Path planning method and device of unmanned forklift, electronic equipment and storage medium

Abstract

The application provides a path planning method and device of an unmanned forklift, electronic equipment and a storage medium, and relates to the technical field of path planning. The method is applied to a master computer of the unmanned forklift and includes the following steps. In response to a material handling request of a production plant, a picking station and a putting station indicated by the material handling request are determined. If the picking station and / or the putting station are preset controlled stations, a first material handling path of the unmanned forklift is generated in combination with a drivable area of the unmanned forklift in the production plant and a forklift access rule of the picking station and / or the putting station. If the picking station and the putting station are not preset controlled stations, a second material handling path of the unmanned forklift is generated by using a preset algorithm in combination with the drivable area. The method provided in the application can enable the unmanned forklift to generate an effective material handling path.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of path planning technology, and in particular to a path planning method, apparatus, electronic device and storage medium for an unmanned forklift. Background Technology

[0002] Forklifts are among the most widely used material handling tools in logistics warehouses and manufacturing plants. Currently, unmanned forklifts are gradually replacing traditional manually driven forklifts, undertaking critical tasks such as cargo transportation and scheduling. The ability of unmanned forklifts to autonomously and reliably plan routes is fundamental to cargo transportation and scheduling.

[0003] Existing path planning methods for unmanned forklifts simply use relevant path planning algorithms to directly calculate the route from the picking station to the placing station, and then smooth the route to obtain the material handling path of the unmanned forklift.

[0004] However, logistics warehouses and manufacturing plants often contain many limitations, and the material handling paths generated by existing technologies for unmanned forklifts are very likely to be invalid paths. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a path planning method, apparatus, electronic device, and storage medium for unmanned forklifts to solve the technical problem of low effectiveness of material handling paths generated by unmanned forklifts in the prior art.

[0006] In a first aspect, this application provides a path planning method for an unmanned forklift, applied to the main control computer of the unmanned forklift, the method comprising:

[0007] In response to a material handling request from the production plant, the picking station and the placing station indicated by the material handling request are determined; wherein, the material handling request is used to instruct the unmanned forklift to move the goods located at the picking station to the placing station;

[0008] If the picking station and / or the unloading station are preset controlled stations, then the first material handling path of the unmanned forklift is generated by combining the drivable area of ​​the unmanned forklift in the production plant and the forklift entry and exit rules of the picking station and / or the unloading station; wherein, the preset controlled station is characterized as the station with the prescribed entry and exit rules of the unmanned forklift.

[0009] If the picking station and the placing station are not the preset controlled stations, then a second material handling path for the unmanned forklift is generated using a preset algorithm in conjunction with the drivable area.

[0010] In one possible design, a first material handling path for the unmanned forklift is generated by combining the drivable area of ​​the unmanned forklift within the production plant and the forklift entry and exit rules of the picking station and / or the unloading station, including:

[0011] Obtain the forklift entry and exit rules based on the picking station and / or the unloading station, as well as the pre-set entry and exit paths.

[0012] By combining the drivable area of ​​the unmanned forklift within the production plant, as well as the entry path and exit path, a first material handling path for the unmanned forklift is generated.

[0013] In one possible design, if the picking station and / or the placing station are preset controlled stations, it includes:

[0014] Determine the first pose of each preset controlled workstation, the second pose of the picking workstation, and the third pose of the placing workstation;

[0015] The second pose is compared with each first pose to calculate the first pose deviation between the second pose and each first pose; and the third pose is compared with each first pose to calculate the second pose deviation between the third pose and each first pose.

[0016] If any first position deviation is less than or equal to a preset threshold, and / or any second position deviation is less than or equal to the preset threshold, then the picking station and / or the placing station are determined to be preset controlled stations.

[0017] In one possible design, based on the drivable area, a preset algorithm is used to generate a second material handling path for the unmanned forklift, including:

[0018] Based on the drivable area, a preset algorithm is used to generate a path point sequence for the unmanned forklift; wherein, the path point sequence represents the movement trajectory of the unmanned forklift from the picking station to the unloading station;

[0019] The path point sequence is rectangularized to generate an initial transport path; wherein the initial transport path is a path composed of vertical line segments and horizontal line segments;

[0020] The orthogonal polygonal path included in the initial material handling path is smoothed to generate the second material handling path of the unmanned forklift.

[0021] In one possible design, the path point sequence is rectangularized to generate an initial transport path, including:

[0022] The starting and ending points of the path point sequence are determined as diagonal vertices; a target rectangle is drawn based on the diagonal vertices.

[0023] Based on the target rectangle, extract a first candidate transport path and a second candidate transport path; analyze whether the first candidate transport path and the second candidate transport path are located within the drivable area;

[0024] If the first candidate transport path and / or the second candidate transport path are located within the drivable area, then the first candidate transport path and / or the second candidate transport path are determined as the initial transport path.

[0025] In one possible design, the method further includes:

[0026] If the first candidate transport path and the second candidate transport path are not located within the drivable area, then the start and end points of the path point sequence are adjusted, and the target rectangle is regenerated.

[0027] Based on the regenerated target rectangle, the first and second candidate transport paths are extracted again.

[0028] In one possible design, prior to responding to a material handling request from the production plant, the method further includes:

[0029] Collect point cloud data of the production plant, perform rasterization processing on the point cloud data, and generate a raster map of the production plant.

[0030] Obtain the preset drivable trajectory of the unmanned forklift within the production plant; based on the ground projection of the unmanned forklift, expand the drivable trajectory to obtain the drivable area of ​​the unmanned forklift within the production plant;

[0031] The drivable area is mapped onto the grid map.

[0032] Secondly, this application provides a path planning device for an unmanned forklift, comprising:

[0033] A determining unit is configured to, in response to a material handling request from a production plant, determine the picking station and the placing station indicated by the material handling request; wherein the material handling request is used to instruct the unmanned forklift to move the goods located at the picking station to the placing station;

[0034] A generation unit is configured to, if the picking station and / or the unloading station are preset controlled stations, generate a first material handling path for the unmanned forklift in combination with the drivable area of ​​the unmanned forklift in the production plant and the forklift entry and exit rules of the picking station and / or the unloading station; wherein, the preset controlled station is characterized as a station with specified entry and exit rules for the unmanned forklift.

[0035] The generation unit is further configured to generate a second material handling path for the unmanned forklift by combining the drivable area and using a preset algorithm if the picking station and the placing station are not the preset controlled stations.

[0036] In one possible design, the generating unit includes:

[0037] The acquisition subunit is used to acquire the forklift entry and exit rules based on the picking station and / or the unloading station, as well as the pre-set entry and exit paths.

[0038] The first generation subunit is used to combine the drivable area of ​​the unmanned forklift in the production plant, as well as the entry path and the exit path, to generate the first material handling path of the unmanned forklift.

[0039] In one possible design, the generation unit further includes:

[0040] A determination subunit is used to determine the first pose of each preset controlled workstation, the second pose of the picking workstation, and the third pose of the placing workstation.

[0041] The calculation subunit is used to compare the second pose with each first pose and calculate the first pose deviation between the second pose and each first pose; and to compare the third pose with each first pose and calculate the second pose deviation between the third pose and each first pose.

[0042] The determining subunit is further configured to determine the picking station and / or the placing station as a preset controlled station if any first position deviation is less than or equal to a preset threshold, and / or any second position deviation is less than or equal to the preset threshold.

[0043] In one possible design, the generating unit further includes: a second generating subunit, used for:

[0044] Based on the drivable area, a preset algorithm is used to generate a path point sequence for the unmanned forklift; wherein, the path point sequence represents the movement trajectory of the unmanned forklift from the picking station to the unloading station;

[0045] The path point sequence is rectangularized to generate an initial transport path; wherein the initial transport path is a path composed of vertical line segments and horizontal line segments;

[0046] The orthogonal polygonal path included in the initial material handling path is smoothed to generate the second material handling path of the unmanned forklift.

[0047] In one possible design, the second generating subunit includes:

[0048] The determining module is used to determine the starting and ending points of the path point sequence as diagonal vertices;

[0049] A drawing module is used to draw a target rectangle based on the diagonal vertices;

[0050] The extraction module is used to extract a first candidate transport path and a second candidate transport path based on the target rectangle;

[0051] The analysis module is used to analyze whether the first candidate transport path and the second candidate transport path are located within the drivable area;

[0052] The determining module is further configured to determine the first candidate transport path and / or the second candidate transport path as the initial transport path if the first candidate transport path and / or the second candidate transport path are located within the drivable area.

[0053] In one possible design, the second generating subunit is further configured to adjust the start and end points of the path point sequence and regenerate the target rectangle if the first candidate transport path and the second candidate transport path are not located within the drivable area.

[0054] The extraction module is also used to re-extract the first candidate transport path and the second candidate transport path based on the regenerated target rectangle.

[0055] In one possible design, the path planning device for the unmanned forklift further includes:

[0056] The acquisition unit is used to acquire point cloud data of the production plant;

[0057] The processing unit is used to perform rasterization processing on the point cloud data to generate a raster map of the production plant.

[0058] The acquisition unit is used to acquire the preset drivable trajectory of the unmanned forklift within the production plant;

[0059] The processing unit is also used to expand the drivable trajectory based on the ground projection of the unmanned forklift to obtain the drivable area of ​​the unmanned forklift within the production plant.

[0060] A mapping unit is used to map the drivable area onto the grid map.

[0061] Thirdly, this application provides an electronic device comprising: at least one processor and a memory; the memory storing computer-executable instructions; the at least one processor executing the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory, causing the at least one processor to perform the method described in the first aspect above and various possible designs.

[0062] Fourthly, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a processor, implement the methods described in the first aspect above and various possible designs.

[0063] Fifthly, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product, including a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the method described in the first aspect and various possible designs of the first aspect.

[0064] The path planning method, apparatus, electronic equipment, and storage medium for unmanned forklifts provided in this application are applied to the main control computer of the unmanned forklift. Specifically, in response to a material handling request from a production plant, the method determines the picking station and placing station indicated by the material handling request. The material handling request instructs the unmanned forklift to move goods located at the picking station to the placing station. If the picking station and / or placing station are preset controlled stations, a first material handling path for the unmanned forklift is generated by combining the drivable area of ​​the unmanned forklift within the production plant and the forklift entry and exit rules of the picking station and / or placing station. The preset controlled station represents a station for which the unmanned forklift has defined entry and exit rules. If the picking station and placing station are not preset controlled stations, a second material handling path for the unmanned forklift is generated using a preset algorithm, combining the drivable area. By analyzing whether the picking station and / or placing station are preset controlled stations, it is further confirmed whether the picking station and / or placing station have defined entry and exit rules for the unmanned forklift. Meanwhile, in planning material handling paths for automated forklifts, environmental constraints imposed by the production plant on the forklifts are also incorporated, specifically the permissible drivable area of ​​the forklift within the plant. Therefore, this application ensures that automated forklifts can generate effective material handling paths by integrating workstation entry / exit rules and the environmental constraints of the production plant. Attached Figure Description

[0065] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this application.

[0066] Figure 1 A flowchart illustrating the path planning method for an unmanned forklift provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0067] Figure 2 A grid map of a production plant illustrating the path planning method for unmanned forklifts provided in this application embodiment;

[0068] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the exit path of the unmanned forklift provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0069] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the path to the workstation for the path planning method of the unmanned forklift provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0070] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the drivable area for the path planning method of the unmanned forklift provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0071] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of path rectangularization processing for the path planning method of the unmanned forklift provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0072] Figure 7 A schematic diagram illustrating the path smoothing process of the path planning method for the unmanned forklift provided in this application embodiment;

[0073] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the path planning device for an unmanned forklift provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0074] Figure 9 This is a hardware structure diagram of the electronic device provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0075] The accompanying drawings have illustrated specific embodiments of this application, which will be described in more detail below. These drawings and descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the concept in any way, but rather to illustrate the concept of this application to those skilled in the art through reference to specific embodiments. Detailed Implementation

[0076] Exemplary embodiments will now be described in detail, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description relates to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings denote the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent embodiments consistent with this application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with some aspects of this application as detailed in the appended claims.

[0077] The terms "first," "second," "third," "fourth," etc. (if present) in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this invention are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged where appropriate so that embodiments of the invention described herein can be implemented, for example, in orders other than those illustrated or described herein.

[0078] In this application, the terms "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of terms such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner.

[0079] It should be noted that the user information (including but not limited to user device information, user personal information, etc.) and data (including but not limited to data used for analysis, data stored, data displayed, etc.) involved in this application are all information and data authorized by the user or fully authorized by all parties. Furthermore, the collection, use and processing of the relevant data must comply with relevant laws, regulations and standards, and corresponding operation entry points are provided for users to choose to authorize or refuse.

[0080] Forklifts are characterized by their flexibility and ease of use, making them one of the most widely used material handling tools in logistics warehouses and manufacturing plants. Currently, most forklifts are manually operated, but with the development of industrial automation and intelligence, unmanned forklifts are gradually replacing traditional manually operated forklifts, undertaking key tasks such as cargo transportation and dispatching.

[0081] Currently, unmanned forklifts on the market mainly fall into two categories: Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) and Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs). AGVs are equipped with electromagnetic or optical automatic guidance devices, enabling them to travel along predetermined guide paths. By cooperating with scheduling and management systems, they can achieve automated material handling. AMRs, on the other hand, possess the ability to understand their surroundings and can move independently within a self-built map environment.

[0082] Existing path planning methods for unmanned forklifts simply use relevant path planning algorithms to directly calculate the route from the picking station to the placing station, and then smooth the route to obtain the material handling path of the unmanned forklift.

[0083] However, logistics warehouses and manufacturing plants typically contain numerous limitations. For example, these warehouses and plants often contain multiple physical objects that act as obstacles for automated forklifts, preventing them from passing through. Furthermore, the routes for automated forklifts must follow designated pathways and possess a degree of predictability (horizontal and vertical alignment).

[0084] Existing path planning algorithms typically target the shortest route, neglecting the constraints inherent in logistics warehouses and manufacturing plants. Therefore, the material handling paths generated by existing technologies for unmanned forklifts are highly likely to be invalid.

[0085] Starting from the actual needs of logistics warehouses and manufacturing plants, the inventors first identified the core problem of existing path planning algorithms neglecting environmental constraints. By analyzing the regular characteristics of the factory environment, such as obstacle placement and workstation layout, they proposed a method to determine the drivable area of ​​unmanned forklifts based on environmental constraints. Subsequently, based on the operational requirements of the workstations, they defined the entry and exit rules for unmanned forklifts for some workstations with higher requirements. In this way, by integrating the drivable area of ​​the unmanned forklifts and the workstation entry and exit rules, the unmanned forklifts can generate efficient material handling paths.

[0086] The technical solution of this application and how the technical solution of this application solves the above-mentioned technical problems are described in detail below with specific embodiments. These specific embodiments can be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be described again in some embodiments. The embodiments of this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0087] This application provides a path planning method for an unmanned forklift. Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating the path planning method for an unmanned forklift provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 1 As shown, the path planning method for the unmanned forklift is applied to the main control computer of the unmanned forklift, including:

[0088] S101. In response to a material handling request from the production plant, determine the picking station and the placing station indicated by the material handling request.

[0089] Understandably, a material handling request is used to instruct an automated forklift to move goods from a picking station to a placing station, both of which are located within the production plant. After receiving a material handling request, the automated forklift's main control computer first needs to obtain an environmental map of the production plant, and then, based on the environmental map, plans the material handling path for the automated forklift.

[0090] Specifically, the main control computer controls the lidar or sensors deployed on the unmanned forklift to collect point cloud data of the production plant. Then, Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) technology is used to construct an environmental map of the production plant based on the point cloud data.

[0091] It should be noted that when using SLAM technology to generate an environment map, the main control computer must actively set two core parameters: map resolution and map origin. Map resolution refers to the actual physical size represented by each cell on the environment map, while the map origin reflects the anchor point of the entire map coordinate system in the real world.

[0092] Obviously, the environmental map of the production plant reflects the actual geometric information of the production plant. In order to transform the actual geometric information of the production plant into structured data that the main control computer can process efficiently and use for decision-making, this embodiment performs rasterization processing on the environmental map generated by SLAM technology to generate a raster map of the production plant.

[0093] For example, Figure 2 A grid map diagram of a production plant for the path planning method of the unmanned forklift provided in this application embodiment, as shown below. Figure 2 As shown, 3D point cloud data from the environmental map of the production plant is projected onto a 2D horizontal plane, and then the resulting 2D plane is divided into a uniform grid. It should be understood that... Figure 2 In the raster map shown, the area consisting of a series of black dots represents the physical objects present in the production plant.

[0094] Afterwards, the main control computer will use a grid map to locate the picking station, the placing station, subsequent preset controlled stations, and the unmanned forklift, and record the location information obtained. In addition, to facilitate station management, the main control computer will usually number the picking station, the placing station, and the subsequent preset controlled stations.

[0095] Explained, a workstation can be considered as a placement area for goods, mostly rectangular in shape, and its size is determined by the floor projection of the placed goods. Ideally, the workstation should be larger than the floor projection of the placed goods, and sufficient safety clearance and operational error tolerance should be allowed.

[0096] S102. If the picking station and / or the unloading station are preset controlled stations, then the first material handling path of the unmanned forklift is generated by combining the drivable area of ​​the unmanned forklift in the production plant and the forklift entry and exit rules of the picking station and / or the unloading station.

[0097] Among them, the preset controlled workstations refer to the workstations for which the entry and exit rules are defined for unmanned forklifts. That is, when unmanned forklifts pick up or place goods in these preset controlled workstations, they must enter these preset controlled workstations according to the path indicated by the entry and exit rules.

[0098] Obviously, if the picking station and / or unloading station are preset controlled stations, it means that the picking station and / or unloading station define the forklift entry and exit rules. Therefore, it is necessary to obtain the forklift entry and exit rules based on the picking station and / or unloading station, as well as the preset entry and exit paths.

[0099] It should be understood that production plants typically have multiple workstations. Based on the environmental information and physical layout of the production plant, certain workstations are designated as pre-controlled workstations. Specifically, the steps for determining whether a picking workstation and / or placing workstation is a pre-controlled workstation are as follows:

[0100] Step a1: Determine the first pose of each preset controlled station, the second pose of the picking station, and the third pose of the placing station.

[0101] The first pose includes the center coordinates and orientation of the preset controlled workstation; the second pose includes the center coordinates and orientation of the picking workstation; and the third pose includes the center coordinates and orientation of the placing workstation. Orientation refers to the standard parking posture direction angle that the unmanned forklift must follow when picking up or placing goods in the workstation.

[0102] Step a2: Compare the second pose with each first pose and calculate the first pose deviation between the second pose and each first pose; and compare the third pose with each first pose and calculate the second pose deviation between the third pose and each first pose.

[0103] Specifically, the second pose is compared with each of the first poses, including: comparing the center coordinates of the picking station with the center coordinates of each preset controlled station, and comparing the orientation of the picking station with the orientation of each preset controlled station. The first pose deviation includes: the distance deviation between the center coordinates of the picking station and the center coordinates of each preset controlled station, and the angular deviation between the orientation of the picking station and the orientation of each preset controlled station.

[0104] Similarly, the third pose is compared with each of the first poses, including: comparing the center coordinates of the unloading station with the center coordinates of each preset controlled station, and comparing the orientation of the unloading station with the orientation of each preset controlled station. The second pose deviation includes: the distance deviation between the center coordinates of the unloading station and the center coordinates of each preset controlled station, and the angular deviation between the orientation of the unloading station and the orientation of each preset controlled station.

[0105] Step a3: If any first position deviation is less than or equal to a preset threshold, and / or any second position deviation is less than or equal to a preset threshold, then the picking station and / or the placing station are determined as preset controlled stations.

[0106] Explanatoryly, if the distance deviation between the center coordinates of the picking station and the center coordinates of any preset controlled station is less than or equal to a preset distance threshold, and the angle deviation between the orientation of the picking station and the orientation of any preset controlled station is less than or equal to a preset angle threshold, then it means that there exists a first pose deviation less than or equal to a preset threshold.

[0107] Similarly, if the distance deviation between the center coordinates of the delivery station and the center coordinates of any preset controlled station is less than or equal to a preset distance threshold, and the angle deviation between the orientation of the delivery station and the orientation of any preset controlled station is less than or equal to a preset angle threshold, then it means that there is a second pose deviation less than or equal to a preset threshold.

[0108] It should be noted that the reason for setting entry and exit paths for automated forklifts at preset controlled workstations is that these workstations are often subject to environmental constraints within the production plant, which could lead to collisions during the forklift's movement. Therefore, setting entry and exit paths helps prevent such collisions.

[0109] In a specific example, Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the exit path of the unmanned forklift path planning method provided in the embodiments of this application, as shown in the figure. Figure 3 As shown, a local coordinate system is established for the preset controlled workstations. This local coordinate system is used to guide the setting of the workstation paths. Specifically, within the rectangle formed by the preset controlled workstations, the centerline parallel to the orientation of the preset controlled workstations is set as... The origin is set as a point on the centerline near the edge of the preset controlled workstation. The axis extends from the origin to... It extends in the direction perpendicular to the axis.

[0110] In the local coordinate system On the axis, set the point spacing to A series of points, namely: , , , ..., .in, This indicates the number of points. The exit path is this... The trajectory formed by the points, and the last point Located outside the preset controlled workstation.

[0111] It should be noted that the point sequence corresponding to the above-mentioned exit path is based on a local coordinate system, therefore it needs to be further converted into global coordinates. Let's assume the global coordinates of the origin of the local coordinate system are... Then the point sequence of the th The formula for transforming the global coordinates of a point is:

[0112]

[0113] It is worth noting that the angle of each point in the point sequence is the same as the angle of the origin, that is, all of them are... .

[0114] In another specific example, Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the path planning method for the unmanned forklift provided in the embodiments of this application, showing the path to the workstation. Figure 4 As shown, the unmanned forklift needs to reverse to enter the preset controlled workstation. This is because the forks of the unmanned forklift in this embodiment are installed at the rear of the forklift body.

[0115] Specifically, the path to the workstation includes two forms: one is... Figure 4 The retreat curve shown in (a) connects to the retreat line, one of which is... Figure 4 The forward curve shown in (b) connects to the backward straight line. The specific method for setting the entry path is to continuously increase the length of the backward straight line from small to large, and then connect it to either the backward curve or the forward curve. During the setting of the entry path, collision checks are continuously performed using the grid map of the production plant until a collision-free path is generated; this path is the entry path. Figure 4 The arrows in (a) and (b) point to the orientation of the unmanned forklift vehicle.

[0116] Next, taking the example where both the picking and unloading stations are preset controlled stations, the automated forklift first enters the picking station along its entry path, picks up the goods, and then exits the picking station along its exit path. At this point, the automated forklift will have traveled to the end of its exit path. Since the unloading station is also a preset controlled station, this means that the automated forklift next needs to travel from the end of the unloading station's exit path to the beginning of the unloading station's entry path. Then, it will travel along the unloading station's entry path to enter the unloading station and unload the goods there.

[0117] It is evident that the missing path is the one between the end point of the outgoing path from the picking station and the start point of the incoming path from the placing station. Considering that multiple physical objects are typically placed within a production plant, these objects act as obstacles for the automated forklift. Therefore, the main control computer needs to further determine the drivable area of ​​the automated forklift within the production plant, and then, based on this drivable area, formulate the path between the end point of the outgoing path from the picking station and the start point of the incoming path from the placing station.

[0118] Thus, the outgoing path of the picking station, the incoming path of the unloading station, and the path between the end point of the outgoing path of the picking station and the beginning point of the incoming path of the unmanned forklift, determined according to the driving area of ​​the unmanned forklift, together constitute the first material handling path of the unmanned forklift.

[0119] It should be noted that the process for determining the drivable area of ​​the unmanned forklift within the production plant is as follows: The unmanned forklift is manually driven along the planned roads within the production plant to obtain a preset drivable trajectory. After the journey is completed, the preset drivable trajectory is expanded based on the ground projection of the unmanned forklift, thus obtaining the drivable area of ​​the unmanned forklift within the production plant.

[0120] For example, Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the drivable area for the path planning method of the unmanned forklift provided in this application embodiment is shown below. Figure 5 As shown in the figure, the shaded section represents the area where unmanned forklifts can travel within the production plant.

[0121] It is worth noting that after obtaining the drivable area of ​​the unmanned forklift within the production plant, it is also necessary to map the drivable area onto the grid map of the production plant.

[0122] Furthermore, if either the picking station or the placing station is a pre-controlled station, then based on the drivable area, a path is established from the end point of the picking station's exit path to the placing station. This path, along with the path from the end point of the picking station's exit path to the placing station, together constitutes the first material handling path of the unmanned forklift. If the placing station is a pre-controlled station, then based on the drivable area, a path is established from the picking station to the starting point of the placing station's entry path. This path, along with the path from the picking station to the starting point of the placing station, together constitutes the first material handling path of the unmanned forklift.

[0123] S103. If the picking station and the unloading station are not preset controlled stations, then the second material handling path of the unmanned forklift is generated by using a preset algorithm in combination with the drivable area.

[0124] When neither the picking station nor the placing station is a pre-defined controlled station, a pre-defined algorithm (such as...) can be used in conjunction with the drivable area. The algorithm generates a path point sequence for the unmanned forklift. The path point sequence refers to the movement trajectory of the unmanned forklift from the picking station to the placing station. Then, the path point sequence is rectangularized to generate an initial handling path, which is a path composed of vertical and horizontal line segments.

[0125] For example, Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the path rectangularization process for the path planning method of the unmanned forklift provided in the embodiments of this application, as shown below. Figure 6 As shown in the figure, the black curve represents the path point sequence of the unmanned forklift, and the black broken line represents the initial handling path.

[0126] The explanatory process for rectangularizing the path point sequence is as follows:

[0127] Step b1: Determine the starting and ending points of the path point sequence as diagonal vertices; draw the target rectangle based on the diagonal vertices.

[0128] Specifically, assume the waypoint sequence of the unmanned forklift is as follows: .in, This represents the first point in the path point sequence, i.e., the starting point. This represents the first and last point in the path point sequence, i.e., the termination point.

[0129] Then with and Draw the target rectangle using the diagonal vertices as the starting points.

[0130] Step b2: Extract the first candidate transport path and the second candidate transport path based on the target rectangle; analyze whether the first candidate transport path and the second candidate transport path are located within the drivable area.

[0131] Step b3: If the first candidate transport path and / or the second candidate transport path are located within the drivable area, then the first candidate transport path and / or the second candidate transport path are determined as the initial transport path.

[0132] It should be understood that, based on the target rectangle, two lines can be obtained from the starting point. To the end point The rectangular route is divided into the first candidate transport path and the second candidate transport path. The first candidate transport path is... → → The second candidate transport path is → → .

[0133] Then, it is checked whether the first candidate transport path and the second candidate transport path are located within the drivable area. The candidate transport path located within the drivable area is the initial transport path.

[0134] Furthermore, in one possible implementation, the path point sequence of the unmanned forklift can first be segmented, for example, the path point sequence can be divided into two segments, one of which is... , , ..., The other section is , , ..., Then, these two path point sequences are rectangularized to obtain the initial transport path corresponding to each path point sequence. By concatenating the initial transport paths corresponding to each path point sequence, the initial transport path of the entire path point sequence of the unmanned forklift can be obtained.

[0135] It should be noted that if neither the first nor the second candidate transport path is located within the drivable area, the starting and ending points of the path point sequence need to be adjusted, and the target rectangle needs to be regenerated. Specifically, the second positive point of the path point sequence... and the second to last point Using the diagonal vertices as the basis, a new target rectangle is generated. Then, based on the regenerated target rectangle, the first and second candidate transport paths are extracted again.

[0136] Similarly, if the first and second candidate transport paths extracted again are still not within the drivable area, then the third positive point in the path point sequence will be added. and the third to last point As the diagonal vertices, regenerate the target rectangle, ..., and so on.

[0137] For example, suppose that based on and Within the generated target rectangle, there exists an initial transport path located within the drivable area. In this case, it is also necessary to separately... and These two sequences are rectangularized to find the initial transport path corresponding to each sequence.

[0138] Since the initial material handling path of the final unmanned forklift path sequence is a path composed of vertical and horizontal line segments, this embodiment also smooths the orthogonal broken line path, i.e. right-angle segment, included in the initial material handling path, thereby generating the second material handling path of the unmanned forklift.

[0139] Specifically, the search engine identifies the right angles included in the initial transport path of the entire pathpoint sequence of the unmanned forklift, and then processes each right angle as follows:

[0140] (1) Starting from the right angle point, walk along the rectangular route to the end point, and walk a preset distance. Then, select The point on the rectangular route where the location is located is used as the smooth endpoint.

[0141] (2) Starting from the right angle point, walk along the rectangular route towards the starting point, and walk a preset distance. Then, select The point on the rectangular route where the object is located is used as the starting point for smoothing.

[0142] (3) Generate a smooth curve based on the smooth start point, right angle point and smooth end point to replace the rectangular route between the smooth start point and the smooth end point.

[0143] For example, Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the path smoothing process of the path planning method for the unmanned forklift provided in this application embodiment. Figure 7 As shown, the paths with a certain width drawn in (a) and (b) are the second material handling paths of the finally generated unmanned forklift.

[0144] The path planning method for unmanned forklifts provided in this application, in response to a material handling request from a production plant, determines the picking station and placing station indicated by the material handling request. The material handling request instructs the unmanned forklift to move goods located at the picking station to the placing station. If the picking station and / or placing station are preset controlled stations, the method obtains the forklift entry and exit rules for the picking station and / or placing station, as well as the preset entry and exit paths. Then, combining the drivable area of ​​the unmanned forklift within the production plant, and the entry and exit paths, a first material handling path for the unmanned forklift is generated. If the picking station and placing station are not preset controlled stations, a path point sequence for the unmanned forklift is generated using a preset algorithm, based on the drivable area. The path point sequence is rectangularized to generate an initial handling path, and the orthogonal polygonal paths included in the initial handling path are further smoothed to generate a second material handling path for the unmanned forklift. By analyzing whether the picking and / or unloading workstations are preset controlled workstations, this further confirms whether the picking and / or unloading workstations have defined entry and exit rules for the unmanned forklifts. Simultaneously, in the process of planning material handling paths for the unmanned forklifts, the environmental constraints of the production plant on the unmanned forklifts are also introduced, namely, the drivable area of ​​the unmanned forklift within the production plant. Therefore, this application ensures that the unmanned forklift can generate effective material handling paths by integrating workstation entry and exit rules and the environmental constraints of the production plant.

[0145] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the path planning device for an unmanned forklift provided in an embodiment of this application, as shown below. Figure 8 As shown, the path planning device 800 of the unmanned forklift is applied to the main control computer of the unmanned forklift and includes: a determination unit 801 and a generation unit 802.

[0146] The determining unit 801 is used to determine the picking station and the placing station indicated by the material handling request in response to the material handling request from the production plant; wherein the material handling request is used to instruct the unmanned forklift to move the goods located at the picking station to the placing station.

[0147] The generation unit 802 is used to generate a first material handling path for the unmanned forklift if the picking station and / or the unloading station are preset controlled stations, by combining the drivable area of ​​the unmanned forklift in the production plant and the forklift entry and exit rules of the picking station and / or the unloading station; wherein, the preset controlled station is characterized as a station with the unmanned forklift's specified entry and exit rules.

[0148] The generation unit 802 is also used to generate a second material handling path for the unmanned forklift by combining the drivable area and using a preset algorithm if the picking station and the placing station are not preset controlled stations.

[0149] In one possible design, generating unit 802 includes:

[0150] Acquisition subunit 8021 is used to acquire forklift entry and exit rules based on the picking station and / or unloading station, and the pre-set entry and exit paths;

[0151] The first generation subunit 8022 is used to generate the first material handling path of the unmanned forklift by combining the drivable area of ​​the unmanned forklift in the production plant, as well as the entry path and exit path of the workstation.

[0152] In one possible design, the generating unit 802 further includes:

[0153] The subunit 8023 is used to determine the first pose of each preset controlled station, the second pose of the picking station, and the third pose of the placing station.

[0154] The calculation subunit 8024 is used to compare the second pose with each first pose and calculate the first pose deviation between the second pose and each first pose; and to compare the third pose with each first pose and calculate the second pose deviation between the third pose and each first pose.

[0155] The subunit 8023 is further configured to determine the picking station and / or the placing station as preset controlled stations if any first position deviation is less than or equal to a preset threshold, and / or any second position deviation is less than or equal to a preset threshold.

[0156] In one possible design, the generating unit 802 further includes: a second generating subunit 8025, used for:

[0157] Based on the drivable area, a preset algorithm is used to generate a path point sequence for the unmanned forklift; the path point sequence represents the movement trajectory of the unmanned forklift from the picking station to the unloading station.

[0158] The path point sequence is rectangularized to generate an initial transport path; the initial transport path is a path composed of vertical and horizontal line segments.

[0159] The orthogonal polygonal paths included in the initial material handling path are smoothed to generate the second material handling path for the unmanned forklift.

[0160] In one possible design, the second generating subunit 8025 includes:

[0161] The determination module is used to identify the starting and ending points of the path point sequence as diagonal vertices.

[0162] The drawing module is used to draw the target rectangle based on the diagonal vertices;

[0163] The extraction module is used to extract the first candidate transport path and the second candidate transport path based on the target rectangle;

[0164] The analysis module is used to analyze whether the first candidate transport path and the second candidate transport path are located within the drivable area;

[0165] The determining module is further configured to determine the first candidate transport path and / or the second candidate transport path as the initial transport path if the first candidate transport path and / or the second candidate transport path are located within the drivable area.

[0166] In one possible design, the second generating subunit 8025 is also used to adjust the start and end points of the path point sequence and regenerate the target rectangle if the first candidate transport path and the second candidate transport path are not located within the drivable area.

[0167] The extraction module is also used to re-extract the first candidate transport path and the second candidate transport path based on the regenerated target rectangle.

[0168] In one possible design, the path planning device 800 of the unmanned forklift also includes:

[0169] The acquisition unit 803 is used to acquire point cloud data from the production plant;

[0170] Processing unit 804 is used to perform rasterization processing on point cloud data to generate a raster map of the production plant.

[0171] Acquisition unit 805 is used to acquire the preset drivable trajectory of the unmanned forklift within the production plant;

[0172] The processing unit 804 is also used to expand the drivable trajectory based on the ground projection of the unmanned forklift to obtain the drivable area of ​​the unmanned forklift in the production plant.

[0173] Mapping unit 806 is used to map drivable areas to a raster map.

[0174] The path planning device for unmanned forklifts provided in this application embodiment can be used to execute the path planning method for unmanned forklifts in any of the above embodiments. Its implementation principle and technical effect are similar, and will not be described again here.

[0175] It should be noted that the division of the various modules in the above device is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, they can be fully or partially integrated into a single physical entity, or they can be physically separated. Furthermore, these modules can be implemented entirely in software via processing element calls; they can be fully implemented in hardware; or some modules can be implemented in software via processing element calls, while others are implemented in hardware. Additionally, these modules can be fully or partially integrated together, or implemented independently. The processing element here can be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above method or each of the above modules can be completed through the integrated logic circuits in the hardware of the processor element or through software instructions.

[0176] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 9 As shown, the electronic device may include: a transceiver 91, a processor 92, and a memory 93.

[0177] Processor 92 executes computer execution instructions stored in memory, causing processor 92 to perform the scheme in the above embodiments. Processor 92 can be a general-purpose processor, including a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), etc.; it can also be a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components.

[0178] The memory 93 is connected to the processor 92 via the system bus and completes communication between them. The memory 93 is used to store computer program instructions.

[0179] Transceiver 91 can be used to communicate and interact with other devices.

[0180] The system bus can be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The system bus can be divided into address bus, data bus, control bus, etc. For ease of representation, only one thick line is used in the diagram, but this does not indicate that there is only one bus or one type of bus. Transceivers are used to enable communication between database access devices and other computers (e.g., clients, read-write libraries, and read-only libraries). Memory may include random access memory (RAM) and may also include non-volatile memory.

[0181] The electronic device provided in this application embodiment can be used to execute the method provided in any of the above embodiments. Its implementation principle and technical effect are similar, and will not be described again here.

[0182] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method provided in any of the above embodiments.

[0183] This application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program stored in a computer-readable storage medium. At least one processor can read the computer program from the computer-readable storage medium, and when the at least one processor executes the computer program, it can implement the method provided in any of the above embodiments.

[0184] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of modules is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple modules may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices, or modules, and may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0185] The modules described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as modules may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the modules can be selected to implement the solution of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0186] Furthermore, the functional modules in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each module can exist physically separately, or two or more modules can be integrated into one unit. The unit composed of the above modules can be implemented in hardware or in the form of hardware plus software functional units.

[0187] The integrated modules described above, implemented as software functional modules, can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. These software functional modules, stored in a storage medium, include several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) or processor to execute some steps of the methods of the various embodiments of this application.

[0188] It should be understood that the aforementioned processor can be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in this invention can be directly manifested as execution by a hardware processor, or execution by a combination of hardware and software modules within the processor.

[0189] The memory may include high-speed RAM, and may also include non-volatile storage (NVM), such as at least one disk storage device, and may also be a USB flash drive, external hard drive, read-only memory, disk or optical disc, etc.

[0190] The bus can be an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, etc. Buses can be categorized as address buses, data buses, control buses, etc. For ease of illustration, the buses shown in the accompanying drawings are not limited to a single bus or a single type of bus.

[0191] The aforementioned storage medium can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, such as static random access memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic storage, flash memory, magnetic disk, or optical disk. The storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.

[0192] An exemplary storage medium is coupled to a processor, enabling the processor to read information from and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium can be an integral part of the processor. The processor and storage medium can reside in application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). Alternatively, the processor and storage medium can exist as discrete components in an electronic control unit or main control device.

[0193] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the steps of the above-described method embodiments can be implemented by hardware related to program instructions. The aforementioned program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When executed, the program performs the steps of the above-described method embodiments; and the aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as ROM, RAM, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0194] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and are not intended to limit them. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some or all of the technical features therein. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application.

Claims

1. A path planning method for an unmanned forklift, characterized in that, The method, which utilizes a main control computer for unmanned forklifts, includes: In response to a material handling request from the production plant, the picking station and the placing station indicated by the material handling request are determined; wherein, the material handling request is used to instruct the unmanned forklift to move the goods located at the picking station to the placing station; If the picking station and / or the unloading station are preset controlled stations, then the first material handling path of the unmanned forklift is generated by combining the drivable area of ​​the unmanned forklift in the production plant and the forklift entry and exit rules of the picking station and / or the unloading station; wherein, the preset controlled station is characterized as the station with the prescribed entry and exit rules of the unmanned forklift. If the picking station and the placing station are not the preset controlled stations, then a second material handling path for the unmanned forklift is generated using a preset algorithm in conjunction with the drivable area.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Based on the drivable area of ​​the unmanned forklift within the production plant and the forklift entry and exit rules of the picking station and / or the unloading station, a first material handling path for the unmanned forklift is generated, including: Obtain the forklift entry and exit rules based on the picking station and / or the unloading station, as well as the pre-set entry and exit paths. By combining the drivable area of ​​the unmanned forklift within the production plant, as well as the entry path and exit path, a first material handling path for the unmanned forklift is generated.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, If the picking station and / or the placing station are preset controlled stations, including: Determine the first pose of each preset controlled workstation, the second pose of the picking workstation, and the third pose of the placing workstation; The second pose is compared with each first pose to calculate the first pose deviation between the second pose and each first pose; and the third pose is compared with each first pose to calculate the second pose deviation between the third pose and each first pose. If any first position deviation is less than or equal to a preset threshold, and / or any second position deviation is less than or equal to the preset threshold, then the picking station and / or the placing station are determined to be preset controlled stations.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Based on the drivable area, a second material handling path for the unmanned forklift is generated using a preset algorithm, including: Based on the drivable area, a preset algorithm is used to generate a path point sequence for the unmanned forklift; wherein, the path point sequence represents the movement trajectory of the unmanned forklift from the picking station to the unloading station; The path point sequence is rectangularized to generate an initial transport path; wherein the initial transport path is a path composed of vertical line segments and horizontal line segments; The orthogonal polygonal path included in the initial material handling path is smoothed to generate the second material handling path of the unmanned forklift.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The path point sequence is rectangularized to generate an initial transport path, including: The starting and ending points of the path point sequence are determined as diagonal vertices; a target rectangle is drawn based on the diagonal vertices. Based on the target rectangle, extract a first candidate transport path and a second candidate transport path; analyze whether the first candidate transport path and the second candidate transport path are located within the drivable area; If the first candidate transport path and / or the second candidate transport path are located within the drivable area, then the first candidate transport path and / or the second candidate transport path are determined as the initial transport path.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the first candidate transport path and the second candidate transport path are not located within the drivable area, then the start and end points of the path point sequence are adjusted, and the target rectangle is regenerated. Based on the regenerated target rectangle, the first and second candidate transport paths are extracted again.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, Prior to responding to a material handling request from the production plant, the method further includes: Collect point cloud data of the production plant, perform rasterization processing on the point cloud data, and generate a raster map of the production plant. Obtain the preset drivable trajectory of the unmanned forklift within the production plant; based on the ground projection of the unmanned forklift, expand the drivable trajectory to obtain the drivable area of ​​the unmanned forklift within the production plant; The drivable area is mapped onto the grid map.

8. A path planning device for an unmanned forklift, characterized in that, A main control computer for use in unmanned forklifts, the device comprising: A determining unit is configured to, in response to a material handling request from a production plant, determine the picking station and the placing station indicated by the material handling request; wherein the material handling request is used to instruct the unmanned forklift to move the goods located at the picking station to the placing station; A generation unit is configured to, if the picking station and / or the unloading station are preset controlled stations, generate a first material handling path for the unmanned forklift in combination with the drivable area of ​​the unmanned forklift in the production plant and the forklift entry and exit rules of the picking station and / or the unloading station; wherein, the preset controlled station is characterized as a station with specified entry and exit rules for the unmanned forklift. The generation unit is further configured to generate a second material handling path for the unmanned forklift by combining the drivable area and using a preset algorithm if the picking station and the placing station are not the preset controlled stations.

9. An electronic device, characterized in that, include: A processor, and a memory communicatively connected to the processor; The memory stores computer-executed instructions; The processor executes computer execution instructions stored in the memory to implement the path planning method for the unmanned forklift as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a processor, are used to implement the path planning method for the unmanned forklift as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

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