CN115951662A

CN115951662A - Navigation method, navigation device and mobile carrier

Info

Publication number: CN115951662A
Application number: CN202210921219.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李汇祥; 郑睿群; 徐圣东
Original assignee: Hai Robotics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Hai Robotics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-05-21
Filing date: 2020-05-21
Publication date: 2023-04-11
Also published as: CN111578930B; CN111578930A

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a navigation method, a navigation device and a mobile carrier, which are executed by the mobile carrier, and include: obtaining current position information of the mobile carrier, and moving along a preset guide track body according to the current position information and the obtained target position information; and sending the current position information to a server. The scheme provided by the disclosure enables the position information of the mobile carrier obtained by the server to be more accurate, and therefore the navigation precision can be improved.

Description

Navigation method, navigation device and mobile carrier

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of navigation technologies, and in particular, to a navigation method, a navigation apparatus, and a mobile carrier.

Background

The navigation technology is widely applied to various industry fields, such as the goods storage field, the household field or the fire fighting field. By means of the navigation technology, the robot can meet various service requirements.

In a related art, a robot performs navigation using environmental data or traveling data collected by its own sensor. However, considering that the robot itself has noise errors, the noise errors are accumulated as the robot continues to operate, resulting in low navigation accuracy of the robot.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the disclosure provides a navigation method, a navigation device and a mobile carrier, which can improve navigation precision.

The present disclosure provides, in one aspect, a navigation method performed by a mobile carrier having an imaging device, including:

obtaining current position information of the mobile carrier, and moving along a preset guiding track body according to the current position information and the obtained target position information; the preset guide track body is provided with a plurality of preset reference marks which are arranged at intervals, and the plurality of preset reference marks are the same;

and sending the current position information to a server;

wherein the imaging device is used for capturing an image of the preset guide track body and capturing an image of a preset reference mark;

wherein the obtaining the current location information of the mobile carrier comprises:

in the process that the mobile carrier moves along a preset guide track body, when the imaging device senses the preset reference mark, pre-stored reference mark position information corresponding to the preset reference mark is obtained;

obtaining the current position information of the mobile carrier according to the pre-stored reference mark position information;

wherein the moving carrier along the guide track body comprises:

the imaging device senses the preset guide track body to generate track image information;

obtaining an angle deviation amount between the current motion direction of the mobile carrier and the preset guiding track body and/or a position deviation amount between the current position of the mobile carrier and the preset guiding track body according to the track image information; and the number of the first and second groups,

correcting the operation of the mobile carrier according to the angular deviation and/or the position deviation.

In some embodiments, the obtaining of the pre-stored reference mark position information corresponding to the preset reference mark includes:

when the preset reference mark is sensed, acquiring reference mark distance information and the number of the sensed passed preset reference marks;

and acquiring pre-stored reference mark information corresponding to the preset reference marks according to the distance information and the number of the preset reference marks.

acquiring current estimated position information of the mobile carrier and at least one characteristic information of the preset reference mark;

and obtaining pre-stored reference mark position information corresponding to the preset reference mark according to the estimated position information and the at least one piece of characteristic information.

In some embodiments, the at least one characteristic information of the preset fiducial mark includes a work area type information;

the work area type information is represented by image feature information of the fiducial marker.

In some embodiments, the work area comprises a common area and a roadway area;

the guide track bodies of the public area and the roadway area are color bands with different colors arranged alternately;

the preset reference marks of the public area are the same, the preset reference marks of the roadway area are the same, and the preset reference marks of the public area are different from the preset reference marks of the roadway area.

In some embodiments, the obtaining the current position information of the mobile carrier according to the pre-stored reference mark position information includes:

pre-storing reference mark position information as the current position information of the mobile carrier; or

And taking an operation result obtained by performing predetermined operation on the pre-stored reference mark position information as the current position information of the mobile carrier.

Wherein, the using an operation result obtained by performing a predetermined operation on the pre-stored reference mark position information as the current position information of the mobile carrier comprises:

acquiring current estimated position information of a mobile carrier;

obtaining pre-stored reference mark position information corresponding to the reference mark from preset map information according to the current estimated position information;

obtaining a deviation of the self position of the moving carrier from the reference mark according to an image captured by an imaging device;

and obtaining a position of the mobile carrier based on the image according to the pre-stored reference mark position information and the deviation, and performing fusion calculation on the pre-stored reference mark position information, the current estimated position information and the position of the mobile carrier based on the image according to a predetermined method to obtain the current position information of the mobile carrier.

In some embodiments, the preset guiding track body comprises: the color ribbon comprises a luminous ribbon, color ribbons with the same color and/or color ribbons with different colors arranged alternately;

the preset guide track body is a continuous track and/or a discontinuous track, and the preset guide track body is partially the same or completely the same and alternately provided with color bands of different colors;

the preset reference mark comprises part or all of symbols, characters, numbers, colors, figures and color change boundaries.

One aspect of the present disclosure discloses a navigation method, executed by a server, including:

sending target position information to a mobile carrier;

receiving current position information sent by the mobile carrier; wherein, receiving the current location information sent by the mobile carrier further comprises:

receiving information related to a preset reference mark arranged on a preset guide track body and sent by the movable carrier; the preset guide track body is provided with a plurality of preset reference marks which are arranged at intervals, and the plurality of preset reference marks are the same;

acquiring pre-stored reference mark position information corresponding to the preset reference mark;

and sending the pre-stored reference mark position information to the mobile carrier.

In some embodiments, the information about the preset reference mark comprises the number of the preset reference marks that the moving carrier has passed through;

the acquiring of the pre-stored reference mark position information corresponding to the preset reference mark comprises: and acquiring reference mark interval information, and acquiring pre-stored reference mark information corresponding to the preset reference mark according to the reference mark interval information and the number of the preset reference marks.

In some embodiments, the preset fiducial mark related information comprises current estimated position information of the mobile carrier;

the acquiring of the pre-stored reference mark position information corresponding to the preset reference mark comprises: and acquiring at least one piece of characteristic information of the preset reference mark, and acquiring corresponding pre-stored reference mark position information according to the estimated position information and the at least one piece of characteristic information.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a navigation device, including:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, the at least one memory storing executable code that, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform the method as described above.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a mobile carrier, including a mobile chassis, a transporter, and a lifting assembly; the carrying device and the lifting assembly are both arranged on the movable chassis;

the mobile chassis is used for carrying a mobile carrier to move according to a planned path;

the carrying device can move along the vertical direction, so that the position of the carrying device is horizontally opposite to any one storage unit of the storage rack;

the lifting assembly is used for driving the carrying device to move relative to the storage rack along the vertical direction;

the mobile chassis comprises a camera, wherein a lens of the camera faces the ground and is used for identifying a guide track body laid on the ground and a preset reference mark, so that the mobile chassis moves along the guide track body; the guide track body is provided with a plurality of preset reference marks which are arranged at intervals, and the preset reference marks are the same;

in the process that the mobile carrier moves along the guide track body, when the camera senses a preset reference mark, pre-stored reference mark position information corresponding to the preset reference mark is obtained; and obtaining the current position information of the mobile carrier according to the pre-stored reference mark position information.

In the navigation scheme of some embodiments provided by the present disclosure, current position information of the mobile carrier is obtained, and the mobile carrier moves along a preset guiding track body according to the current position information and the obtained target position information; and sending the current position information to a server. Wherein the current position information of the mobile carrier can be obtained when the preset reference mark is sensed.

Because the current position information of the mobile carrier is obtained by utilizing the preset reference mark, progressive errors in the current position information can be eliminated at each reference mark, so that the position information of the mobile carrier obtained by the server is more accurate, and the navigation precision can be improved.

Drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent by describing in greater detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings, in which like reference numerals generally represent like parts throughout.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a mobile carrier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the mobile chassis of FIG. 1;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a navigation system provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic layout of a guide track body and fiducial markers on a warehouse floor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic layout of a guide track body and fiducial markers on a warehouse floor provided by another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a navigation method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a navigation method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a navigation device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure may be embodied in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

The terminology used in the present disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used in this disclosure and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term "and/or" as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It should be understood that although the terms "first," "second," "third," etc. may be used in this disclosure to describe various information, this information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one type of information from another. For example, first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information may also be referred to as first information, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of the present disclosure, "a plurality" means two or more unless specifically limited otherwise.

The mobile carrier provided herein can be applied to any suitable industry field or technology field, such as the smart warehousing field, the smart logistics field, the smart sorting field, the home field, or the fire protection field.

When the mobile carrier is applied to different industry fields, the mobile carrier can be constructed into different structures to realize corresponding business functions. For example, when the mobile carrier is used in the home field, the mobile carrier may be configured as a circular sweeping robot, and when the mobile carrier is used in the warehouse field, the mobile carrier may be configured with a robot arm to grab the goods.

Referring to fig. 1 and 2, a mobile carrier 100 includes a mobile chassis 10, a storage rack 20, a carrying device 30, and a lifting assembly 40. The storage racks 20, the conveying device 30, and the lifting/lowering unit 40 are mounted on the moving chassis 10.

The mobile chassis 10 is used for carrying the mobile carrier 100 to move according to a planned path.

The storage racks 20 are used to store goods. In some embodiments, the storage rack 20 may include a plurality of storage units distributed in a vertical direction, each of which may hold one or more items.

The handling device 30 is movable in a vertical direction such that the handling device 30 is positioned horizontally opposite to any one of the storage units, and the handling device 30 is used to handle goods between a preset position of the fixed rack and any one of the storage units.

The lifting assembly 40 is used for driving the carrying device 30 to move in the vertical direction relative to the storage shelf 20, and the lifting assembly 40 comprises a lifting transmission mechanism and a lifting driving mechanism. Wherein the lifting driving mechanism is used for providing a driving force for moving the carrying device 30 in a vertical direction relative to the storage shelf 20, and the lifting transmission mechanism is used for transmitting the driving force to the carrying device 30.

In some embodiments, the mobile chassis 10 includes a carriage assembly, driven wheels, drive wheel assemblies, and a guide 14 (see fig. 2). Wherein the driven wheel, the driving wheel assembly and the guiding device 14 are all mounted on the bracket assembly.

The guide device 14 is a camera whose lens faces the ground for recognizing a guide track body laid on the ground and a reference mark so that the moving chassis 10 travels along the guide track body. It is understood that in other embodiments, the guide track body and the reference mark may be disposed at other positions, and accordingly, another camera may be disposed, and a lens of the camera faces the other guide track body and the reference mark.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 3, the mobile carrier 100 and the server 200 may form a navigation system, and the navigation system may communicate with the server 200 to realize navigation, so as to successfully pick up or store goods.

In some embodiments, the server 200 may be a physical server or a logical server virtualized from multiple physical servers. The server 200 may also be a server cluster formed by a plurality of servers capable of communicating with each other, and each functional module may be distributed on each server in the server cluster.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, when the mobile carrier 100 moves in the warehouse, the positioning navigation may be assisted by a guide track body preset in the warehouse and/or a preset fiducial mark. The predetermined reference mark may be formed by, for example, a guide track.

Fig. 4 is a schematic layout diagram of a guide track body and a reference mark on the warehouse floor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 4, the warehouse floor is divided into different work areas, including a Public Area (Public Area) 51 without shelves and other obstacles and a Roadway Area (Roadway Area) 53 between spaced shelves 52. A plurality of mobile carriers may travel in a common area 51. When the moving carrier needs to move from the common area 51 to the target position of the tunnel area 53, for example, the moving carrier may rotate before entering the tunnel area 53, adjust the moving direction to be parallel to the rack 52, and move linearly to the target position.

The common area 51 and the tunnel area 53 are each provided with a guide track body 54. In the embodiment of fig. 4, the guide track body 54 is a straight track with a uniform width provided on the ground, the guide track body 54 of the aisle area 53 is parallel to the shelf 52, and the guide track body 54 of the common area 51 is perpendicular to the guide track body 54 of the aisle area 53. It is to be understood that the position, shape, direction, etc. of the guide track body 54 may be set according to actual circumstances, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

For example, the guide track body 54 may be provided only in the common area 51 or only in the lane area 53, or the guide track body 54 may be provided only in a part of the working area of the common area 51 or the lane area 53. The method provided by the present disclosure may be used to navigate in a work area where the guide track body 54 is located, and other suitable methods may be used to navigate in a work area where the guide track body is not located. For example, only the lane area 53 is provided with the guide track body and the reference mark (the reference mark is formed by cross marks arranged at intervals on the guide track body or by a color change boundary of the guide track body with different colors, for example), while the common area 51 is not provided with the guide track body and the reference mark, the lane area 53 can be navigated by the method provided by the present disclosure, and the common area can be navigated by vision, for example.

In addition, in one embodiment, the common area 51 and the roadway area 53 are both provided with a guide track body and a reference mark, the guide track body of the common area 51 and the roadway area 53 may be color bars with different colors arranged alternately, the reference mark is formed by color change boundaries of the color bars, and the color bars of the common area 51 and the color bars of the roadway area 53 are different (for example, the common area 51 is the color bars with red and blue arranged alternately, and the roadway area 53 is the color bars with yellow and gray arranged alternately), and navigation can still be performed in the common area 51 and the roadway area 53 by the method provided by the present disclosure.

The guiding track bodies of the common area may be connected to the home position area 55. The initial position area 55 may be the initial position where the mobile carrier is charged and/or set as the mobile carrier.

In fig. 4, the guide track body 54 of the common area 51 and the guide track body 54 of the tunnel area 53 have a plurality of reference marks. The intersection of the guide track body 54 in the common area 51 and each guide track body 54 in the roadway area 53 forms a reference mark 56 in the common area 51; the intersecting marks provided at intervals on the respective guide track bodies 54 in the lane area 53 form reference marks 57 in the lane area. In this configuration, the reference marks 56 of the common area 51 are the same, the reference marks 57 of the tunnel area 53 are the same, and the reference marks 56 of the common area are different from the reference marks 67 of the tunnel area, so that whether the moving carrier is located in the common area 51 or the tunnel area 53 can be determined according to the form of the reference marks. It will be appreciated that the disclosure is not so limited, for example, in other embodiments the fiducial marks 56 of the common region 51 may not be identical, or the fiducial marks 57 of the roadway region 53 may not be identical, or the fiducial marks of the common region 51 and the roadway region 53 may be identical.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fiducial markers may be uniformly distributed in an array on the guide track body 54 of the common area and the roadway area, and the spacing between adjacent fiducial markers 56 in the common area 51 is equal to or unequal to the spacing between adjacent fiducial markers 57 in the roadway area 53. It is to be understood that the present disclosure is not so limited.

For example, in other embodiments, the

fiducial markers

56, 57 may be provided separately from the guide track body 54, such as near the guide track body 54, or at a location remote from the guide track body 54.

For another example, the reference mark may be provided only in the common area 51 or only in the tunnel area 53, or may be provided only in a part of the working area of the common area 51 or the tunnel area 53.

For another example, the plurality of fiducial markers in the common area 51 and the roadway area 53 are not distributed in an array, but are irregularly distributed. For example, the spacing between each pair of adjacent fiducial marks is not equal; or the intervals between the adjacent reference marks on the same guide track body are equal, and the intervals between the adjacent reference marks on different guide track bodies are unequal.

In another embodiment shown in fig. 5, the common area 51 and the roadway area 53 are likewise provided with guide track bodies 54. The guide track body 54 of the common area 51 and the guide track body 54 of the roadway area 53 have a plurality of reference marks which are uniformly distributed in an array on the guide track body 54 of the common area 51 and the roadway area 53. Unlike fig. 4, in the implementation shown in fig. 5, each guide track body 54 of the lane area 53 includes color bands of different colors (shown as alternating black and gray, and in other embodiments, colors such as red and yellow may also be alternated) which are uniformly and alternately arranged. In the common area 51, a reference mark 56 is still formed by the intersection of the guide track body 54 in the common area 51 and each guide track body 54 of the roadway area 53; in the lane area 53, a reference mark 57 is formed at a color change boundary of color bars of different colors.

It is to be understood that fig. 4 and 5 are merely exemplary of two specific implementations of the guide track body 54 and the

fiducial markers

56, 57, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the guiding track body 54 and the reference marks 56 and 57 may be printed on the ground, wall or shelf surface by ink printing, ultraviolet ink printing, fluorescent ink printing, etc., for example, and it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

Fig. 6 is a flow chart of a navigation method, which may be performed by a mobile carrier, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The mobile carrier may be configured in any suitable structure to perform the corresponding business function, for example, it may be configured as a sweeping robot or a warehousing robot, etc. Referring to fig. 6, the method of the present embodiment includes:

s61, obtaining current position information of the mobile carrier, moving along a preset guide track body according to the current position information and the obtained target position information, and sending the current position information to a server.

The preset guide track may be set in the manner described above, for example, and will not be described herein again.

In some embodiments, trajectory perception information generated based on perception of a preset guiding trajectory body may be obtained, and motion of the mobile carrier may be defined to proceed along the preset guiding trajectory body according to the trajectory perception information.

In some embodiments, the mobile carrier may be provided with an imaging device, which may be configured as a camera of any shape. The imaging device may be used to capture the guide track body and/or fiducial markers.

When the moving carrier moves on the guide track body, the imaging device of the moving carrier continuously captures the image of the guide track body to generate track image information. According to the track image information, the mobile carrier can obtain the angular deviation amount between the current motion direction of the mobile carrier and the guide track body and/or the position deviation amount between the current position of the mobile carrier and the guide track body, and the motion of the mobile carrier is corrected according to the angular deviation amount and/or the position deviation amount, so that the mobile carrier can move along the guide track body, and the mobile carrier is prevented from deviating from the guide track body. The current movement direction of the moving carrier can be sensed by a movement sensor provided in the moving carrier, for example.

In some embodiments, the mobile carrier is provided with motion sensors mounted at suitable locations on the mobile carrier to sense motion of the mobile carrier to generate corresponding motion sensing information, such as three-axis attitude angles, velocities, accelerations, etc. of the mobile carrier. The motion sensor may include, for example, an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), a gyroscope, a magnetic field meter, an accelerometer, or a speedometer.

In some embodiments, prior to activation, the mobile carrier is located in an initial position region. After the start-up, the mobile carrier obtains its initial position by communicating with the server, and then moves to the work area along the preset guiding track body.

In the moving process of the moving carrier, the motion sensor senses the real-time motion of the moving carrier to generate corresponding motion sensing information, and the processor of the moving carrier obtains the motion sensing information of the moving carrier and calculates the current estimated position information of the moving carrier at the current moment according to the motion sensing information at the current moment and the stored current position information at one or more moments in front. It can be understood that, in another implementation manner, the current estimated position information of the mobile carrier at the current moment can be calculated according to the motion perception information of the mobile carrier and the origin position information in the corresponding preset map.

In some embodiments, the current location information varies with movement of the moving carrier. The current position information can be stored in a certain variable of a register in the mobile carrier, and when the current position information of different places is updated each time, the mobile carrier iterates the current position information of the previous moment in the variable according to the current position information of the current moment, and sends the iterated current position information to the server.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the current position information may include coordinate data of the current location, relative position relationship data with other locations, a current three-axis attitude angle of the robot, or relative three-axis attitude angle relationship data with other locations, and the like.

In some embodiments, the mobile carrier receives the target position information, and moves the mobile carrier along a preset guiding track body according to the target position information until reaching the target position; in the process, the mobile carrier obtains the current position information and sends the current position information to the server, so that the server can know the current position of the mobile carrier. It will be appreciated that the target position information may be the final target position of the moving carrier.

In some embodiments, the target location information obtained in S61 is an intermediate location on a path between the mobile carrier and the final target location, and after the mobile carrier sends the current location information to the server, the server sends navigation information to the mobile carrier, that is, the navigation method optionally further includes:

s62, receiving navigation information returned by the server according to the current position information, and controlling the movement of the mobile carrier according to the navigation information.

In some embodiments, after the mobile carrier sends the current location information to the server, the server generates navigation information according to the received current location information and the target location of the mobile carrier, and sends the generated navigation information to the mobile carrier.

In some embodiments, the server may generate navigation information according to the received current location information, the target location of the mobile carrier, and the stored historical location information of the mobile carrier, and transmit the generated navigation information to the mobile carrier. Wherein the historical location information of the mobile carrier stored by the server includes current location information of the mobile carrier at one or more previous time instants.

In some embodiments, the server-generated navigation information includes turn information. For example, when the server determines that the mobile carrier is located in a public area and needs to turn left or right to a roadway area, corresponding turn information may be included in the navigation information sent to the mobile carrier. After the mobile carrier receives the navigation information, the mobile carrier can decelerate and move to the center of the reference mark according to the steering information in the navigation information, and then the mobile carrier turns left or turns right to enter the roadway area to continue to advance along the guide track body.

In some embodiments, the server-generated navigation information includes straight-ahead information. For example, when the server determines that the mobile carrier is located in the common area and does not reach the target lane area, or when the server determines that the mobile carrier is located in the target lane area and does not reach the position of the target shelf or goods, the straight information may be included in the navigation information transmitted to the mobile carrier.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the obtaining of the current location information of the mobile carrier in S61 includes: and when the preset reference mark is sensed, obtaining the current position information of the mobile carrier.

The preset reference marks may be provided, for example, in the manner described above, and will not be described in detail here.

In some embodiments, the reference mark is provided on or near the guide track body, and an imaging device may be provided in the mobile carrier for capturing images of both the guide track body and the reference mark. In other embodiments, the reference mark may be disposed away from the guide track body, and two imaging devices may be disposed in the mobile carrier for capturing an image of the guide track body and an image of the reference mark, respectively.

In some embodiments, when the mobile carrier senses the preset reference mark, the position information of the pre-stored reference mark corresponding to the preset reference mark is obtained, and the current position information of the mobile carrier is obtained according to the distance information of the pre-stored reference mark.

In one embodiment, the moving carrier moves in a working area, the same reference mark is used in the working area, and the distance value of each pair of adjacent reference marks is the same (for example, N1 meter), and the distance information of the reference marks pre-stored in the moving carrier is the distance value of the adjacent reference marks. In the process that the movable carrier moves along the guide track body, if the imaging device senses a preset reference mark, the position of the movable carrier at the moment is known to be N1 meters away from the previous reference mark; and if the current position information is N2 meters away from the previous reference mark according to the current estimated position information corresponding to the current position, correcting the current position information from the current position information corresponding to the N2 meters to the current position information corresponding to the N1 meters.

In another embodiment, the moving carrier moves in a working area, the same fiducial mark is used in the working area, and the distance value between each pair of adjacent fiducial marks is not completely the same, for example, in two adjacent pairs of fiducial marks (N-1,N) and (N, N + 1), the distance value between the adjacent fiducial mark (N-1,N) is M1 meter, the distance value between the adjacent fiducial mark (N, N + 1) is M2 meter, and the distance information of the fiducial mark pre-stored in the moving carrier may include the distance value between each pair of adjacent fiducial marks. The moving carrier can count the passing reference marks in the process of moving along the guide track body, if the imaging device senses the Nth reference mark, the position of the moving carrier at the moment can be known to be at the Nth reference mark according to the counting, and the distance between the reference mark and the previous reference mark is M1M; and if the current position information is M3 meters away from the previous reference mark according to the current estimated position information corresponding to the current position, correcting the current position information from the current position information corresponding to M3 meters to the current position information corresponding to M1 meters.

In some embodiments, when the mobile carrier senses the preset reference mark, pre-stored reference mark position information corresponding to the preset reference mark is obtained, and current position information of the mobile carrier is obtained according to the pre-stored reference mark position information.

In the present disclosure, the pre-stored reference mark position information may be coordinate data of a reference mark in pre-stored map data, or relative position relationship data with other places, or the like. The obtaining of the pre-stored reference mark position information corresponding to the preset reference mark may be reading the pre-stored reference mark position information corresponding to the preset reference mark from preset map information. Wherein the map information can be preset on the mobile carrier or on the server side.

In some embodiments, when the mobile carrier senses the preset reference mark, the current estimated position information of the mobile carrier is obtained according to the motion sensing information, and the pre-stored reference mark position information corresponding to the preset reference mark is obtained according to the current estimated position information. Alternatively, pre-stored reference mark position information of a reference mark closest to the current estimated position information may be read from pre-set map information according to the current estimated position information.

In some embodiments, when the mobile carrier senses a preset reference mark, acquiring distance information of the reference mark and the number of the sensed passing preset reference marks; and acquiring pre-stored reference mark information corresponding to the preset reference marks according to the distance information and the number of the preset reference marks. Alternatively, the sensed position information of the preset reference mark can be calculated according to the distance information and the number of the preset reference marks, and then the position information of the pre-stored reference mark corresponding to the position information is read from the preset map information.

It is understood that the spacing information of the fiducial marks pre-stored in the mobile carrier is not limited to the spacing values of the adjacent fiducial marks, but may be multiple times of the spacing values or other relevant information.

In some embodiments, when the mobile carrier senses a preset reference mark, the mobile carrier acquires pre-stored reference mark position information corresponding to the preset reference mark according to at least one feature information of the preset reference mark and current estimated position information of the mobile carrier.

In some embodiments, when the preset reference mark is sensed, obtaining reference mark distance information corresponding to at least one piece of feature information from a plurality of pieces of pre-stored reference mark distance information according to the at least one piece of feature information of the preset reference mark; and obtaining pre-stored reference mark position information corresponding to the preset reference mark according to the corresponding reference mark distance information and the current pre-estimated position information of the mobile carrier.

The feature information of the preset reference mark may be working area type information, which may be represented by image feature information of the reference mark (e.g., an intersection or cross mark image representing the reference mark captured by an imaging device). It will be appreciated that the work area type information may also be represented by other characteristic information of the fiducial markers; the characteristic information of the preset reference mark may also be other classification information than the working area type information.

In some embodiments, when the preset reference mark is sensed, determining a reference mark distance value of a working area corresponding to the preset reference mark from the stored reference mark distance values of the at least two working areas; and obtaining current position information according to the determined distance value of the reference mark. Wherein the reference mark spacing values of at least two working areas may not be exactly the same; alternatively, the reference mark spacing values of at least two working areas are the same.

In a specific example, the movable carrier moves in a first area and a second area, the two areas use different fiducial markers, and the distance value between each pair of adjacent fiducial markers in each area is the same, for example, the first area may be a common area as described above, the fiducial markers in the area are the intersection points of the guide track bodies in the common area and each guide track body in the roadway area, and the distance value between the adjacent fiducial markers is P1 meter; the second area may be a roadway area as described above, the reference marks in the area are cross marks arranged at intervals on the guide track body, the distance value between adjacent reference marks is P2 meters, and P1 is not equal to P2. It will be appreciated that in other examples the first and second regions may also be different sub-regions in a common region or a roadway region. The pre-stored spacing information of the adjacent reference marks in the mobile carrier can comprise spacing values P1 and P2 and the corresponding relation between the two spacing values and the first area and the second area. In the process that the mobile carrier moves along the guide track body, when the imaging device captures a reference mark, the mobile carrier can know whether the mobile carrier is in a public area or a roadway area currently by judging whether the reference mark is an intersection point or a cross mark, determine a spacing value corresponding to the reference mark, acquire the number of the sensed preset reference marks, calculate the position information of the sensed preset reference marks according to the determined spacing value and the number of the sensed preset reference marks, and then read out the position information of the prestored reference marks corresponding to the position information from the preset map information.

It will be appreciated that the above example can be extended to scenarios where the mobile carrier moves in more than two areas, as can correction of the current position estimate information and accurate navigation of the mobile carrier.

In some embodiments, obtaining the current position information of the mobile carrier from pre-stored fiducial marker position information may eliminate a bias in the current estimated position information and iterate the current position information with the information after eliminating the bias. The step of eliminating the deviation in the current estimation information may include, for example, replacing corresponding data in the current estimation position information with pre-stored reference mark position information, and/or using an operation result obtained by performing a predetermined operation on the pre-stored reference mark position information as the current position information of the mobile carrier.

As a specific implementation of an operation result obtained by performing a predetermined operation on pre-stored reference mark position information, when an imaging device of the mobile carrier senses a reference mark (indicating that the mobile carrier moves to the vicinity of the reference mark at the moment), current estimated position information X2 of the mobile carrier at the current moment is calculated according to motion sensing information and an origin of the mobile carrier; in addition, the mobile carrier obtains pre-stored reference mark position information X1 corresponding to the reference mark from pre-stored map data, the mobile carrier also obtains deviation delta X1 of the position of the mobile carrier and the reference mark according to an image captured by the imaging device, obtains a mobile carrier position X3 based on the image according to the delta X1 and the X1, and performs fusion calculation on the X1, the X2 and the X3 according to a preset method (such as weighted average) to obtain current position information X4 of the mobile carrier. It is understood that the method in this example may be repeatedly executed at preset intervals in the present disclosure, and the current position estimation information X2 of the mobile carrier at the current time is continuously corrected.

It is understood that in some embodiments, the preset guiding track body may include a light emitting band and/or a color band; the preset guide track body can comprise a continuous track and/or a discontinuous track; the preset guide track bodies can be not completely identical or completely identical; the preset guide track bodies can be colored bands with the same color or colored bands with different colors arranged alternately.

In some embodiments, the pre-set fiducial markers may be part or all of graphics, color changing boundaries, and other markers such as symbols, characters, numbers, colors, and the like.

In some embodiments, the preset fiducial markers have non-uniqueness, e.g., each preset fiducial marker may be the same graphical marker (e.g., an intersection in a common area as shown in fig. 4, a cross marker in a roadway area, etc.), a color change boundary (e.g., a fiducial marker in a roadway area as shown in fig. 5), and/or the same other marker.

In other embodiments, each preset reference mark may also have uniqueness, for example, the preset reference mark may include identification information that distinguishes the mark from other marks.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, since the current position estimation information is corrected by using the preset reference mark, a progressive error in the current position estimation information can be eliminated at the reference mark, so that the position information of the mobile carrier obtained by the server is more accurate, and thus the navigation accuracy can be improved.

Fig. 7 is a schematic flow chart of a navigation method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, executed by a server, and referring to fig. 7, the method according to this embodiment includes:

and S71, sending the target position information to the mobile carrier.

And S72, receiving the current position information of the mobile carrier.

In one implementation, before receiving the current location information of the mobile carrier, the method further includes:

receiving information related to a preset reference mark sent by the mobile carrier;

In the present disclosure, the pre-stored reference mark position information may be coordinate data of a reference mark in pre-stored map data, or relative position relationship data with other places, or the like. The obtaining of the pre-stored reference mark position information corresponding to the preset reference mark may be reading the pre-stored reference mark position information corresponding to the preset reference mark from preset map information.

Alternatively, the information about the preset reference mark comprises current estimated position information of the mobile carrier;

the acquiring of the pre-stored reference mark position information corresponding to the preset reference mark comprises: and acquiring pre-stored reference mark position information corresponding to the current pre-estimated position information.

The pre-stored reference mark position information of the reference mark closest to the current estimated position information can be read from the preset map information according to the current estimated position information.

Alternatively, the information about the preset reference marks comprises the number of the preset reference marks which the moving carrier has passed through;

Alternatively, the preset reference mark related information comprises current estimated position information of the mobile carrier;

As an option, the information related to the preset reference mark includes the type of the preset reference mark and the number of the preset reference marks that the moving carrier has passed through;

the acquiring of the pre-stored reference mark position information corresponding to the preset reference mark comprises: and determining reference mark interval information according to the type of the preset reference mark, and acquiring prestored reference mark information corresponding to the preset reference mark according to the interval information and the number of the preset reference marks.

The features mentioned in this embodiment can refer to the related description in the previous embodiment, and are not described herein again.

Fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a navigation device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The navigation device 500 includes: at least one processor 520; and a memory 510 communicatively coupled to the at least one processor 520, the memory 510 storing executable code that, when executed by the at least one processor 520, causes the at least one processor 520 to perform some or all of the methods described above.

The Processor 520 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), other general purpose Processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an off-the-shelf Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other Programmable logic device, discrete Gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, etc. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like.

The memory 510 may include various types of storage units, such as system memory, read Only Memory (ROM), and permanent storage. Wherein the ROM may store static data or instructions for the processor 520 or other modules of the computer. The persistent storage device may be a read-write storage device. The persistent storage may be a non-volatile storage device that does not lose stored instructions and data even after the computer is powered off. In some embodiments, the persistent storage device employs a mass storage device (e.g., magnetic or optical disk, flash memory) as the persistent storage device. In other embodiments, the permanent storage may be a removable storage device (e.g., floppy disk, optical drive). The system memory may be a read-write memory device or a volatile read-write memory device, such as a dynamic random access memory. The system memory may store instructions and data that some or all of the processors require at runtime. Further, the memory 510 may include any combination of computer-readable storage media, including various types of semiconductor memory chips (DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM, flash memory, programmable read-only memory), magnetic and/or optical disks, may also be employed. In some embodiments, memory 510 may include a removable storage device that is readable and/or writable, such as a Compact Disc (CD), a read-only digital versatile disc (e.g., DVD-ROM, dual layer DVD-ROM), a read-only Blu-ray disc, an ultra-density optical disc, a flash memory card (e.g., SD card, min SD card, micro-SD card, etc.), a magnetic floppy disc, or the like. Computer-readable storage media do not contain carrier waves or transitory electronic signals transmitted by wireless or wired means.

Furthermore, the method according to the present disclosure may also be implemented as a computer program or computer program product comprising computer program code instructions for performing some or all of the steps of the above-described method of the present disclosure.

Alternatively, the present disclosure may also be embodied as a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium (or computer-readable storage medium, or machine-readable storage medium) having stored thereon executable code (or a computer program, or computer instruction code) that, when executed by a processor of an electronic device (or computing device, server, etc.), causes the processor to perform some or all of the various steps of the above-described method according to the present disclosure.

Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems and methods according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems which perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

Having described embodiments of the present disclosure, the foregoing description is intended to be exemplary, not exhaustive, and not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein is chosen in order to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application, or improvements made to the technology in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A navigation method performed by a mobile carrier having an imaging device, comprising:

obtaining current position information of the mobile carrier, and moving along a preset guide track body according to the current position information and the obtained target position information; the preset guide track body is provided with a plurality of preset reference marks which are arranged at intervals, and the plurality of preset reference marks are the same;

and sending the current position information to a server;

in the process that the movable carrier moves along a preset guide track body, when the imaging device senses the preset reference mark, acquiring prestored reference mark position information corresponding to the preset reference mark;

wherein the moving carrier along the guide track body comprises:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining of pre-stored fiducial mark position information corresponding to the preset fiducial mark comprises:

when the preset reference mark is sensed, acquiring reference mark distance information and the number of sensed passing preset reference marks;

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining of pre-stored fiducial mark position information corresponding to the preset fiducial mark comprises:

and acquiring pre-stored reference mark position information corresponding to the preset reference mark according to the estimated position information and the at least one piece of characteristic information.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein:

the at least one characteristic information of the preset reference mark comprises working area type information;

5. The method of claim 4, wherein:

the working area comprises a public area and a roadway area;

the preset reference mark of the public area is the same, the preset reference mark of the roadway area is the same, and the preset reference mark of the public area is different from the preset reference mark of the roadway area.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said obtaining current position information of the mobile carrier from the pre-stored fiducial marker position information comprises:

Taking an operation result obtained by performing predetermined operation on the pre-stored reference mark position information as the current position information of the mobile carrier;

wherein, the operation result obtained by performing the predetermined operation on the pre-stored reference mark position information as the current position information of the mobile carrier comprises:

acquiring current estimated position information of a mobile carrier;

obtaining a deviation of the self position of the mobile carrier from the reference mark according to an image captured by an imaging device;

7. The navigation method according to any one of claims 1 to 6,

the preset guide track body includes: the color ribbon comprises a luminous ribbon, color ribbons with the same color and/or color ribbons with different colors arranged alternately;

the preset guide track body is a continuous track and/or a discontinuous track, and the preset guide track body is partially or completely the same and alternately provided with color bands of different colors;

8. A navigation method performed by a server, comprising:

sending target position information to a mobile carrier;

obtaining pre-stored reference mark position information corresponding to the preset reference mark;

9. The navigation method of claim 8, wherein:

the information related to the preset reference marks comprises the number of the preset reference marks passed by the movable carrier;

10. The navigation method of claim 8, wherein:

the preset reference mark related information comprises current estimated position information of the mobile carrier;

the obtaining of the pre-stored reference mark position information corresponding to the preset reference mark comprises: and acquiring at least one piece of characteristic information of the preset reference mark, and acquiring corresponding pre-stored reference mark position information according to the estimated position information and the at least one piece of characteristic information.

11. A navigation device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor, the at least one memory storing executable code that, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform the method of any of claims 1-10.

12. A mobile carrier is characterized by comprising a mobile chassis, a carrying device and a lifting assembly; the carrying device and the lifting assembly are both arranged on the movable chassis;

the carrying device can move along the vertical direction, so that the position of the carrying device is horizontally opposite to any one storage unit of the storage shelf;

the lifting assembly is used for driving the carrying device to move relative to the storage shelf along the vertical direction;