Stand-alone self-driving material-transport vehicle
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing self-driving vehicle systems for material transport in industrial facilities require significant infrastructure integration and rely on centralized systems for navigation and task management, making them ineffective without comprehensive setup.
Innovation Solution
A stand-alone self-driving material-transport vehicle equipped with a graphical user-interface device and a control system that allows for autonomous navigation, map creation, and recipe recording, enabling the vehicle to operate independently and update its maps and tasks based on sensed features.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a centralized system is used for managing automated vehicles, then task coordination and navigation management are improved, but infrastructure complexity and installation requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the centralized control system into distributed autonomous vehicles, each with its own onboard navigation and task execution capabilities. Each vehicle operates independently with local decision-making, eliminating the need for complex centralized infrastructure while maintaining coordination through vehicle-to-vehicle communication and shared task queues.
Solution Approach 2:
Each automated vehicle is equipped with self-contained navigation, mapping, and task execution systems that allow it to operate autonomously without continuous centralized control. The vehicles self-manage their navigation, obstacle avoidance, and task completion, reducing dependency on external infrastructure.
2Measurement precision
If comprehensive infrastructure integration is implemented, then navigation accuracy and task management are improved, but ease of deployment and operation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicles perform preliminary mapping and localization actions autonomously upon entering a facility. They create their own navigation references using onboard sensors and pre-existing maps, eliminating the need for pre-installation of infrastructure markers or guides while maintaining accurate navigation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical infrastructure elements (such as physical guides, markers, or installed sensors) with optical and computational systems. Vehicles use camera-based vision systems, LiDAR, and computer vision algorithms to achieve accurate navigation without physical infrastructure installation.
3Reliability
If automated vehicles depend on centralized systems for location information and navigation, then task coordination is improved, but vehicle independence and operational flexibility are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Each vehicle is designed as a universal platform capable of performing multiple tasks across different facilities and environments. The onboard systems provide multi-functional capabilities including navigation, mapping, obstacle detection, and task execution, allowing vehicles to adapt to various operational contexts without centralized control.
Solution Approach 2:
Vehicles continuously receive feedback from onboard sensors about their environment, position, and task progress, enabling real-time autonomous decision-making. This closed-loop feedback system allows vehicles to independently adjust their navigation and task execution based on current conditions without relying on centralized system instructions.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for a stand-alone self-driving material-transport vehicle are provided. A method includes: displaying a graphical map on a graphical user-interface device based on a map stored in a storage medium of the vehicle, receiving a navigation instruction based on the graphical map, and navigating the vehicle based on the navigation instruction. As the vehicle navigates, it senses features of an industrial facility using its sensor system, and locates the features relative to the map. Subsequently, the vehicle stores the updated map including the feature on the vehicle's storage medium. The map can then be shared with other vehicles or a fleet-management system.