Abstract
The application of autonomous vehicles has grown dramatically in recent years. Not only has the rail-guided vehicle (RGV) been used widely in traditional production lines, the automatic guided vehicle (AGV) has also been increasingly used. Positioning and path planning are two major functions of autonomous vehicles; however, there are many ways to fulfill the above requirements. The infrared remote control has been heavily and successfully used in home appliances for decades, which has encouraged us to apply this mature and cost-effective technology to an autonomous vehicle. By decoding the coded signal from the infrared light-emitting diode (LED), which is equipped on the ceiling, the autonomous vehicle can be positioned with an accuracy of less than 50 mm. On the other hand, by changing the beam pattern of infrared light from the ceiling, an invisible route can be produced on the ground. That is to say, instead of the traditional rail-guided method, these invisible paths can guide the autonomous vehicle. We have implemented a prototype of an autonomous vehicle system based on the above concept, with the aim of creating a simple and reliable approach for the navigation of an indoor autonomous vehicle.
Highlights
Positioning is a key technology that enables the development of indoor autonomous vehicles
Can the positioning of the test vehicle be accomplished by making use of the mature encoding technology of the infrared signal, the path planning has been demonstrated by use of the invisible route
Based on infrared technology, a simple method for the navigation of an indoor autonomous vehicle has been presented in this article
Summary
Positioning is a key technology that enables the development of indoor autonomous vehicles. A robotics company (Marvelmind Robotics: Sunnyvale, CA, USA) has even launched an “Indoor GPS” with ±2 cm precision based on stationary ultrasonic beacons united by radio interface in a license-free band [8]. Most of the problems of positioning could be solved by any of the above methods. This paper verifies a cost-effective method utilizing infrared technology. Can the positioning of the test vehicle be accomplished by making use of the mature encoding technology of the infrared signal, the path planning has been demonstrated by use of the invisible route (described latter). Based on infrared technology, a simple method for the navigation of an indoor autonomous vehicle has been presented in this article
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