JP2020030639A - Unmanned conveyance system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an unmanned conveyance system equipped with an unmanned carrier using a guidance system that does not require large installation cost and time.SOLUTION: An unmanned conveyance system comprises: an unmanned carrier 30 traveling in a building, and an unmanned flight body 1 that guides the unmanned carrier 30. The unmanned flight body 1 comprises: a flight control unit for controlling flight along a flight path; and a transmission unit for transmitting to the unmanned carrier 30 a guidance signal to guide the unmanned carrier 30 when the unmanned flight body 1 flies along the flight path. The unmanned carrier 30 comprises a steering control unit for controlling the carrier to travel based on the guidance signal.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an automated guided vehicle system including an automated guided vehicle traveling in a building.

  In buildings such as factories and warehouses, autonomous guided vehicles that can travel autonomously are used. Various guidance systems are used for automatic guided vehicles. For example, in the automatic guided vehicle disclosed in Patent Literature 1, a guidance system that travels along a guidance line is used. Specifically, this automatic guided vehicle is provided with a lower imaging unit that images a road surface. Drive along the line.

  The guide line is made of a tape attached to the road surface, a paint applied to the road surface, or the like, and is colored differently from the road surface. However, since such a guide line is laid on the road surface, dirt easily adheres to the guide line or the guide line is easily peeled. Therefore, there is a problem that the automatic guided vehicle cannot recognize the guide line due to the adhesion of the dirt on the guide line or the peeling of the guide line, and stops traveling.

  On the other hand, the automatic guided vehicle disclosed in Patent Literature 2 uses an induction system that travels based on electromagnetic induction that is not easily affected by the attachment or peeling of dirt. According to this guidance system, the induced magnetic field of the tow path wire is laid on the floor along the traveling route. The automatic guided vehicle detects an induced magnetic field with a pickup coil provided on a vehicle body, and moves along a traveling route based on the detected induced magnetic field.

  However, laying the tow path wire on the floor requires a great deal of work and time. In addition, there is a problem that a tow path wire must be laid on the floor every time the layout in a factory or a warehouse is changed.

JP-A-7-210246 JP-A-6-119036

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an unmanned transport system provided with an unmanned transport vehicle using a guidance system that does not require much installation cost and time.

In order to solve the above-described problems, an unmanned transport system according to the present invention includes:
An automated guided vehicle that travels in the building,
An unmanned aerial vehicle that guides the unmanned carrier,
A flight path storage unit that stores a flight path of the unmanned aerial vehicle,
Unmanned vehicles are
An own position detection unit for detecting the position of the own device,
A flight control unit for controlling to fly along the flight path,
When the unmanned aerial vehicle flies along the flight path, a transmitting unit that transmits a guidance signal for guiding the unmanned carrier to the unmanned carrier,
Automated guided vehicles are
A receiving unit that receives a guidance signal transmitted from the transmitting unit;
A steering control unit that controls the vehicle to travel based on the guidance signal.

Preferably,
Furthermore, a guide unit is provided in the building and includes a guide unit that guides the automatic guided vehicle to travel along the travel route,
Automated guided vehicles are
A guidance detection unit that detects the guidance unit;
A determination unit that determines the normal state when the guidance detection unit can detect the guidance unit, and determines that it is abnormal when the guidance detection unit cannot detect the guidance unit,
The steering control unit
Control is performed such that the vehicle travels based on the guidance section during normal times, while controlling to travel based on the guidance signal when an abnormality occurs.

Preferably,
Furthermore, an upper image storage unit that stores an image of the own device captured in advance in association with position information and stores the upper image,
Unmanned aerial vehicles also
An upper image capturing unit that captures an image of an upper side of the own device,
The own device position detection unit
A matching unit that matches the current image above the own device captured by the upper image capturing unit with the image above the own device stored in the upper image storage unit;
And an own-device position specifying unit that specifies the position of the own device based on the result of the check performed by the checking unit.

Preferably,
The building has a ceiling marker on the ceiling,
The upper image storage unit stores a ceiling image including a ceiling marker captured in advance in association with position information,
The collation unit collates the ceiling image captured by the upper imaging unit with the ceiling image stored in the upper image storage unit.

Preferably,
In addition, an infrared irradiator that irradiates infrared rays to the ceiling marker is provided,
The ceiling marker is a retroreflective material,
The upper imaging unit is an infrared camera, and captures an image of a ceiling including a ceiling marker irradiated with infrared rays.

  The unmanned transport system according to the present invention employs a new guidance system for guiding an unmanned transport vehicle, and does not require much installation work and time.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an unmanned transport system according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows the ceiling marker provided in the ceiling of FIG. 2A is a perspective view seen from below, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view seen from above. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the upper unit of an unmanned aerial vehicle. It is a block diagram of each composition with which the main part of an unmanned aerial vehicle is provided. It is a block diagram of each composition with which an automatic guided vehicle is provided.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an unmanned transport system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The directions X, Y, and Z in the front-rear, left-right, and up-down directions are based on the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle, as shown in the drawing.

<Unmanned transport system>
As shown in FIG. 1, the unmanned transport system includes an unmanned air vehicle 1 and an unmanned transport vehicle 30. The unmanned transport system includes a guide line (guide unit) L laid on a road surface R. The guide line L is laid along a traveling route for the automatic guided vehicle 30 to travel. The unmanned aerial vehicle 1 captures an image of the ceiling C and analyzes the captured image to detect its own position. The automatic guided vehicle 30 is an unmanned forklift and travels along the guidance line L.

<Ceiling>
As shown in FIG. 2, the ceiling C is provided with a plurality of rectangular ceiling markers 200 for the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 to detect its own position. The ceiling markers 200 are retroreflective materials, and are arranged at equal intervals in the same column or the same row. That is, the ceiling markers 200 are arranged on the ceiling C at different intervals for each row. For example, the length of the interval P3 between the lowermost rows in FIG. 2 is the same. On the other hand, the lengths of the intervals P1, P2, and P3 of the first, second, and third rows are different from each other. The lengths of the intervals P4 and P5 between the first, second, and third stages are also different.

<Unmanned aerial vehicle>
As shown in FIG. 3, the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 includes a main body 20, four arms 12 extending from an upper surface of the main body 20 in four directions parallel to the ground, and motors provided on respective distal ends of the four arms 12. 13, a rotor 14 provided on the motor 13, a substantially octagonal column-shaped upper unit 15 erected above the bases of the four arms 12, and provided around the main body 20 and below the arms 12. And four skids 18.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the upper unit 15 has an upper unit main body 151, an infrared camera 152, and four infrared irradiation units 153. The infrared camera (upper imaging unit) 152 is disposed at the center of the upper surface of the upper unit main body 151 so as to face upward. The four infrared irradiation units 153 are arranged around the infrared camera 152 so as to face upward. The infrared irradiation unit 153 may be, for example, an infrared LED. The four infrared irradiators 153 irradiate infrared light toward the ceiling C, and the infrared camera 152 captures an image of the ceiling C including the ceiling marker 200 irradiated with the infrared light to generate a ceiling image.

  Usually, an electric light is provided on the indoor ceiling C, but it is difficult for the light of the electric light to reach the ceiling marker 200 provided on the ceiling C. Further, when imaging the ceiling marker 200 provided on the ceiling C, backlight caused by the electric light hinders imaging. Thus, the infrared camera 152 can appropriately image the ceiling C including the ceiling marker 200 by irradiating the ceiling C with infrared rays by the infrared irradiation unit 153. Further, since the ceiling marker 200 is a retroreflective material, the infrared camera 152 can appropriately image the ceiling marker 200 even when the incident angle of the infrared light applied to the ceiling marker 200 is large.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the main body 20 of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 includes a control unit 21, a storage unit 24, and a position detection unit 23 of the own aircraft. The control unit 21 has a flight control unit 211 and a transmission unit 212. The storage unit 24 includes a flight path storage unit 241 and an upper image storage unit 242.

  The own position detection unit 23 has various sensors (not shown) such as a GPS sensor, a gyro sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a laser sensor, a barometric pressure sensor, a compass, and an acceleration sensor, and detects the position of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1. Can be used for However, the GPS sensor cannot properly detect a GPS signal indoors. Therefore, as described in detail later, the indoor unit position detection unit 23 compares the ceiling image captured by the infrared camera 152 with the ceiling image stored in the upper image storage unit 242 indoors. Thus, the position of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 is detected.

  The flight control unit 211 controls the rotation speed of each motor 13 to enable hovering of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 and controls the flight speed, the flight direction, and the flight altitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1. In addition, during the autonomous flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1, the flight control unit 211 refers to the position of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 detected by the own aircraft position detection unit 23 and refers to the flight path stored in the flight path storage unit 241. The unmanned aerial vehicle 1 is caused to fly along. The flight path includes a traveling path on which the automatic guided vehicle 30 travels.

  The transmitting unit 212 transmits a guidance signal to the automatic guided vehicle 30. The unmanned transport vehicle 30 receives the guidance signal from the transmission unit 212 and follows the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 as described later. As described above, the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 flies along the flight path including the traveling path. Therefore, the automatic guided vehicle 30 can travel along the traveling route by following the unmanned aerial vehicle 1.

  The own device position detecting unit 23 includes a collating unit 231 and an own device position specifying unit 232. The upper image storage unit 242 stores an entire ceiling image of the entire ceiling C in association with position information. During the autonomous flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1, the infrared camera 152 captures an image of the upper part of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 at any time, generates an upper image, and outputs the image to the matching unit 231. The matching unit 231 compares the input upper image with the entire ceiling image stored in the upper image storage unit 242, and searches for a position in the entire ceiling image where the upper image exists. I do. For template matching, for example, SSD (“Sum of Squared Difference”) or SAD (“Sum of Absolute Difference”) may be used as a similarity calculation method. The own position identification unit 232 identifies the position of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 based on the result of the template matching of the matching unit 231. In addition, the own aircraft position detection unit 23 detects the altitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 using an ultrasonic sensor, a laser sensor, or the like.

<Automated guided vehicle>
As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic guided vehicle 30 includes a vehicle body 31, a vehicle-mounted camera 32, a pair of left and right front wheels 33, a pair of left and right rear wheels 34, a fork 37, and a mast 38. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the automatic guided vehicle 30 includes a steering control unit 35 that performs steering control of one or both of the front wheel 33 and the rear wheel 34, a guidance route detection unit 36, a reception unit 41, and a determination unit 40. And. The in-vehicle camera 32 and the guidance route detection unit 36 correspond to a guidance detection unit.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a part of the front surface of the vehicle body 31 is formed of a transparent member. The in-vehicle camera 32 is provided at a front upper side and a central position in the vehicle body 31 so as to face the road surface R through the transmission member. The in-vehicle camera 32 captures an image of the guide line L laid on the road surface R and outputs the image to the guide route detection unit 36. The guidance route detection unit 36 detects the guidance line L based on the image input from the on-vehicle camera 32.

  By the way, the guide line L laid on the road surface R may be stained or peeled off depending on the use condition, or may be provided with a pattern or mark on the road surface R. The determination unit 40 determines the normal state when the guidance route detection unit 36 can detect the guidance line L, and determines the abnormality when the guidance route detection unit 36 cannot detect the guidance line L.

  The receiving unit 41 receives the guidance signal transmitted from the transmitting unit 212 of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1. The determination unit 40 outputs an instruction to the steering control unit 35. The determination unit 40 outputs an instruction to the steering control unit 35 so as to travel along the guidance line L detected by the guidance route detection unit 36 when it is determined to be normal, and when it is determined to be abnormal, An instruction is output to the steering control unit 35 so as to travel based on the guidance signal received by the receiving unit 212. That is, in the present embodiment, the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 assists the guidance of the automatic guided vehicle 30 only when the automatic guided vehicle 30 cannot recognize the guidance line L.

  The embodiments of the unmanned transport system according to the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

  (1) The guide line (guide portion) L may not be laid on the road surface R. That is, since the unmanned vehicle 1 always guides the unmanned carrier 30, the unmanned carrier 30 follows the unmanned vehicle 1 based on the guidance signal from the unmanned vehicle 1. In this case, the vehicle-mounted camera 32 and the guidance route detection unit 36 (the guidance detection unit) are not provided. Further, the determination unit 40 is not provided.

  (2) The unmanned guided vehicle 30 may be, for example, a manned / unmanned guided vehicle or a forklift.

  (3) The method by which the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 detects its own position is not particularly limited. For example, the position of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 may be detected by a Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (SLAM) technique.

  (4) The infrared irradiating unit 153 may not be provided in the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 as long as the own position detection unit 23 can recognize the ceiling marker 200 from the ceiling image captured by the upper imaging unit. In addition, the upper imaging unit is not limited to the infrared camera 152 as long as the own device position detection unit 23 can recognize the ceiling marker 200 from the ceiling image captured by the upper imaging unit.

  (5) The ceiling marker 200 is provided with, for example, a two-dimensional barcode, and the two-dimensional barcode may include position information. Accordingly, the own-machine position detection unit 23 can directly recognize the position of the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 by recognizing the ceiling marker 200 from the ceiling image.

  (6) In the present embodiment, the guide L is a guide line, but in other embodiments, the guide L may be a reflector. In this case, the automatic guided vehicle 30 is provided with a laser scanner, and travels by detecting its own position by recognizing the reflection plate with the laser scanner.

  (7) An unmanned transport system provided with a server capable of communicating with the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 may be used. For example, the server includes a storage unit 24.

1 Unmanned aerial vehicle 21 control unit 23 own aircraft position detection unit 24 storage unit 30 automatic guided vehicle 35 steering control unit 36 guidance route detection unit (guidance detection unit)
40 judging unit 41 receiving unit 152 infrared camera (upper imaging unit)
153 Infrared irradiating unit 200 Ceiling marker 211 Flight control unit 212 Transmitting unit 231 Collating unit 232 Own aircraft position specifying unit 241 Flight route storage unit 242 Upper image storage unit C Ceiling R Road surface L Guidance line (guiding unit)

In order to solve the above-described problems, an unmanned transport system according to the present invention includes:
An automated guided vehicle that travels in the building,
An unmanned aerial vehicle that guides the unmanned carrier,
A flight path storage unit that stores a flight path of the unmanned aerial vehicle,
Unmanned vehicles are
An own position detection unit for detecting the position of the own device,
A flight control unit for controlling to fly along the flight path,
When the unmanned aerial vehicle flies along the flight path, a transmitting unit that transmits a guidance signal for guiding the unmanned carrier to the unmanned carrier,
Automated guided vehicles are
A receiving unit that receives a guidance signal transmitted from the transmitting unit;
And a steering control unit for steering control so as to run on the basis of the induced signal.

Preferably,
The unmanned aerial vehicle further includes an infrared irradiator that irradiates the ceiling marker with infrared light,
The ceiling marker is a retroreflective material,
The upper imaging unit is an infrared camera, and captures an image of a ceiling including a ceiling marker irradiated with infrared rays.

Claims (5)

An automated guided vehicle that travels in the building,
An unmanned aerial vehicle that guides the automatic guided vehicle,
A flight path storage unit that stores a flight path of the unmanned aerial vehicle,
The unmanned aerial vehicle,
An own position detection unit for detecting the position of the own device,
A flight control unit controlling to fly along the flight path,
When the unmanned aerial vehicle flies along the flight path, a transmitting unit that transmits a guidance signal for guiding the unmanned carrier to the unmanned carrier,
The automatic guided vehicle,
A receiving unit that receives the guide signal transmitted from the transmitting unit;
An unmanned transport system, comprising: a steering control unit that controls the vehicle to travel based on the guidance signal. Furthermore, a guide unit is provided in the building, and includes a guide unit that guides the automatic guided vehicle to travel along a travel route,
The automatic guided vehicle,
A guidance detection unit that detects the guidance unit,
While the guidance detection unit determines that it is normal when the guidance unit can be detected, the determination unit determines that it is abnormal when the guidance detection unit can not detect the guidance unit,
The steering control unit includes:
The unmanned transport system according to claim 1, wherein control is performed such that the vehicle travels based on the guidance unit in the normal state, and the vehicle is traveled based on the guidance signal in the abnormal state. Furthermore, an upper image storage unit that stores an image captured above the own device in advance in association with position information,
The unmanned aerial vehicle further comprises:
An upper imaging unit that captures an image above the own device,
The own device position detection unit,
A matching unit that compares the current image above the own device captured by the upper image capturing unit with the image above the own device stored in the upper image storage unit,
The unmanned transport system according to claim 1, further comprising: an own-device position specifying unit configured to specify a position of the own device based on a result of the comparison performed by the comparing unit. The building includes a ceiling marker on a ceiling,
The upper image storage unit stores an image of the ceiling including the ceiling marker captured in advance in association with the position information,
The unmanned person according to claim 3, wherein the collating unit collates the image of the ceiling captured by the upper imaging unit with the image of the ceiling stored in the upper image storage unit. 5. Transport system Furthermore, an infrared irradiator that irradiates the ceiling marker with infrared light is provided,
The ceiling marker is a retroreflective material,
The unmanned transport system according to claim 4, wherein the upper imaging unit is an infrared camera, and captures an image of the ceiling including the ceiling marker irradiated with the infrared light.

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