Warehouse Guided Bot Navigation With Curved Intersection Paths
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional autonomous vehicles in storage and retrieval systems are restricted to travel along guide features, leading to increased travel time due to limited availability of paths and speeds, especially at intersections, which is particularly disadvantageous for non-holonomic vehicles.
Innovation Solution
The system employs non-holonomic autonomous vehicles that navigate using an undeterministic traversal method on transfer decks with linearly distributed features, allowing direct routing and high-speed travel without continuous sensing of guide features, optimizing path selection and reducing travel time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If autonomous vehicles travel along guide features using continuous sensing, then navigation accuracy is maintained, but travel time increases due to restricted paths and speeds
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the continuous sensing requirement into discrete localization events at intersections. Vehicles use landmarks only at decision points rather than continuous sensing, reducing computational load and enabling faster traversal while maintaining navigation accuracy when needed most.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary localization at intersections using landmarks before vehicles commit to path segments. This advance positioning allows vehicles to plan optimal routes and execute movements more efficiently without continuous sensing constraints during transit.
2Manufacturing precision
If non-holonomic vehicles make sharp turns at intersections, then path following accuracy is improved, but travel time increases due to speed reduction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements curved transition paths between straight path segments at intersections. Instead of sharp 90-degree turns, vehicles follow curved trajectories that are smoother for non-holonomic vehicles, allowing higher speeds while maintaining acceptable path following accuracy through the intersection zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts vehicle speed based on location - maintaining higher speeds on straight path segments and only reducing speed during necessary turning maneuvers at intersections. This dynamic speed management reduces overall travel time while preserving path following accuracy when required.
3Reliability
If vehicles are restricted to travel only along guide features, then navigation reliability is improved, but path availability and speed options are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds a third dimension of freedom by allowing vehicles to depart from and rejoin guide features at will, rather than being constrained to follow them continuously. This dimensional change in navigation freedom provides multiple path options including direct routing between intersections, improving adaptability while maintaining reliability through periodic landmark-based localization.
Data Source
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AI summary
A storage array system including an open undeterministic transport surface, a navigation array disposed in connection with the transport surface, the navigation array includes a distributed feature, a first waypoint at a first position of the distributed feature, a second waypoint displaced from the first waypoint along the distributed feature and offset with respect to the first waypoint in a direction angled to the distributed feature, and a guided bot, arranged to traverse the transport surface, with a non-holonomic steering system, the guided bot having a bot pose determination system employing sensor data detecting the distributed feature, wherein the guided bot includes a controller configured to generate a substantially smooth curved bot traverse path on the transport surface connecting the first and second waypoints with a predetermined optimal trajectory of the guided bot along the traverse path determined based on a bot dynamic model.