Automated Guided Vehicle Dual Sensing for Safe Load Drop-Off
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) have not been used for fully automated loading of trucks or swap bodies, posing risks of damage to the vehicles and potential harm to people in the vicinity due to lack of safety measures for obstacle detection and navigation.
Innovation Solution
An automated guided vehicle equipped with a primary environmental sensor and a secondary environmental sensor for double scanning of the route and drop-off location to ensure safety, allowing for obstacle detection and reaction mechanisms such as stopping or diverting to prevent accidents, with sensors oriented to cover overlapping fields of view and controlled by a unit connected to a higher-ranking automation system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If manual loading is used, then flexibility and adaptability are maintained, but labor intensity increases and automation level decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The safety system is segmented into two independent sensor systems: a primary environmental sensor for initial obstacle detection before movement, and a secondary environmental sensor for continuous monitoring during movement. This segmentation allows the system to achieve high automation while managing complexity through modular, specialized detection components rather than a single complex system.
Solution Approach 2:
The primary environmental sensor performs preliminary obstacle detection and safety verification before the transport vehicle begins movement. This preliminary action ensures that the path is clear before automation engages, reducing the burden on the control system during active operation and enabling higher automation levels with manageable complexity.
2Reliability
If single sensor scanning is used, then device complexity is reduced, but safety level and reliability decrease
Solution Approach 1:
Different sensor types are assigned to different functional roles: the primary sensor focuses on pre-movement obstacle detection at the drop-off location, while the secondary sensor handles continuous monitoring during movement. This local specialization of sensor functions improves overall reliability without requiring a single overly complex sensor system, as each sensor is optimized for its specific detection task.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit acts as an intermediary that coordinates between the primary and secondary sensors, processing their outputs and making decisions about vehicle operation. This intermediary structure allows the system to achieve high reliability through multiple detection layers while managing complexity by centralizing the decision-making logic in the control unit rather than distributing it across multiple complex components.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If automated loading is implemented without dual scanning, then device complexity is reduced, but harmful factors increase due to collision risks
Solution Approach 1:
The primary environmental sensor performs preliminary detection and identifies potential hazards before the transport vehicle begins movement. By detecting obstacles in advance and taking preventive action (stopping or rerouting), the system neutralizes potential harmful effects before they can occur, reducing collision risks without requiring continuous complex monitoring during the entire operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The secondary environmental sensor provides continuous feedback during the transport vehicle's movement, allowing the control unit to adjust operations in real-time based on detected conditions. This feedback mechanism reduces collision risks by enabling dynamic response to changing environmental conditions while maintaining manageable system complexity through a straightforward sensor-control loop.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to an automated guided vehicle for transporting and placing a load, comprising a primary environmental sensor and at least one secondary environmental sensor, wherein the transport vehicle is configured, first, using the primary environmental sensor, to detect a drop-off location for the load and the region between the drop-off location and the transport vehicle and to check said drop-off location and said region for obstacles; if no obstacle is recognized, to travel to the drop-off location; during the journey to the drop-off location, to check the route and the drop-off location for obstacles using the secondary environmental sensor.