Segmented Location Marks for Wear-Resistant Vehicle Self-Localization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional locating marks on floors for autonomous transport vehicles wear out quickly due to central support wheels rolling over them, leading to reduced service life and potential navigation issues.
Innovation Solution
The development of segmented locating marks with separating paths that allow central support wheels to pass without touching the mark sections, combined with machine-readable coding for precise location determination, and a template for easy attachment and alignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a continuous locating mark is applied to the floor, then the vehicle can be reliably tracked, but the central support wheels cause rapid wear to the mark
Solution Approach 1:
The locating mark is divided into multiple separate mark sections (at least two) that are spaced apart from each other. The central support wheels pass through the gaps between these sections without making contact, eliminating wear. The vehicle's tracking system detects multiple discrete sections and reconstructs the vehicle's position by combining information from all sections, maintaining tracking reliability despite the segmentation.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If the locating mark is segmented to reduce wear, then the service life is extended, but the detection and evaluation of the mark becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Each mark section is designed to be independently detectable and evaluable by the vehicle's tracking system. The mark sections contain machine-readable information that allows the vehicle to identify and locate each section individually. The tracking system processes signals from multiple sections simultaneously to determine vehicle position, making the detection process robust to segmentation.
Solution Approach 2:
The tracking system continuously receives feedback from multiple mark sections as the vehicle moves. By analyzing the positions and orientations of detected mark sections relative to the vehicle's sensor array, the system can accurately determine vehicle location and orientation even when individual sections are partially obscured or at various distances.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to tracking markers, in particular for autonomous self-locating vehicles, methods for attaching tracking markers, templates for attaching tracking markers, and transport systems with tracking markers and transport vehicles. Among other things, the invention relates to a tracking marker (40) that enables a vehicle (20) to self-locate when it drives over the tracking marker (40), wherein, according to the invention, the tracking marker (40) comprises a first coded, machine-readable marker section (41) that identifies the tracking marker (40) on its own, and a second coded, machine-readable marker section (42) that also identifies the tracking marker (40) on its own, wherein the first and second marker sections (41, 42) are separated by a separating path (45).