Abstract
The increasing use of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV) in the industry points to a search for better techniques and technologies to adapt to market requirements. Proper position control and movement give an AGV greater movement accuracy and greater lateral oscillations stability and vibration. It leads to smaller corridors and leaner plants, to more relaxed shipment devices, and to greater safety in the transport of fragile loads, for instance. AGV control techniques are not new, but new sensors’ applications are possible, such as USB cameras. In this sense, it is necessary to ensure the sensor is adequate to control system requirements. This work addresses AGVs driven by passive floor demarcations. It presents a qualitative analysis of a USB camera as sensors for AGV control, not yet a common industrial application. We performed the experiments with a small AGV prototype on an eight-shaped lane, varying both camera parameters and AGV parameters, such as linear speed. The AGV uses a USB camera with different image processing settings—different morphological filters structuring elements shapes and sizes, and three different image resolutions—to analyze the factors that affect line detection and control processing. This paper’s main contribution is a qualitative and quantitative analysis for the different sensor configurations. In addition, it discusses the influence sources on camera image as a position sensor. Furthermore, the experiments confirm sensor pertinence for the proposed control system.
Highlights
Today’s manufacturing industries demand efficient and flexible solutions in automation and robotics to remain competitive in such a globalized market [1]
As the goal of this paper is to evaluate and analyze the USB camera as a line sensor, the image processing algorithm is a key part of the sensor
From all the tests and along the trajectory, the fps was monitored, the angled and distance measurements stored, and the instant that the Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) passes through the lane crossing recorded
Summary
Today’s manufacturing industries demand efficient and flexible solutions in automation and robotics to remain competitive in such a globalized market [1]. These intelligent manufacturing and logistics systems have contributed to mobile robotics improvement as a highly flexible solution [2]. An Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) is a mobile robot/vehicle to carry materials in industrial environments. It receives high-level instructions according to factory plant needs and uses a guide path as displacement itinerary to execute material collection or distribution up to the determined point [3].
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