Driverless Transport Fleet Control Without a Master Controller
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional driverless transport systems (DTS) require a master controller for traffic control and navigation, which increases complexity and costs, making them difficult for system operators to install and maintain, especially in smaller installations, and prevents automation of material flow without external aid.
Innovation Solution
A driverless transport system that operates without a master controller, using a fleet of vehicles that communicate directly with each other and with station terminals via markers for navigation and traffic control, allowing vehicles to autonomously manage right-of-way and destination allocation based on station-specific information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a master controller is used for traffic control and navigation, then traffic regulation and collision prevention are improved, but system complexity and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the master controller from the system architecture. Instead of having a centralized control unit, each driverless transport vehicle is equipped with its own control unit that independently performs navigation and traffic regulation functions. This extraction of the central control function to distributed vehicle-level controllers resolves the contradiction by eliminating system complexity while maintaining traffic control reliability through decentralized autonomous decision-making.
Solution Approach 2:
Each vehicle's control unit autonomously determines its own navigation path and makes traffic regulation decisions without requiring external control from a master controller. The vehicles self-manage their movement, collision avoidance, and coordination with other vehicles through direct peer-to-peer communication. This self-service approach eliminates the need for complex centralized control infrastructure while ensuring reliable traffic management.
2Extent of automation
If a master controller is implemented, then navigation and traffic regulation are automated, but installation and maintenance difficulty increase for system operators
Solution Approach 1:
The control functionality is segmented from a single centralized master controller and distributed to individual vehicle control units. Each vehicle operates as an independent automated unit with its own navigation and traffic regulation capabilities. This segmentation transforms the system from a complex centralized architecture that requires professional installation and maintenance to a modular distributed architecture where each vehicle is a self-contained automated unit, significantly improving installation ease and maintainability for system operators.
3Device complexity
If direct communication between vehicles is used, then system costs are reduced, but traffic control complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control units in each vehicle autonomously manage traffic regulation through direct peer-to-peer communication without requiring a centralized traffic control system. Each vehicle independently makes decisions about right-of-way, speed adjustment, and collision avoidance based on communications with nearby vehicles. This self-service approach simplifies the overall system structure by eliminating complex centralized traffic control infrastructure while maintaining ease of operation through decentralized autonomous coordination.
Data Source
AI summary
There is disclosed a driverless transport system, DTS, (10) comprising: a travelling course (12), formed of routes (14), preferably travelled unidirectionally, which are defined respectively by one track (28), and of markers (16); a fleet (18) of at least two driverless transport vehicles, DTV, (20) travelling along the tracks (28) in a forcibly guided manner; and at least one station (26) defined by: at least one of the tracks (28), at least one of the markers (16), and an individualizing assigned station identifier; wherein each of the stations (26) can comprise a terminal (70) for allocation of travelling destination and wherein each of the stations (26) represents an area of the travelling course (12), within which the DTVs (20) can get assigned a new travelling destination and/or can be loaded, unloaded, energetically charged, and/or stopped; wherein the markers (16) include information, which is station-specific by being associating the respective information with the respectively assigned station identifier; wherein each of the DTVs (20) comprises: a communication unit (52) for transmitting and receiving information; a marker-detection unit (54) for reading, preferably contactless, the information from the markers (16); and a controlling unit (58) for processing read and received information; and wherein communication between the DTV (20) and communication between the DTVs (20) and terminals (70) is respectively performed directly, and in particular in a DTV-unspecific manner.