JP2020140594A - Unmanned work vehicle of slam induction system and unmanned work vehicle system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an unmanned work vehicle that is able to generate an environment map accurately reflecting a state of a temporary obstacle.SOLUTION: An unmanned work vehicle according to a present invention is a work vehicle of an SLAM induction system that is plurally operated, comprises: an environment map storage unit 21 that stores a generated environment map; a temporary obstacle extraction unit 25 that extracts a temporary obstacle that may change in position or presence or absence with a lapse of time from among obstacles that block travel shown on the stored environment map; a function that, upon extraction of the temporary obstacle by the temporary obstacle extraction unit 25, transmits data about the temporary obstacle to another unmanned vehicle; a communication unit 28 that has a function for receiving data about the temporary obstacle from the other unmanned work vehicle; and an environment map update unit 26 that, upon reception of the data about the temporary obstacle by the communication unit 28, updates the environment map stored in the environment map storage unit 21.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to an unmanned work vehicle that adopts SLAM guidance as a guidance method, and an unmanned work system including a plurality of the unmanned work vehicles.

As seen in Patent Document 1, SLAM guidance is known as a guidance method for an unmanned work vehicle that transports luggage in a building such as a warehouse. In this method, it is possible to generate an environment map showing obstacles that hinder driving based on the measurement results by an environment sensor such as a laser range finder mounted on each of the unmanned work vehicles. The current position on the created environment map can be estimated. For the estimation of the current position, odometry using the amount of rotation of the drive wheels and the steering angle may be used together.

Japanese Patent No. 6136434

By the way, in SLAM guidance, only obstacles within the measurable range of the environmental sensor can be recognized. Therefore, in SLAM guidance, even if the position or presence of an obstacle changes at a distance from the vehicle, that is not immediately reflected in the environment map.

That is, obstacles in the building, such as walls, pillars and fixed shelves, whose position or presence does not change over time, and obstacles, such as luggage temporarily placed on the floor, are located or located over time. There are things that can change the presence or absence (hereinafter referred to as "temporary obstacles"), but the environment map generated by SLAM guidance may not reflect the latest situation of temporary obstacles. For this reason, even though the travel route was set to avoid the obstacles shown in the environmental map, the travel was often hindered by an unknown temporary obstacle existing on the travel route.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is an unmanned work vehicle capable of generating an environment map that accurately reflects the situation of a temporary obstacle, and a plurality of the unmanned work vehicles. The purpose is to provide a fully equipped unmanned work system.

In order to solve the above problems, the unmanned work vehicle according to the present invention is an SLAM-guided unmanned work vehicle operated by a plurality of units, and is stored in an environment map storage unit that stores the generated environment map. The temporary obstacle extraction unit that extracts temporary obstacles whose position or presence may change over time from the obstacles that hinder driving shown in the environment map, and the temporary obstacle extraction unit are temporary obstacles. A communication unit having a function of transmitting data on the temporary obstacle to another unmanned work vehicle when an object is extracted and a function of receiving data on the temporary obstacle from another unmanned work vehicle, and a communication unit having a temporary obstacle. It is provided with an environment map update unit that updates the environment map stored in the environment map storage unit based on the data when the data is received.

The automatic guided vehicle is, for example, an automatic guided vehicle that transports luggage.

The temporary obstacle extraction unit of the unmanned work vehicle temporarily obstacles the obstacle based on, for example, a degree of agreement between the planar size or shape of the obstacle shown in the environment map and the known size or shape of the luggage. Determine whether to extract as a thing.

Further, in order to solve the above problems, the unmanned work system according to the present invention is provided with a plurality of SLAM-guided unmanned work vehicles and a management device capable of communicating with each of the unmanned work vehicles. Each has an environment map storage unit that stores the generated environment map and a temporary obstacle that can change its position or presence over time from among the obstacles that hinder driving shown in the stored environment map. A temporary obstacle extraction unit that extracts objects, a function that sends data about the temporary obstacle to the management device when the temporary obstacle extraction unit extracts the temporary obstacle, and a function that receives data about the temporary obstacle from the management device. It has a communication unit having the above, and an environment map update unit that updates the environment map stored in the environment map storage unit based on the data when the communication unit receives data on a temporary obstacle, and has a plurality of management devices. When data on a temporary obstacle is received from one of the unmanned work vehicles, the data is transmitted to all the unmanned work vehicles except this one.

Each of the automatic guided vehicles provided in the unmanned work system is, for example, an automatic guided vehicle that transports luggage.

The temporary obstacle extraction unit of the unmanned work vehicle provided in the above unmanned work system is based on, for example, the degree of agreement between the planar size or shape of the obstacle shown in the environment map and the known size or shape of the luggage. It is determined whether or not the obstacle is extracted as a temporary obstacle.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an unmanned work vehicle capable of generating an environment map that accurately reflects the situation of a temporary obstacle, and an unmanned work system including a plurality of the unmanned work vehicles.

It is a figure which shows the unmanned work system which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the appearance of the unmanned work vehicle which concerns on 1st Example, (A) is a side view, (B) is a plan view. It is a top view which shows the building where the unmanned work vehicle which concerns on 1st Example works. It is a block diagram of the unmanned work vehicle which concerns on 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the environment map generated by the unmanned work vehicle which concerns on 1st Example. It is a figure for demonstrating the update of the environment map in 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the data about the temporary obstacle transmitted by the unmanned work vehicle which concerns on 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the modification of the data about the temporary obstacle shown in FIG. 7. It is a figure which shows the unmanned work system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, examples of the unmanned work vehicle and the unmanned work system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[First Example]
FIG. 1 shows an unmanned work system 30 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the unmanned work system 30 includes three SLAM guided unmanned work vehicles 10A, 10B, 10C and a management device 100 capable of communicating with each of the unmanned work vehicles 10A, 10B, 10C. ing. The automatic guided vehicles 10A, 10B, and 10C are automatic guided vehicles that transport the luggage according to the command received from the management device 100 and sequentially transmit the transport status and the current position of the luggage to the management device 100.

As shown in FIG. 2, the unmanned work vehicles 10A, 10B, and 10C have the vehicle body 11 having the traveling wheels 14, the mast 12 provided so as to be movable in the horizontal direction with respect to the vehicle body 11, and the mast 12. It is provided with a pair of left and right forks 13 provided so as to be able to move up and down. The fork 13 can take the position indicated by the reference numeral 13'by moving the mast 12 in the horizontal direction. Further, the fork 13 can take the position indicated by the reference numeral 13 "by ascending along the mast 12.

The unmanned work vehicles 10A, 10B, and 10C further include a pair of left and right environmental sensors 15 provided on the front side of the vehicle main body 11 and an environmental sensor 16 provided on the rear side of the vehicle main body 11. Each of the environmental sensors 15 and 16 is composed of a laser range finder, and is located relatively close to the vehicle body 11 by irradiating a fan-shaped region with laser light and detecting reflected light from an obstacle in the region. Recognize obstacles.

FIG. 3 shows a building 101 in which unmanned work vehicles 10A, 10B, and 10C receive a command from the management device 100 to transport luggage. The building 101 has two fixed shelves 102 and 103 fixed to the floor and a temporary storage area 104 provided between them. In the temporary storage area 104, the luggage to be transported from the fixed shelves 102 and 103 to another place or the luggage to be stored in the fixed shelves 102 and 103 are temporarily placed. In FIG. 3, four packages B1, B2, B3, and B4 are placed in the temporary storage area 104, but this situation changes with the passage of time. That is, the luggages B1, B2, B3, and B4 are "temporary obstacles" that temporarily hinder the traveling of the unmanned work vehicles 10A, 10B, and 10C.

In FIG. 3, the management device 100 is omitted. The management device 100 can be installed at an arbitrary position capable of communicating with each of the unmanned work vehicles 10A, 10B, and 10C.

On behalf of the unmanned work vehicles 10A, 10B, and 10C, the configuration of the unmanned work vehicle 10A will be mainly described in more detail. As shown in FIG. 4, the unmanned work vehicle 10A includes an environment map generation unit 20, an environment map storage unit 21, a position estimation unit 22, a rotation amount sensor 23, a steering angle sensor 24, and a travel control unit 27. , The communication unit 28 is further provided.

The environment map generation unit 20 receives data on obstacles from the environment sensors 15 and 16 and generates an environment map MA based on the received data. Then, the environment map generation unit 20 stores the generated environment map MA in the environment map storage unit 21.

The environmental sensors 15 and 16 continue to output data on nearby obstacles at a predetermined frequency. Further, the environment map generation unit 20 generates the difference data of the environment map MA every time new data is input from the environment sensors 15 and 16. Therefore, when the unmanned work vehicle 10A travels in the building 101, the portion related to the vicinity of the travel route of the environment map MA is updated.

FIG. 5 shows the environment map MA stored in the environment map storage unit 21. When the unmanned work vehicle 10A travels all over the building 101, such an environment map MA is completed. In addition, what is indicated by the reference numeral B1'is an obstacle corresponding to the luggage B1 (see FIG. 3). The same applies to the symbols B2', B3' and B4'.

The rotation amount sensor 23 detects the rotation amount of the drive wheels 14 and outputs a signal related to the detected rotation amount. Further, the steering angle sensor 24 detects the steering angle of the drive wheels 14 which are also steering wheels, and outputs a signal regarding the detected steering angle. The amount of rotation of the drive wheels 14 corresponds to the moving distance of the vehicle body 11, and the steering angle of the drive wheels 14 corresponds to the moving direction of the vehicle body 11.

The position estimation unit 22 estimates the current position of the unmanned work vehicle 10A based on the environment map MA stored in the environment map storage unit 21 and the signals input from the rotation amount sensor 23 and the steering angle sensor 24.

When the communication unit 28 receives a command regarding the transportation of the load from the management device 100, the communication unit 28 outputs the command to the travel control unit 27.

The travel control unit 27 controls the drive wheels 14 based on the environment map MA stored in the environment map storage unit 21, the current position estimated by the position estimation unit 22, and the command input from the communication unit 28. To do. More specifically, the travel control unit 27 controls the rotation amount and the steering angle of the drive wheels 14 to move the unmanned work vehicle 10A to the side (loading place) of the load to be transported, and then moves the load. Move to the place where it should be placed (loading place).

As shown in FIG. 4, the unmanned work vehicle 10A further includes a temporary obstacle extraction unit 25 and an environment map update unit 26.

The temporary obstacle extraction unit 25 is based on the degree of agreement between the planar dimensions of the obstacle shown in the environment map MA and the known planar dimensions of the luggage transported in the building 101. Determine whether to extract the obstacle as a temporary obstacle. For example, when the planar dimension of the load transported in the building 101 is 1 m × 1 m, the temporary obstacle extraction unit 25 considers an error in the generation of the environment map MA, and the dimension is 0.9 m × 0. Obstacles within the range of 9m to 1.1m x 1.1m are extracted as temporary obstacles. Conversely, the temporary obstacle extraction unit 25 treats obstacles whose dimensions are outside the above range as obstacles whose positions and presence / absence of walls, pillars, etc. do not change.

When the unmanned work vehicle 10A passes by the baggage B4 just placed and the obstacle B4'corresponding to the baggage B4 is newly shown on the environment map MA, the temporary obstacle extraction unit 25 causes the obstacle B4'. Is determined as a temporary obstacle. Then, when the temporary obstacle extraction unit 25 determines that the obstacle B4'should be extracted as a temporary obstacle, the coordinates of the four corners of the temporary obstacle B4' based on the characteristic point P1 of the environment map MA. _{(x 11, y 11),} (x 12, y 12), and outputs the (x _13, y ₁₃₎ and (x _14, y ₁₄₎ communication unit 28 as data relating to a temporary obstacle B4 '(FIG. 6 ( A) and FIG. 7).

At this time, the temporary obstacle extraction unit 25 uses the coordinates of the temporary obstacle B4'based on the characteristic points P2, P3 or P4 instead of the coordinates of the temporary obstacle B4'based on the point P1. May be output, or a combination of these may be output. For example, the temporary obstacle extraction unit 25 has coordinates (x ₁₁ , y ₁₁ ) of the temporary obstacle B4'based on the point P1 and coordinates (x ₂₂ , y ₂₂ ) of the temporary obstacle B 4'based on the point P2. ), The coordinates of the temporary obstacle B4'based on the point P3 (x ₃₃ , y ₃₃ ) and the coordinates of the temporary obstacle B4'based on the point P4 (x ₄₄ , y ₄₄ ) with respect to the temporary obstacle B4'. It may be output as data (see FIG. 8).

When the data regarding the temporary obstacle B4'is input from the temporary obstacle extraction unit 25, the communication unit 28 transmits the data to the other unmanned work vehicles 10B and 10C via the management device 100. Then, the communication unit 28 of the unmanned work vehicles 10B and 10C outputs the received data regarding the temporary obstacle B4'to the environment map update unit 26.

The environment map update unit 26 of the unmanned work vehicle 10B refers to the environment map MB stored in the environment map storage unit 21. Then, if the temporary obstacle B4'is not indicated in the environment map MB, the environment map update unit 26 updates the environment map MB based on the data input from the communication unit 28. In other words, the environment map update unit 26 adds the temporary obstacle B4'discovered by the other unmanned work vehicle 10A to the environment map MB (see FIG. 6B). As a result, even if the unmanned work vehicle 10B itself does not pass by the luggage B4, the environment map MB reflects the luggage B4.

The same applies to the environment map MC of the unmanned work vehicle 10C.

As described above, according to the unmanned work vehicles 10A, 10B, 10C according to the present embodiment and the unmanned work system 30 provided with the unmanned work vehicles 10A, 10B, 10C, the situation of temporary obstacles is shared by all the unmanned work vehicles 10A, 10B, 10C. , It is possible to generate an environment map that accurately reflects the latest situation of temporary obstacles.

Further, according to the unmanned work vehicles 10A, 10B, 10C according to the present embodiment and the unmanned work system 30 provided with the unmanned work vehicles 10A, 10B, 10C, as compared with the case where all the unmanned work vehicles 10A, 10B, 10C share the entire environment map. , It is possible to reduce the amount of communication.

[Second Example]
FIG. 9 shows an unmanned work system 40 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Similar to the unmanned work system 30, the unmanned work system 40 includes three SLAM-guided unmanned work vehicles 10A, 10B, 10C and a management device 100 capable of communicating with each of the unmanned work vehicles 10A, 10B, 10C. ing. However, in this embodiment, the unmanned work vehicles 10A, 10B, and 10C can communicate with each other.

In this embodiment, when the data regarding the temporary obstacle is input from the temporary obstacle extraction unit 25, the communication unit 28 directly transmits the data to the other unmanned work vehicles 10B and 10C.

According to the unmanned work vehicles 10A, 10B, 10C and the unmanned work system 40 provided with the unmanned work vehicles 10A, 10B, 10C according to the present embodiment, the communication load of the management device 100 is reduced, and between the management equipment 100 and the unmanned work vehicles 10A, 10B, 10C. Communication can be performed without delay.

[Modification example]
Although the first embodiment and the second embodiment of the unmanned work vehicle and the unmanned work system according to the present invention have been described above, the configuration of the present invention is not limited thereto.

For example, the environmental sensor is not limited to the laser range finder, and may be a type of sensor that acoustically detects an obstacle.

Further, the number of unmanned work vehicles included in the unmanned work system may be two or four or more.

Further, the unmanned work vehicle may be a vehicle that performs work other than transporting luggage.

In addition, the temporary obstacle extraction unit may make a determination based on the degree of agreement between the shape of the obstacle shown in the environment map and the known shape of the luggage, or the degree of agreement between both the dimensions and the shape. The determination may be made based on.

Further, the data regarding the temporary obstacle transmitted by the communication unit may be arbitrary data indicating the position on the environment map.

Further, the temporary obstacle is not limited to luggage, but may be a mobile shelf or the like.

10A, 10B, 10C Unmanned work vehicle 11 Vehicle body 12 Mast 13 Fork 14 Travel wheel 15 Environmental sensor 16 Environmental sensor 20 Environmental map generator 21 Environmental map storage unit 22 Position estimation unit 23 Rotation amount sensor 24 Steering angle sensor 25 Temporary obstacle Extraction unit 26 Environment map update unit 27 Travel control unit 28 Communication unit 30, 40 Unmanned work system 100 Management device 101 Building 102 Fixed shelf 103 Fixed shelf 104 Temporary storage area

In order to solve the above problems, the unmanned work vehicle according to the present invention is a SLAM-guided unmanned work vehicle operated by a plurality of units for transporting luggage, and is an environment map storage that stores the generated environment map. A temporary obstacle extraction unit that extracts temporary obstacles whose position or presence may change over time from the obstacles that hinder driving shown in the stored environment map, and a temporary obstacle A communication unit having a function of transmitting data on the temporary obstacle to another unmanned work vehicle when the object extraction unit extracts the temporary obstacle and a function of receiving data on the temporary obstacle from the other unmanned work vehicle. When the communication unit receives data related to the temporary obstacle, it is provided with an environment map update unit that updates the environment map stored in the environment map storage unit based on the data, and the temporary obstacle extraction unit is shown in the environment map. It has a configuration in which it is determined whether or not to extract the obstacle as a temporary obstacle based on the degree of agreement between the flat size or shape of the obstacle and the known size or shape of the baggage .

Further, in order to solve the above problems, the unmanned work system according to the present invention is provided with a plurality of SLAM-guided unmanned work vehicles and a management device capable of communicating with each of the unmanned work vehicles. Each is an unmanned transport vehicle that transports luggage, and the environment map storage unit that stores the generated environment map and the obstacles that hinder driving shown in the stored environment map change over time. A temporary obstacle extraction unit that extracts temporary obstacles whose position or presence may change accordingly, and a function and management that sends data on the temporary obstacle to the management device when the temporary obstacle extraction unit extracts the temporary obstacles. An environment map update that updates the environment map stored in the environment map storage unit based on the communication unit that has the function of receiving data related to temporary obstacles from the device and the communication unit that receives data related to temporary obstacles. The temporary obstacle extraction unit has a unit, and the temporary obstacle extraction unit temporarily obstructs the obstacle based on the degree of agreement between the planar size or shape of the obstacle shown in the environment map and the known size or shape of the baggage. The management device determines whether or not to extract as an object, and when it receives data on a temporary obstacle from one of a plurality of unmanned work vehicles, directs the data to all the unmanned work vehicles except this one. It has a configuration of transmitting.

Claims (6)

It is a SLAM guided unmanned work vehicle that is operated by multiple units.
An environment map storage unit that stores the generated environment map,
A temporary obstacle extraction unit that extracts temporary obstacles whose position or presence or absence can change with the passage of time from among the obstacles that hinder driving shown in the stored environment map.
When the temporary obstacle extraction unit extracts the temporary obstacle, it has a function of transmitting data on the temporary obstacle to another unmanned work vehicle and a function of receiving data on the temporary obstacle from another unmanned work vehicle. With the communication unit
When the communication unit receives the data related to the temporary obstacle, the environment map update unit that updates the environment map stored in the environment map storage unit based on the data, and the environment map update unit.
An unmanned work vehicle characterized by being equipped with. The unmanned work vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the automatic guided vehicle transports luggage. The temporary obstacle extraction unit uses the obstacle as the temporary obstacle based on the degree of agreement between the planar size or shape of the obstacle shown in the environment map and the known size or shape of the luggage. The unmanned work vehicle according to claim 2, wherein it is determined whether or not to extract. Multiple unmanned work vehicles with SLAM guidance system,
A management device capable of communicating with each of the unmanned work vehicles,
With
Each of the unmanned work vehicles
An environment map storage unit that stores the generated environment map,
A temporary obstacle extraction unit that extracts temporary obstacles whose position or presence or absence can change with the passage of time from among the obstacles that hinder driving shown in the stored environment map.
A communication unit having a function of transmitting data on the temporary obstacle to the management device when the temporary obstacle extraction unit extracts the temporary obstacle and a function of receiving data on the temporary obstacle from the management device. ,
When the communication unit receives the data related to the temporary obstacle, the environment map update unit that updates the environment map stored in the environment map storage unit based on the data, and the environment map update unit.
Have,
The management device is characterized in that when it receives data on the temporary obstacle from one of the plurality of unmanned work vehicles, the management device transmits the data to all the unmanned work vehicles except the one. Unmanned work system to do. The unmanned work system according to claim 4, wherein each of the automatic guided vehicles is an automatic guided vehicle that transports luggage. The temporary obstacle extraction unit uses the obstacle as the temporary obstacle based on the degree of agreement between the planar size or shape of the obstacle shown in the environment map and the known size or shape of the luggage. The unmanned work system according to claim 5, wherein it is determined whether or not to extract.

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