to the size of the automated guided vehicle when the walking type is rotation.

[0108] In some embodiments, the locking module 430 is configured to lock the second rotation area at the current position in the current travel path of the automated guided vehicle, the second rotation area is determined based on the size of the automated guided vehicle, and the second position area includes the second rotation area.

[0109] In some embodiments, the second rotation area is a circular area, and the circular area is obtained by taking the current position of the automated guided vehicle as the center and half the length of the automated guided vehicle as the radius.

[0110] In some embodiments, the locking module 430 is configured to determine whether the second rotation area intersects with the position areas locked by other automated guided vehicles; if the second rotation area intersects with the position areas locked by other automated guided vehicles, lock the second rotation area after the other automated guided vehicles leave; if the second rotation area does not intersect with the position areas locked by other automated guided vehicles, directly lock the second rotation area.

[0111] In some embodiments, the acquisition module 410 is configured to acquire the overall path of the automatic guided vehicle based on the current position and destination of the automatic guided vehicle; divide the overall path to acquire multiple walking paths; and acquire the current walking path from the multiple walking paths based on the current position of the automatic guided vehicle.

[0112] In some embodiments, the acquisition module 410 is configured to scan the identification code on the ground at the current position of the automatic guided vehicle through the sensor at the bottom of the automatic guided vehicle to obtain the current position of the automatic guided vehicle; based on the current position and destination of the automatic guided vehicle, the overall path of the automatic guided vehicle is obtained, and the overall path includes the identification code on the ground between the current position of the automatic guided vehicle and the destination.

[0113] In the above embodiment, a position area is locked for the automatic guided vehicle according to the size, current travel path, and travel type of the automatic guided vehicle, so that other automatic guided vehicles cannot enter the locked position area, thereby ensuring that the automatic guided vehicle can safely reach the destination.

[0114] Figure 5 FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a control device for an automatic guided vehicle according to other embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 5 As shown, the control device 50 of the automatic guided vehicle includes: a memory 510 and a processor 520 coupled to the memory 510 , and the processor 520 is configured to execute the control method of the automatic guided vehicle in any of the aforementioned embodiments based on the instructions stored in the memory 510 .

[0115] The memory 510 may include, for example, a system memory, a fixed non-volatile storage medium, etc. The system memory may store, for example, an operating system, an application program, a boot loader, and other programs.

[0116] Figure 6 FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a control device for an automated guided vehicle according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 6As shown, the control device 60 of the automatic guided vehicle includes: a memory 610 and a processor 620, and may also include an input / output interface 630, a network interface 640, a storage interface 650, etc. These interfaces 630, 640, 650 and the memory 610 and the processor 620 may be connected, for example, via a bus 660. Among them, the input / output interface 630 provides a connection interface for input / output devices such as a display, a mouse, a keyboard, and a touch screen. The network interface 640 provides a connection interface for various networked devices. The storage interface 650 provides a connection interface for external storage devices such as SD cards and USB flash drives.

[0117] Figure 7 FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a control system of an automated guided vehicle according to some disclosed embodiments. Figure 7 As shown, the control system 70 of the automatic guided vehicle includes the control device 710 of the automatic guided vehicle as described in the above-mentioned embodiment, and the automatic guided vehicle 720, wherein a sensor 720 is installed at the bottom of the automatic guided vehicle, and the control device 710 of the automatic guided vehicle controls the movement of the automatic guided vehicle 720 by receiving information of the identification code scanned by the sensor on the ground.

[0118] An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein the program, when executed by a processor, implements any of the aforementioned control methods for an automated guided vehicle.

[0119] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present disclosure may be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present disclosure may take the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware. Moreover, the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable non-transient storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0120] The present disclosure is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be understood that each process and / or box in the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the processes and / or boxes in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to generate a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device generate instructions for implementing the processes in the flowchart and / or block diagram. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in a block or multiple blocks.

[0121] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable memory capable of directing a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce an article of manufacture including an instruction device, which implements the process Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A function specified in one or more boxes.

[0122] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions for implementing the process in the computer or other programmable device. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps for the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0123] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present disclosure should be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A control method for an automatic guided vehicle, comprising: Get the current path of the automated guided vehicle; Determining a travel type of the automatic guided vehicle according to the current travel path; Locking a position area according to the current walking path, the walking type, and the size of the automatic guided vehicle; The automatic guided vehicle is controlled to move within the location area.

2. The control method according to claim 1, wherein: The locking position area according to the current walking path, the walking type, and the size of the automatic guided vehicle includes: In the case where the travel type is straight travel, the first position area is locked based on the current travel path according to the size of the automatic guided vehicle.

3. The control method according to claim 2, wherein: According to the size of the automatic guided vehicle, locking the first position area based on the current walking path includes: Determine, according to the size of the automated guided vehicle, a rectangular area covered by the automated guided vehicle when it moves from a current position in the current walking path to a next position, wherein the next position maximizes the covered rectangular area without intersecting with position areas locked by other automated guided vehicles; The rectangular area is locked, and the first position area includes the rectangular area.

4. The control method according to claim 3, wherein: The width of the rectangular area is the width of the automatic guided vehicle; The length of the rectangular area is obtained by determining the path length from the current position to the next position and adding half the length of the automatic guided vehicle on both sides of the path length.

5. The control method according to claim 3, wherein according to the size of the automated guided vehicle, locking the first position area based on the current walking path further comprises: Determining whether the next position is within the rotation point range; If the next position is within the range of rotation points, locking the first rotation area at the next position, or When the next position is the end point of the current walking path, the end point is not within the range of the rotation point, and the automatic guided vehicle needs to rotate at the end point, the first rotation area is locked at the end point. The first rotation area is determined based on the size of the automatic guided vehicle, and the first position area also includes the first rotation area. 6 . The control method according to claim 5 , wherein the first rotation area is a circular area, and the circular area is obtained by taking the next position as the center and half the length of the automatic guided vehicle as the radius.

7. The control method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein: The locking of the first rotation area comprises: determining whether the first rotation area intersects with the position areas locked by other automated guided vehicles; When the first rotation area intersects with the position area where the other automated guided vehicles are locked, locking the first rotation area after the other automated guided vehicles leave; In the case where the first rotation area does not intersect with the position area where the other automated guided vehicles are locked, the first rotation area is directly locked.

8. The control method according to claim 3, wherein: The next position is determined from an identification code on the ground of the current travel path in a direction from the end point of the current travel path toward the current position of the automatic guided vehicle.

9. The control method according to claim 3, wherein: The controlling the automatic guided vehicle to walk in the position area includes: Controlling the automatic guided vehicle to move along the identification code on the ground in the location area until the automatic guided vehicle reaches the next location; The next position is re-determined as the current position of the automatic guided vehicle, and the control method of claim 1 is iteratively executed until the automatic guided vehicle reaches the end point of the current walking path.

10. The control method according to claim 1, wherein: The locking position area according to the current walking path, the walking type, and the size of the automatic guided vehicle includes: In case the travel type is rotation, the second position area is locked based on the current travel path according to the size of the automated guided vehicle.

11. The control method according to claim 10, wherein: The locking of the second position area based on the current walking path according to the size of the automatic guided vehicle comprises: A second rotation area is locked at a current position in the current travel path of the automated guided vehicle, the second rotation area is determined based on a size of the automated guided vehicle, and the second position area includes the second rotation area.

12. The control method according to claim 11, wherein: The second rotation area is a circular area, and the circular area is obtained by taking the current position of the automatic guided vehicle as the center of the circle and half the length of the automatic guided vehicle as the radius.

13. The control method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein: The locking of the second rotation area comprises: determining whether the second rotation area intersects with the position area locked by other automated guided vehicles; In the case where the second rotation area intersects with the position area where the other automated guided vehicles are locked, locking the second rotation area after the other automated guided vehicles leave; In the case where the second rotation area does not intersect with the position area where the other automated guided vehicles are locked, the second rotation area is directly locked.

14. The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The obtaining of the current walking path of the automatic guided vehicle comprises: Based on the current position and destination of the automated guided vehicle, obtaining an overall path of the automated guided vehicle; Divide the overall path into multiple segments of walking paths; Based on the current position of the automatic guided vehicle, a current walking path is obtained from the multiple walking paths.

15. The control method according to claim 14, wherein: The obtaining of the overall path of the automatic guided vehicle based on the current position and destination of the automatic guided vehicle comprises: The sensor at the bottom of the automatic guided vehicle scans the identification code on the ground at the current position of the automatic guided vehicle to obtain the current position of the automatic guided vehicle; Based on the current position and destination of the automatic guided vehicle, an overall path of the automatic guided vehicle is acquired, wherein the overall path includes an identification code on the ground between the current position of the automatic guided vehicle and the destination.

16. A control device for an automatic guided vehicle, comprising: An acquisition module is configured to acquire a current walking path of the automatic guided vehicle; A determination module is configured to determine a walking type of the automatic guided vehicle according to the current walking path; A locking module, configured to lock a position area according to the current walking path, the walking type, and the size of the automatic guided vehicle; The control module is configured to control the automatic guided vehicle to move within the location area.

17. A control device for an automatic guided vehicle, comprising: processor; as well as A memory coupled to the processor is used to store instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the processor, the processor executes the control method of the automatic guided transport vehicle as described in any one of claims 1 to 15.

18. A control system for an automatic guided vehicle, comprising: The control device according to claim 16 or 17, and the automated guided vehicle, wherein: A sensor is installed at the bottom of the automatic guided vehicle, and the control device controls the movement of the automatic guided vehicle by receiving information of an identification code scanned by the sensor on the ground.

19. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein: When the program is executed by a processor, the steps of the control method of the automatic guided transport vehicle as described in any one of claims 1 to 15 are implemented.

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