JP2023102042A - Travel route creation system and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To lighten a load of creation of a travel route for a moving body.SOLUTION: A travel route creation system is configured to: create route information presenting a travel route 70 for a moving body which has one or more corners from an environmental map 80; determine, for each corner, a route width of a partial route forming the corner is equal to or larger than a length obtained by adding an error to twice of a radius of rotation of the moving body; and change information on the partial route at the corner determined to have the route width equal to or larger than the length so that the partial route at the corner is an arcuate route.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a system and program for creating a travel route for a mobile object.

In factories or warehouses, which are examples of production sites, when mobile robots move autonomously according to planned routes, environments are desired that can provide optimal movement routes without imposing a processing load for route generation.

For example, there has been a demand for smooth movement of a robot on a route that constitutes a corner in a travel route. For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-328486 (Patent Document 1), based on map information, information on areas in which a mobile robot can move in an arc trajectory at each corner of a passage in a building (passage area, center position of the arc trajectory, and orientation of the mobile robot at the end point of the arc trajectory) is output, and the map information is corrected by adding the output information to the map information (paragraph 0017).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-328486

In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-100001, a path is generated that allows the mobile robot to move along an arc trajectory at each corner, but it is necessary to generate information for enabling movement along an arc trajectory for all corners. Therefore, as the number of corners included in the travel route increases, the processing load increases, such as the processing time required for route creation.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a technique for reducing the load on creating a travel route for a mobile object.

A travel route creation system according to the present disclosure includes a route creation unit that creates route information indicating a travel route of a mobile body having one or more corners from an environment map, a storage unit that stores the route information, an extraction unit that extracts partial route information including the route width of the partial route that constitutes the corner for each corner from the route information in the storage unit, a determination unit that determines whether the route width indicated by the partial route information for each corner is equal to or greater than twice the turning radius of the mobile object plus an error, and a storage unit. a route changing unit for changing route information, the route changing unit having an arc changing unit for changing partial route information of a corner determined to have a route width equal to or greater than the length so that the partial route of the corner indicates a circular arc route.

According to the above disclosure, even if the arc change unit needs to change the arc route to create the travel route, the corners to be changed can be limited to the corners determined by the determination unit. As a result, the processing load including the time required for creating and changing the travel route can be reduced compared to the case where the partial routes of all the corners of the travel route are changed to circular arc routes.

In the above disclosure, the route changing unit further includes a right angle changing unit that changes the partial route information of the corner determined not to have a route width equal to or greater than the above length so that the partial route of the corner indicates a route with a right angle.

According to the above disclosure, only corners that are determined not to have a path width greater than or equal to the above length can be modified to change the partial path information of the corners so that the partial path indicates a path with a right angle.

In the above-described disclosure, the travel route creation system further includes a travel control unit that controls the mobile object to travel along the travel route indicated by the route information, and an interference detection unit that detects whether the mobile object interferes with an object at the corner for each corner when the mobile object travels by the travel control unit.

According to the above disclosure, it is possible to cause a mobile object to travel along a travel route indicated by route information, limit the corners where interference is detected during travel, and change the partial route information of the corners so that the partial route indicates a route with a right angle.

A travel route creation system according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes, from an environment map, a route creation unit that creates route information indicating a travel route of a mobile body having one or more corners, a storage unit that stores the route information, an extraction unit that extracts partial route information including the route width of the partial route that constitutes the corner for each corner from the route information in the storage unit, a determination unit that determines whether the route width indicated by the partial route information for the corner is equal to or greater than twice the turning radius of the mobile object plus an error, for each corner. a travel control unit that controls a moving object to travel along the travel route indicated by the route information; an interference detection unit that detects, for each corner, whether the moving object interferes with an object at the corner when the mobile object travels by the travel control unit; and a route changing unit that changes the route information in the storage unit to first route information and second route information, respectively. The second route information is the partial route information of the corner where the route information in the storage unit is changed to indicate a circular arc route and the corner where the interference is detected is changed to indicate a route with a right angle. shows the information changed to show orthogonal paths.

According to the above disclosure, when changing the route information indicating the created travel route, it is possible to easily acquire the first route information and the second route information, which are two pieces of route information, by changing the route information based on the conditions of whether or not the route width of each corner indicates the above length or more and whether or not interference is detected at the corner.

In the above disclosure, the travel control unit selects the travel route indicated by one of the first route information and the second route information as the travel route along which the mobile body travels.

According to the above disclosure, the travel control unit can control the mobile object to travel along the travel route indicated by one of the first route information and the second route information.

In the above-described disclosure, the mobile body includes a mobile body that conveys a load, and the travel control unit selects a travel route indicated by one of the first route information and the second route information as the travel route for the mobile body to travel on, based on which of suppression of external force applied to the load and shortening of the travel time is prioritized in travel.

According to this disclosure, the travel control unit selects one of the first route information and the second route information based on which of the suppression of the external force applied to the cargo during transportation and the travel time, that is, the shortening of the travel time, is prioritized, and can control the mobile body to travel along the travel route indicated by the selected one.

In the above disclosure, the arc path of a corner includes a path based on the arc of an inscribed circle with respect to the line segment representing the partial path of the corner. According to this disclosure, the partial path of a corner can consist of an arc of the inscribed circle.

In the above disclosure, the arc path of a corner includes a path based on an arc of a circle having a turning radius of the corner. According to this disclosure, the partial path of the corner can consist of an arc of a circle with the turning radius.

In the above disclosure, the moving body includes a moving body that carries packages, and the turning radius is set based on the attributes of the packages. According to this disclosure, it is possible to set the turning radius, that is, the turning radius when the moving body travels along the arc path, based on the attributes of the load conveyed by the moving body.

In the disclosure above, the attributes of a package relate to whether the package requires precision. According to this disclosure, it is possible to set the radius of the inscribed circle when the moving object travels along the arc path in relation to whether the parcel requires precision. That is, considering that the magnitude of the external force (centrifugal force) applied to the load when the moving object turns is determined depending on the size of the turning radius, the turning radius that can determine the magnitude of the external force can be set in relation to whether or not the load requires precision.

A program according to this disclosure is a program for causing a computer to implement a travel route creation method, the travel route creation method comprising steps of creating route information indicating a travel route of a mobile body having one or more corners from an environment map, storing the route information in a storage, extracting partial route information including the route width of the partial route that constitutes the corner for each corner from the route information in the storage, and extracting, for each corner, the route width indicated by the partial route information of the corner by adding an error to twice the turning radius of the mobile object. and a step of changing the path information of the storage. The modifying step includes modifying the partial path information of the corner determined to have a path width greater than or equal to the length so that the partial path of the corner indicates an arc path.

According to the above disclosure, when the above program is executed, the corners to be changed can be limited to the determined corners even if the arc change unit needs to change the arc route to create the travel route. As a result, the processing load including the time required for creating and changing the travel route can be reduced compared to the case where the partial routes of all the corners of the travel route are changed to circular arc routes.

A program according to another aspect of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer to implement a travel route creation method, wherein the travel route creation method includes steps of creating route information indicating a travel route of a mobile body having one or more corners from an environment map, storing the route information in a storage, extracting partial route information including the route width of the partial route that constitutes the corner for each corner from the route information in the storage, and extracting, for each corner, the route width indicated by the partial route information of the corner with an error of twice the turning radius of the mobile body. a step of determining whether or not the length is equal to or greater than the added length; a step of controlling the moving object to travel along the traveling route indicated by the route information; a step of detecting, for each corner, whether the moving object interferes with an object at the corner when the moving object travels in the step of controlling; The first route information indicates information obtained by changing the partial route information of a corner determined to have a route width equal to or greater than the above-mentioned length so that the partial route of the corner indicates a circular arc route, and changing the partial route information of the corner where the above-mentioned interference is detected so that the partial route of the corner indicates a route with a right angle. The second route information indicates the partial route information of a corner determined to have a route width equal to or greater than the above-mentioned length, the partial route information of a corner determined not to have a route width equal to or larger than the above-mentioned length, and the information obtained by changing the partial route information of a corner determined to indicate a right-angled route.

According to the above disclosure, when the program is executed and the route information indicating the created travel route is to be changed, the route information is changed based on the conditions of whether the route width of each corner is greater than or equal to the above length and whether or not interference is detected at the corner during travel, and the first route information and the second route information can be easily obtained.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce the load on creating a travel route for a mobile object.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows typically the outline|summary of the system 1 which concerns on the driving|running|working of the mobile body according to embodiment. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of cruise control device 100 according to the present embodiment; FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example hardware configuration of an autonomous guided vehicle 300 according to the present embodiment; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a module configuration of an autonomous guided vehicle 300 according to the present embodiment; FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the external appearance of the apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. 4 is a flowchart of processing related to changing a travel route according to the present embodiment; 4 is a flowchart of processing related to changing a travel route according to the present embodiment; 4 is a flowchart of processing related to changing a travel route according to the present embodiment; FIG. 10 is a flow chart of selection processing of route information for traveling of the autonomous guided vehicle 300 according to the present embodiment. FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a layout example of objects within a travel area according to the present embodiment; FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a travel route 70 set on the environmental map according to the embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration for determining a corner Cn and changing a route according to the present embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration for determining a corner Cn and changing a route according to the present embodiment; It is a figure explaining an example of the change process of the circular arc path|route which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a figure explaining an example of the change process of the circular arc path|route which concerns on this Embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which cargo is loaded on the autonomous carrier 300 according to the present embodiment; FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of setting 7D of the turning radius of the autonomous guided vehicle according to the present embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a turning radius according to the embodiment; FIG.

Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, identical parts and components are given identical reference numerals. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed description of these will not be repeated.

<Term>
The terms used in this specification are explained along with the related technology.

A "moving body" indicates a device configured to be movable by generating a driving force for movement.
An “autonomous vehicle” refers to a computer-mounted vehicle or robot that autonomously travels to a designated location, with wheels, drives for the wheels, and members for placing or containing a load. An autonomous vehicle may transport a person. An "autonomous carrier" is an example of a mobile object.

A "travel control device" corresponds to a computer that manages travel of a mobile object by communicating with the mobile object.

"Autonomous travel" indicates that the mobile object travels by controlling the drive unit to generate driving force according to the travel command. The travel command includes a command generated by a computer provided in the mobile body, or a command generated by a computer of the travel control device and transferred to the mobile body.

A "laser scanner" comprises a light source that emits a laser beam and a light receiving unit that receives reflected light. By rotating horizontally around the light source at a predetermined angle, the laser beam is swung within a scanning angle range (a surface where the direction of the laser beam can be changed by the laser scanner). Range finding devices are not limited to laser scanners, and may be cameras (or image sensors), LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), millimeter wave radars, magnetic sensors, and the like.

“Scan data” indicates data obtained by measurement with a laser scanner (hereinafter also referred to as laser scanning). When the scanning angle range of the laser scanner is, for example, 240 degrees, and the laser scanner is rotated by 1 degree to measure the distance, the distance from the position of the laser scanner (i.e., the coordinate value indicating the position of the moving body equipped with the laser scanner) to each of 240 points on the surface is indicated. In this embodiment, the travel control device and the moving body are configured to handle a common coordinate system.

"Surface shape information" is obtained from such scan data as a point group that is the coordinate values of 240 points on the surface from the coordinate values of the laser scanner and the distances to the 240 points on the surface.

"Self-position estimation" indicates estimating the position of the moving object on the map based on the scan data. More specifically, in self-position estimation, the scan data is compared with the map data, and based on the result of the matching, the coordinate values associated with the surface shape estimated to match the surface shape indicated by the scan data are determined as the position of the mobile object. In the present embodiment, a two-dimensional coordinate system defined by X and Y is used as a coordinate system commonly handled by the travel control device and the moving body. In this case, the self-position (Xc, Yc, θc) is estimated as coordinate values indicating the position of the moving body on the map. Note that the value θc indicates the orientation of the moving body, more specifically, the turning angle.

"Environmental map" indicates a map used by a mobile object to autonomously travel in areas such as factories and warehouses. The environment map includes, for each position in the area, the coordinate value of the position and surface shape information of the surrounding environment (ie, coordinate values of 240 point groups).

"Interference" means that the distance between the coordinates of the laser scanner obtained from the scan data and each of the 240 points on the surface is less than or equal to the clearance. "Clearance" indicates a predetermined distance (interval, gap) to be secured between the body of the autonomous guided vehicle and an object such as a wall or equipment.

<A. Application example>
First, with reference to FIG. 1, an example of a scene to which the present invention is applied will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an outline of a system 1 related to traveling of a mobile object according to an embodiment. A system 1 in FIG. 1 shows a system related to traveling of a moving object in a factory, for example.

The system 1 includes a travel control device 100 , one or a plurality of autonomous guided vehicles 300 communicating with the travel control device 100 via a wireless network 30 , and a PC (Personal Computer) 200 communicating with the travel control device 100 via a network 45 . The wireless network 30 has a Wi-Fi router as a repeater. For example, the IEEE 802.11 standard can be applied to the wireless network 30 . The network 45 can apply LAN (Local Area Network) or USB (Universal Serial Bus), for example. Although the PC 200 exchanges data with the running control device 100 via the network 45, the PC 200 may exchange data via a storage medium such as a USB memory or a memory card.

The travel control device 100 includes a travel route creation unit 50 . The travel route creation unit 50 is an example of a “travel route creation system”. The travel route creation unit 50 stores route information indicating the travel route 70 in the storage 105 . The travel route 70 indicates the route along which the autonomous guided vehicle 300 moves from the start position ST to the target position G on the environment map 80, and the route information has coordinates (x, y, θ) on the route including the start position ST, the target position G, and the corner Cn (where n=1, 2, 3, . . . ) from the start position ST to the target position G. Corners Cn can be target points for travel with an order of passage (n=1, 2, 3, . . . ). In this way, the route information indicates each position where the vehicle should turn starting from the start position ST as a corner Cn. For example, θ of the corner Cn indicates the data of the angle to be turned. In FIG. 1, the partial route of the corner Cn of the traveling route 70 is schematically shown as a right-angled route, but actually includes an oblique route to be described later.

A travel route creation unit 131 creates route information indicating a travel route 70 of a moving body having one or more corners Cn from an environment map 80, and stores the route information in the storage 105. An extraction unit 132 extracts, from the route information in the storage 105, partial route information including the route width of the partial route forming the corner Cn for each corner Cn. It has a determination unit 133 that determines whether or not the length is equal to or greater than twice the radius of rotation of the autonomous guided vehicle 300 plus an error, and a route change unit 136 that changes the route information created by the route creation unit 131 . The travel control unit 134 and the interference detection unit 135 can be activated in connection with the change of the route information by the route change unit 136 .

The route creation unit 131 sets the travel route 70 on the environmental map 80 . More specifically, the route creation unit 131 divides the environment map 80 into, for example, grid-like grids of a predetermined size, and assigns each grid a cost value according to the distance from obstacles such as objects (walls, equipment) of the grid. For example, a grid is assigned a low cost value, say 0.1, if it has no objects, and a cost value of infinity if it has objects. The route creating unit 131 determines the travel route 70 as the route with the smallest total cost value among the plurality of reachable routes from the start position ST to the target position G. FIG. The route creation unit 131 stores route information indicating the travel route 70 in the storage 105 .

The route changing unit 136 has, as modes of changing the route information, an arc changing unit 13A for changing the partial route of the corner Cn to an arc route and a right angle changing unit 13B for changing the partial route to a right angle route. The route changing unit 136 further has a mode changing unit 13C that changes the route information 77 stored in the storage 105 to the first mode route information 75 and the second mode route information 76, respectively. Mode changer 13C may be configured to include modules similar to arc changer 13A and right angle changer 13B, but in FIG. 1 mode changer 13C is depicted independently of arc changer 13A and right angle changer 13B.

The arc changing unit 13A has an arc changing unit 13A that changes the partial route information indicating the route forming the corner Cn of one or more corners Cn determined to have a route width equal to or greater than a predetermined length so that the partial route of the corner Cn indicates a circular arc route. The arc changing unit 13A can change, for example, a linear path forming the corner Cn into an arc path.

For example, the partial route that constitutes the corner Cn of the travel route 70 includes an oblique route in which the autonomous guided vehicle 300 enters the corner Cn from an oblique direction in a straight line, stops once, changes direction, and then moves to the next straight line. In this case, the time required to travel to the target position G (hereinafter referred to as travel time) increases due to the time required to stop and change direction at the corner Cn.

In contrast, if the corner Cn consists of an arc path, the autonomous guided vehicle 300 can save the time for stopping and turning when turning the corner Cn along the arc path, and can shorten the traveling time. In addition, since the autonomous guided vehicle 300 can smoothly travel along the arc path, it is possible to suppress the external force such as the centrifugal force applied to the autonomous guided vehicle 300 when traveling at the corner Cn, and the external force applied to the load of the autonomous guided vehicle 300 can be reduced. As a result, high transportation efficiency can be obtained.

In addition, even if the arc changing unit 13A needs to change the arc route to create the travel route, the corners Cn to be changed can be limited to the corners Cn determined by the determining unit 133. Therefore, the processing load including the time required for creating the travel route can be reduced.

The right angle changing unit 13B changes the partial route information indicating the route forming the corner Cn to indicate a right-angled route that turns the partial route at right angles. For example, for a corner Cn determined not to have a path width equal to or greater than a predetermined length, the right angle changing unit 13B changes the partial path information so that the partial path of the corner Cn indicates a right angle path.

For example, if a route forming a corner Cn is configured such that the vehicle enters the corner Cn in a straight line from an oblique direction and exits the corner Cn while repeatedly stopping and changing directions, the repeated stopping and changing of directions at the corner Cn will increase the travel time. In contrast, if the corner Cn consists of a right-angled path, the autonomous guided vehicle 300 stops once and changes direction once when traveling through the corner Cn, so the travel time can be shortened.

The route change unit 136 changes the travel route created as described above to a route that avoids interference. More specifically, when the autonomous guided vehicle 300 travels along the travel route indicated by the route information changed by the arc changing section 13A or the right angle changing section 13B under the control of the travel control section 134, the interference detection section 135 extracts the corner Cn where the autonomous guided vehicle 300 interferes with an object (wall, equipment, etc.) in the surrounding environment from among the one or more corners Cn of the traveling route. For the corner Cn where interference is detected, the route changing unit 136 changes the partial route forming the corner Cn into a right angle route by the right angle changing unit 13B so as to avoid the interference. Through such change processing, it is possible to change to a travel route that can avoid interference.

When the route information is created by the procedure described above, the autonomous guided vehicle 300 can travel along the travel route indicated by the route information. For example, a case in which route information is installed in the autonomous guided vehicle 300 will be described.

When the route information is transferred from the travel control device 100, the autonomous guided vehicle 300 installs the transferred route information in the storage unit of the autonomous guided vehicle 300, and autonomously travels in the factory according to the installed route information. More specifically, the autonomous guided vehicle 300 repeatedly performs laser scanning while traveling along the travel route indicated by the route information to the designated target position, compares the scan data obtained by each laser scan with the environmental map data, estimates its own position based on the verification result, and generates a travel command for moving to the designated target position based on the estimated self position (Xc, Yc, θc). The target position G can be reached by controlling the driving device according to the travel command to travel the autonomous carrier 300 .

Note that the estimation of the self-position (Xc, Yc, θc) and the generation of the travel command using the route information may be performed by the travel control device 100 instead of the autonomous guided vehicle 300 . In that case, the autonomous guided vehicle 300 transfers the scan data to the travel control device 100, and the travel control device 100 compares the scan data with the data of the environment map, estimates its own position based on the result of the comparison, and generates a travel command for moving to a specified target position (for example, the next coordinate position) based on the estimated self position (Xc, Yc, θc). The generated travel command is transferred to the autonomous carrier 300 . The autonomous guided vehicle 300 reaches the target position G by controlling the driving device according to the traveling command transferred from the traveling control device 100 and traveling autonomously. A more specific application example of the present embodiment will be described below.

<B. Configuration example>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example hardware configuration of the cruise control device 100 according to the present embodiment. 2, traveling control device 100 includes, as main components, timer 101, processor 103, memory 104, storage 105, communication interface 120 for communicating with PC 200, memory card interface 128, wireless communication interface 130 for communicating with autonomous guided vehicle 300, and operation panel 140. These components of cruise control device 100 are connected to each other via internal bus 102 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

The processor 103 reads the program stored in the storage 105, expands the read program in the memory 104, and executes the expanded program to implement various processes. Memory 104 primarily includes volatile storage. For example, memory 104 includes DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) and SRAM (Static Random Access Memory).

The storage 105 stores a system program 106 including an OS (Operating System), a communication program 107, various programs related to the travel route generator 50 of FIG. 1, and various data. Under the control of the system program 106, the processor 103 executes the program while referring to data as appropriate. The storage 105 includes, for example, a non-volatile storage device such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive).

The communication program 107 controls the communication interface 120 or the wireless communication interface 130 for communicating with the PC 200, the autonomous carrier 300, or the like. The above-described various programs include the route creation program 400 that configures the route creation unit 131 that is a module when executed, the extraction program 401 that configures the extraction unit 132 that is a module when executed, the determination program 402 that configures the determination unit 133 when executed, the route change program 403 that configures the route change unit 136 as a module when executed, the travel control program 404 that configures the travel control unit 134 as a module when executed, and the interference detection unit as a module when executed. 135 and an interference detection program 405 . The travel control program 404 has a self-position estimation program 406 for performing self-position estimation and a command generation program 407 for generating a travel command. In the present embodiment, the various programs in FIG. 2 are provided corresponding to the respective units that make up the travel route generation unit 50 in FIG. 1, but two or more of the various programs may be combined and provided as one program.

Further, the storage 105 stores the data of the environment map 80, the value of the turning radius R unique to the autonomous guided vehicle 300 and the error D based on the stopping accuracy, the route information 77 of the traveling route 70, the configuration information 72, the transportation schedule information 73 indicating the schedule of the traveling time, the load information 74 indicating the information of the object to be loaded on the autonomous guided carrier 300, the first mode route information 75 indicating the traveling route created in the first mode described later, and the first mode route information 75 created in the second mode described later. 2nd mode route information 76 indicating the traveled route is stored. The route information 77 has corner information 78 indicating a partial route of each corner Cn of the travel route 70 . The corner information 78 of each corner Cn includes the path width 7A of the partial path of the corner Cn and the position 7B of the partial path indicated by coordinates.

The configuration information 72 includes information for the travel control device 100 to manage one or a plurality of autonomous guided vehicles 300, such as the communication address of each autonomous guided vehicle 300, the laser scanning range, and constraint information 7C. The constraint information 7C includes a clearance for the autonomous guided vehicle 300 and a turning radius setting 7D, which will be described later.

The memory card interface 128 is configured such that a memory card 129 can be attached/detached, and data can be written to the memory card 129, and various data (such as the route creation program 400 and various data including the CAD data 112) can be read from the memory card 129. The memory card 129 is a small storage medium and includes, for example, flash memory, and more specifically includes an SD card.

Operation panel 140 includes an operation unit 141 such as a keyboard and a mouse for receiving user operations, and a display unit 142 such as a display. The operation unit 141 and the display unit 142 may be provided as an integrated touch panel.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the autonomous carrier 300 according to this embodiment. Referring to FIG. 3 , autonomous guided vehicle 300 includes, as main components, processor 303, memory 304, storage 306, wireless communication interface 320 for communicating with travel control device 100, panel interface 330 for exchanging data with operation panel 150 for receiving user operations, laser scanner 341, sensor group 340 including various sensors, and driving device 350 connected to wheels 360. These components of the autonomous guided vehicle 300 are communicably connected to each other via an internal bus 301 .

The processor 303 implements various processes by reading various programs stored in the storage 306, developing them in the memory 304, and executing them. The memory 304 consists of a volatile storage device such as DRAM or SRAM. The storage 306 is composed of, for example, a non-volatile storage device such as an HDD, and stores an autonomous running program 307 that outputs a control signal for controlling the driving device according to a running command, a scanning program 309 that drives the laser scanner 341 and processes detection signals from the laser scanner 341 to acquire scan data, and a communication program 310 for communicating with the running control device 100.

The sensor group 340 includes various sensors such as an infrared sensor for detecting obstacles around the autonomous carrier 300 and a contact sensor for detecting contact with an object. Note that the laser scanner 341 can be used as an obstacle detection sensor instead of the infrared sensor.

Drive device 350 is controlled to drive wheels 360 by control signals output by autonomous driving program 307 . Drive device 350 includes an actuator, such as a servomotor, for example.

The autonomous carrier 300 is driven by, for example, a battery (not shown) mounted thereon. When the battery runs out (voltage drop), the autonomous guided vehicle 300 waits and is charged at a charging station (not shown).

In the autonomous carrier 300, the axle of the wheel 360 is connected to the axle of the motor as the driving device 350 that provides driving force. The autonomous carrier 300 runs autonomously by controlling the rotation amount (rotation direction, rotation speed, etc.) of the motor according to the run command 20, and by rotating the wheels 360 in conjunction with the rotation of the motor. The autonomous guided vehicle 300 is configured to run on a plurality of wheels 360, for example, and by individually controlling the amount of rotation of the motor connected to each wheel 360 according to the turning angle included in the travel command 20, the amount of rotation varies for each wheel 360 and turns at an angle according to the command. As a result, the autonomous carrier 300 can turn and travel in the direction according to the travel command 20 . In this embodiment, the autonomous carrier 300 is configured to travel at a constant speed for the sake of simplicity of explanation.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the module configuration of the autonomous carrier 300 according to this embodiment. FIG. 4 shows modules implemented by the processor 303 executing a program or the like.

Referring to FIG. 4, autonomous guided vehicle 300 includes a scan processing unit 31 forming a module corresponding to scan program 309, a travel control unit 32 forming a module corresponding to autonomous travel program 307, and a panel control unit 33 forming a module for controlling panel interface 330 to exchange data with operation panel 150.

The modules of each part of the traveling control device 100 shown in FIG. 1 and the modules of the autonomous guided vehicle 300 shown in FIG. 4 may be realized by executing a corresponding program by one or more processors, or may be realized by combining the program with a circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array).

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an appearance example of the device according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 5, traveling control device 100 exchanges scan data 10 and traveling command 20 with autonomous carrier 300 using a router as a repeater. A laser scanner 341 is attached to the side of the housing of the autonomous carrier 300, and an operation panel 150 is attached so that the user can operate it. The detection range of laser scanner 341 is not limited, but is, for example, 16 meters and 240 degrees. The operation panel 150 has a display for displaying information and various operation buttons, is connected to the housing of the autonomous carrier 300 via a communication cable, and is attached.

<C. Traveling Route Change Processing>
6 to 8 are flow charts of processing related to changing the travel route according to the present embodiment. In this embodiment, the travel route creation mode includes a first mode and a second mode. In the first mode, the travel control device 100 detects the presence or absence of interference by causing the autonomous guided vehicle 300 to travel along the previously created travel route, and changes the travel route based on the interference detection result. In the second mode, the travel control device 100 changes a partial path of the corner Cn, which has a path width 7A of the corner Cn of the created travel path of a predetermined length (that is, a length obtained by adding an error D to twice the rotation radius R of the autonomous guided vehicle 300) or more, to an arc path, and changes a corner Cn whose path width 7A is less than the predetermined length to a right-angled path.

Hereinafter, for the sake of explanation, the length obtained by adding an error D to twice the rotation radius R of the autonomous guided vehicle 300 will be referred to as length (2R+D). Error D includes the so-called stopping error.

(c1. First mode)
6 and 7 show the travel route change processing in the first mode. Referring to FIG. 6, processor 103 of travel control device 100, as route creating unit 131, creates travel route 70 on environment map 80, and stores route information 77 indicating travel route 70 in storage 105 (step S1). The processor 103, as the extraction unit 132, scans the route information 77, extracts the corner information 78 for each corner Cn from the route information 77 based on the scanning result (step S3), and detects the route width 7A from the corner information 78 for each corner Cn (step S5).

The processor 103, as the determination unit 133, determines whether or not the condition of (path width 7A≧length (2R+D)) is satisfied for each corner Cn (step S7). When the processor 103 determines that the condition is satisfied (YES in step S7), the arc changing unit 13A changes the partial path of the corner Cn into an arc path (step S9). The process of step S9 is performed for all corners Cn determined to satisfy the condition. The processor 103 does not change the partial path that constitutes the corner Cn for which it is determined that the condition is not satisfied (NO in step S7). In this way, for the travel route 70 that has been created once, only the corners Cn that have been determined to satisfy the condition (route width 7A≧length (2R+D)) are changed to circular arc routes.

Referring to FIG. 7, when detecting that the autonomous carrier 300 is placed at the start position ST, the travel control device 100 starts the travel control of the autonomous carrier 300 (step S13). The processor 103, as the traveling control unit 134, causes the autonomous guided vehicle 300 to travel from the start position ST to the target position G along the traveling route created in the process of FIG. During travel control, the processor 103, as the interference detection unit 135, determines whether or not interference occurs based on the scan data 10 received from the autonomous guided vehicle 300 when the autonomous guided vehicle 300 travels along the partial route of the corner Cn, and acquires the position 7B of the corner Cn where the interference is detected from the route information 77 (step S17). The processor 103 determines whether or not to end the cruise control (step S19). More specifically, the processor 103 determines whether or not to end the travel control based on whether the autonomous guided vehicle 300 has reached the target position G (step S19).

While the end of running control is not determined (NO in step S19), the processing of steps S15 to S19 is repeatedly performed, and when the end of running control is determined (YES in step S19), processor 103, as right angle changing unit 13B, changes the partial route constituting corner Cn, for which interference was detected in step S17, to a right angle route (step S21). In this way, the processor 103 stores the route information 77 indicating the changed travel route obtained by changing the partial route of the corner Cn where the interference is detected to the right-angled route as the first mode route information 75 in the storage 105 (step S23).

(c2. Second mode)
FIG. 8 shows the travel route change processing in the second mode. The change processing of the second mode includes the processing of steps S1 to S5 in FIG. 6, but in FIG. 8, the processing of steps S1 to S5 is the same as in FIG. 6, so the illustration is omitted.

Referring to FIG. 8, processor 103, as determination unit 133, determines whether or not the condition of (path width 7A≧length (2R+D)) is satisfied for each corner Cn (step S7). When the processor 103 determines that the condition is satisfied (YES in step S7), the arc changing unit 13A changes the partial path of the corner Cn into an arc path (step S9). The process of step S9 is performed for all corners Cn determined to satisfy the condition. For a corner Cn for which the condition is not satisfied (NO in step S7), the processor 103 changes the partial path forming the corner Cn to a right-angle path as the right-angle changing unit 13B (step S31).

In this way, among the corners Cn of the travel route 70, the partial route of the corner Cn determined to satisfy the condition (route width 7A≧length (2R+D)) is changed to an arc route, and the partial route of the corner Cn determined not to satisfy the condition is changed to a right-angled route. The processor 103 stores the route information 77 of the traveling route 70 in which the partial route of each corner Cn is changed to an arc route or a right-angled route in the storage 105 as the second mode route information 76 (step S33).

<D. Selection of route information>
FIG. 9 is a flow chart of selection processing of route information for traveling of the autonomous guided vehicle 300 according to the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, mode changing unit 13C of route changing unit 136 changes route information 77 stored in storage 105 to first mode route information 75 and second mode route information 76, respectively. The travel control device 100 may be configured to be able to selectively use either the first mode route information 75 or the second mode route information 76 as the travel route information when the autonomous guided vehicle 300 is caused to travel, for example, based on the setting by the user operation. This user-operated setting includes "schedule priority" indicating that the cargo is to be transported according to the schedule, which is the planned time, and "load priority" indicating that the cargo is to be transported based on the attributes of the cargo.

When "schedule priority" is set, it is required that the traveling time from the start position ST to the target position G be short. Regarding the partial route of the corner Cn, if the partial route is an arc route, the time required to travel through the corner Cn is shorter than when the partial route is a right-angled route or an oblique route, and the right-angled route requires a shorter travel time than the oblique route, as described above. Based on such a difference in travel time, the processor 103, as the travel control unit 134, performs determination processing for selecting travel information. More specifically, processor 103 determines that one of first mode route information 75 and second mode route information 76 having a larger total number of corners Cn whose partial route is an arc route has a shorter running time than the other. If the total number of corners Cn whose partial paths are circular arc paths is the same, the processor 103 determines that the travel time of the first mode path information 75 and the second mode path information 76 that has a greater total number of corners Cn whose partial paths are right-angled paths is shorter than the other.

When “loaded item priority” is set, transportation based on the attribute of the item mounted on the autonomous carrier 300 is requested. The attributes of the package include external dimensions, weight, type of package (for example, equipment that requires precision, whether or not it is made of material, etc.). The dimension or weight of the external shape includes the dimension or weight of the pedestal for placing the load of the autonomous carrier 300 .

When conveying a load that requires precision, it is required to suppress external forces such as centrifugal force applied to the load. Regarding this external force, if the attributes of the load indicate that it is large or heavy, the external force, such as the centrifugal force, applied to the load during travel will be greater than that of a load that is small in size or weight.

Regarding the partial route of the corner Cn, if the partial route is an arc route, the external force applied to the load during travel through the corner Cn is greater than when the partial route is a right-angled route or an oblique route, as described above. Based on such a difference in the magnitude of the external force applied to the load, the processor 103, as the travel control unit 134, performs determination processing for selecting travel information. More specifically, the processor 103 determines that, of the first mode route information 75 and the second mode route information 76, the one having the larger total number of corners Cn whose partial route is an arc route is subjected to a larger external force than the other. Further, if the total number of corners Cn whose partial paths are circular arc paths is the same, the processor 103 determines that the external force applied to the load is greater in the first mode path information 75 and the second mode path information 76 that has a larger total number of corners Cn whose partial path is an oblique path than the other.

Selection of route information in accordance with such determination criteria will be described with reference to FIG. The processor 103 of the traveling control device 100 determines whether the setting of the user operation indicates "schedule priority" or "load priority" (step S37). If it is determined that "schedule priority" is given (in step S37 (schedule priority)), the processor 103 executes the above-described determination process from among the first mode route information 75 and the second mode route information 76 based on the schedule priority, and selects the one with the shorter running time (step S39). Also, when it is determined that the load is prioritized ((load priority) in step S37), the processor 103 executes the above-described determination processing from among the first mode route information 75 and the second mode route information 76 based on the load priority, and selects the one that causes less external force to be applied to the load during travel (step S41).

The processor 103, as the travel control unit 134, controls the autonomous guided vehicle 300 to travel according to the route information selected in step S39 or step S41 (step S43).

<E. Example of travel route 70>
A travel route 70 created by the travel control device 100 will be described. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a layout example of objects within a travel area according to the present embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a travel route 70 set on the environmental map according to this embodiment. Referring to FIG. 10, in travel area 59, equipment related to the production line and stocker equipment for stocking parts and products are laid out. In FIG. 10, the production lines include a production line having facilities EQ-A01 to EQ-A06, a production line having facilities EQ-B01 to EQ-B06, a production line having facilities EQ-C01 to EQ-C06, a production line having facilities EQ-D01 to EQ-D06, a production line having facilities EQ-E01 to EQ-E06, and a production line having facilities EQ-E01 to EQ-E06. A production line with equipment EQ-F06 is laid out.

Referring to FIG. 11, an environment map 80 corresponding to the travel area 59 includes a hatched no-entry area in which an object whose cost is set to be infinite is arranged, and other low-cost areas. In the environment map 80, the travel route 70 is set so as to travel from the start position ST to the destination position G in an area composed of grids with lower costs. The travel route 70 shown in FIG. 11 is an example, and is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 11, the travel route 70 is composed of a plurality of straight routes. The travel route 70 includes partial routes that form corners Cn according to the shape of the no-entry area, that is, according to the change in cost of the grid. The partial path of corner Cn has an oblique path 71 . The oblique path 71 indicates a path extending obliquely with respect to the X or Y direction for entering the corner Cn from a straight path extending parallel to the X or Y direction or transitioning from the corner Cn to the next straight path.

The processor 103 , as the route creating unit 131 , creates route information 77 indicating the travel route 70 having corner information 78 of each corner Cn as shown in FIG. The route information 77 includes information on the coordinates of the start position ST and the target position G, and identifiers C1, C2, C3, . The corner information 78 includes, for each corner Cn (identifier of the corner), the path width 7A of the partial path (oblique path 71) of the corner Cn and the position (coordinates) 7B of the partial path. The position 7B includes coordinates of at least both ends of the oblique path 71, for example.

<F. Configuration of Determination of Corner Cn and Route Change>
12 and 13 are diagrams for explaining the configuration of determination of corner Cn and change of route according to the present embodiment. Dots in the figure are coordinates indicating the travel route, and indicate the self-position of the autonomous guided vehicle 300 when traveling.

The processor 103, as the determination unit 133, determines whether or not the route width 7A indicated by the partial route information of each corner Cn of the route information 77 is equal to or greater than the length (2R+D). When the autonomous guided vehicle 300 travels (turns) at the corner Cn, as shown in FIG. 12, for the corner Cn, the path width 7A of the oblique path 71 must be twice the turning radius R of the autonomous guided vehicle 300 and the error D (D/2+D/2=D in FIG. 12) or more. When it is determined that the path width 7A is greater than the length (2R+D), that is, when it is determined that the slanted path 71 has a width that allows the autonomous guided vehicle 300 to travel without interference while turning, it is determined that the slanted path 71 at the corner Cn can be changed to an arc path for turning travel.

In contrast, as shown in FIG. 13, when the path width 7A is represented by a variable W, if the path width 7A falls within the range of (2R+(D×2/3)≦W<2R+D), it is determined that the path width 7A does not indicate the length (2R+D) or more. The corner Cn determined in this way may be out of the target of the change to the circular arc route and the target of the change to the right angle route. A right-angled path 82 in FIG. 13 indicates a traveling path for the autonomous guided vehicle 300 to enter the corner Cn straight ahead, stop temporarily at a position that does not interfere with objects (walls, equipment, etc.), rotate 90 degrees in the traveling direction as indicated by the arrow 81 in the stopped state, and then move forward. In the orthogonal path, the path width 7A should be (D×2/3) between the object and the autonomous guided vehicle 300 so that the autonomous guided vehicle 300 can rotate 90 degrees in the stopped state. The right angle changing unit 13B calculates the coordinates of the right angle path, and replaces the coordinates indicated by the position 7B of the oblique path 71 of the corner Cn with the calculated coordinates. As a result, the partial path of corner Cn is changed to a perpendicular path. Further, when it is determined that the condition of (W<2R+(D×2/3)) is satisfied for the route width 7A, it is determined that the vehicle cannot travel, and another travel route is selected.

<G. Arc Path Change Processing>
14 and 15 are diagrams for explaining an example of the arc path change processing according to the present embodiment. FIG. 14 shows a portion of the travel routes 70A and 70B created by the route creation unit 131 in association with the no-entry area corresponding to the shaded object. The oblique path 71 forming the partial path of the corner Cn of the travel paths 70A and 70B is changed into an arc path 79 as shown in FIG. 15 by the arc change unit 13A.

In FIG. 15, coordinate values are assigned to the X-axis and the Y-axis for explanation. Referring to FIG. 15, the arc path of the corner Cn is based on the circumference portion (arc) of the inscribed circle with respect to the line segment representing the partial path (diagonal path 71) of the corner Cn. More specifically, the arc changing unit 13A calculates an inscribed circle that is in contact with both line segments represented by the coordinates of the diagonal path 71 at the corner Cn and the coordinates of the straight path adjacent to the diagonal path 71, and replaces the coordinates of the two contacting paths with the coordinates of the portion (arc) that is in contact with the two line segments of the calculated circumference of the inscribed circle. Thus, the partial path (diagonal path 71) of corner Cn is changed to an arc path. For example, referring to FIG. 15, when an inscribed circle CR1 having center coordinates (14, 16) and a radius of 3 is calculated, one of the coordinates forming the oblique path 71 contacted by the arc of the inscribed circle CR1 is changed to coordinates on the arc (x, y)=(14−√5, 18).

Note that the method of smoothing the oblique path 71 into a circular arc path is not limited to the method of using an arc of an inscribed circle, and may be, for example, a method using a function such as a spline curve or a Bezier curve, a smoothing method using a kernel function, a smoothing method using a local polynomial, a moving straight line averaging method, or a smoothing method using a moving median value.

<H. Changing the turning radius>
The arc path of the corner Cn is not limited to the path based on the arc of the inscribed circle described above, and may be a path based on the arc of the circle having the turning radius of the corner. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a state in which packages are loaded on the autonomous carrier 300 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of setting 7D of the turning radius of the autonomous guided vehicle according to the present embodiment. FIG. 18 is a diagram schematically showing the turning radius according to this embodiment. Referring to FIG. 16 , an autonomous carrier 300 is equipped with a pedestal 40 and a package 60 is placed on the mounted pedestal 40 . The outer dimensions of the pedestal 40 are changed according to the outer dimensions of the load 60, and the pedestal 40 is changed to be made of a load-bearing material, ie, heavy, depending on the weight of the load 60. - 特許庁Therefore, when the autonomous carrier 300 travels at the corner Cn, a centrifugal force having a magnitude corresponding to the total weight or outer dimensions of the cargo 60 and the pedestal 40 is applied to the autonomous carrier 300, the cargo 60 and the pedestal 40 as an external force. Such an external force applied to the load 60 can be changed by the turning angle when the autonomous guided vehicle 300 turns around the corner Cn, that is, the turning radius of the circular arc path forming the partial path of the corner Cn.

The parcels 60 transported by the autonomous guided vehicle 300 include parcels for which such influences of external force need to be suppressed and parcels for which such influences do not need to be considered, depending on their attributes. The former package 60 includes equipment or materials that require precision (e.g., electronic components, semiconductor materials, circuit components, etc.), and the latter package 60 includes items that do not require precision (clothing, daily necessities, etc.). Therefore, it is required to create an arc path so as to change the external force applied at the corner Cn according to the attributes of the load 60. FIG. For example, according to the setting 7D shown in FIG. 17, the size of the turning radius 14B is set differently according to the attribute 14A of the package 60, "whether precision is required". In FIG. 17, the turning radius 14B for the load 60 that requires precision is set larger than the turning radius 14B for the load 60 that does not require precision.

The arc changing unit 13A acquires the attribute of the load 60 to be conveyed from the load information 74, and based on the acquired attribute (whether precision is required), acquires the turning radius 14B corresponding to the attribute from the turning radius setting 7D in FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 18 , the turning radius 14B is obtained as the distance from the corner point P of the corner Cn to the center of travel of the autonomous guided vehicle 300 . As shown in FIG. 18, the arc changing unit 13A changes the oblique path 71 of the corner Cn into an arc path using the circumference of the circle having the turning radius 14B. By configuring the route of the corner Cn with such an arc route, the magnitude of the external force (centrifugal force) applied to the cargo 60 when the autonomous carrier 300 travels through the corner Cn can be changed according to the attribute of the cargo 60.

Note that the setting (change) of the turning radius 14B is not limited to setting based on "whether or not precision is required" in the attribute 14A of the package 60, and may be set based on weight, external dimensions, and the like.

In the above-described embodiment, the travel route creation unit 50 is provided in the travel control device 100, but may be provided in the autonomous carrier 300 as well. Further, the travel control device 100 and the autonomous carrier 300 may cooperate to realize the travel route creation unit 50 . For example, the travel control unit 134 and the interference detection unit 135 of the travel route generation unit 50 may be implemented in the autonomous carrier 300 and the other parts may be implemented in the travel control device 100 . Alternatively, the PC 200, the travel control device 100, and the autonomous carrier 300 may cooperate to realize the travel route creation unit 50. FIG. For example, the PC 200, as the route creation unit 131, creates the route information 77 of the travel route 70 and transfers it to the travel control device 100, the travel control device 100 stores the route information 77 transferred from the PC 200 in the storage 105, and thereafter performs processing related to route change for the route information 77 stored in the storage 105. In addition, the aspect of implementation for cooperation is not limited to these.

<I. Program>
The processor 103 of the traveling control device 100 executes the program of the storage 105, and the processor 303 of the autonomous guided vehicle 300 executes the program of the storage 306, thereby providing an environment for creating and changing the traveling route. Programs and data for realizing such an environment may be downloaded to storage 105 or storage 306 via network 45 or wireless network 30 . Alternatively, it may be downloaded to storage 105 or storage 306 via a recording medium such as memory card 129 . Such a recording medium is a medium that stores information such as programs by electrical, magnetic, optical, mechanical or chemical action so that computers, other devices, machines, etc. can read the information such as programs.

<J. Note>
The present embodiment as described above includes the following technical ideas.
[Configuration 1]
A route creation unit (131) that creates route information (77) indicating a travel route (70) of a mobile object (300) having one or more corners (Cn) from an environment map (80);
a storage unit (105) for storing the route information;
an extraction unit (132) for extracting partial route information (78) including a route width (7A) of a partial route forming the corner from the route information in the storage unit, for each of the one or more corners;
a determination unit (133) for determining whether or not the path width indicated by the partial path information of the corner is equal to or greater than twice the turning radius (R) of the moving object plus an error (D) for each of the corners;
A route changing unit (136) that changes the route information in the storage unit,
The route changing unit
A running route creation system having an arc changing unit (13A) for changing the partial route information of the corner determined to have the route width equal to or greater than the length so that the partial route of the corner indicates a circular arc route.
[Configuration 2]
The route changing unit further
The traveling route creation system according to configuration 1, further comprising: a right angle changing unit (13B) that changes the partial route information of the corner determined not to have the route width equal to or greater than the length so that the partial route of the corner indicates a route with a right angle.
[Configuration 3]
a travel control unit (134) that controls the mobile object to travel along the travel route indicated by the route information;
an interference detection unit (135) that detects, for each corner, whether the moving object interferes with an object at the corner when the moving object travels by the travel control unit;
The route changing unit further
The travel route creation system according to configuration 1, further comprising a right angle changing unit (13B) that changes the partial route information of the corner where the interference is detected so that the partial route of the corner indicates a route with a right angle.
[Configuration 4]
A route creation unit (131) that creates route information (77) indicating a travel route (70) of a mobile object (300) having one or more corners (Cn) from an environment map (80);
a storage unit (105) for storing the route information;
an extraction unit (132) for extracting partial route information (78) including a route width (7A) of a partial route forming the corner from the route information in the storage unit, for each of the one or more corners;
a determination unit (133) for determining whether or not the path width indicated by the partial path information of the corner is equal to or greater than twice the turning radius (R) of the moving object plus an error (D) for each of the corners;
a travel control unit (134) that controls the mobile object to travel along the travel route indicated by the route information;
an interference detection unit (135) for detecting, for each corner, whether the moving object interferes with an object at the corner when the moving object travels by the travel control unit;
a route change unit (13C) that changes the route information in the storage unit to first route information (75) and second route information (76), respectively;
The first route information is
wherein the route information indicates information in which the partial route information of the corner determined to have the route width equal to or greater than the length is changed so that the partial route of the corner indicates an arc route, and the partial route information of the corner where the interference is detected is changed so that the partial route of the corner indicates a right-angled route;
The second route information is
The route information indicates the partial route information of the corner determined to have the route width equal to or greater than the length, the partial route information of the corner determined to indicate an arc route, and the partial route information of the corner determined not to have the route width equal to or greater than the length, and indicating the information changed to indicate a right-angled route.
[Configuration 5]
The travel route creation system according to configuration 4, wherein the travel control unit selects a travel route indicated by one of the first route information and the second route information as the travel route along which the moving body travels.
[Configuration 6]
The moving body includes a moving body that carries a load (60),
The travel route creation system according to configuration 5, wherein the travel control unit selects a travel route indicated by one of the first route information and the second route information as a travel route for the moving body to travel based on which of suppression of external force applied to the load and shortening of travel time is prioritized in travel.
[Configuration 7]
7. The travel route creation system according to any one of configurations 1 to 6, wherein the arc route of the corner includes a route based on an arc of an inscribed circle (CR1) with respect to a line segment representing a partial route of the corner.
[Configuration 8]
7. The travel route creation system according to any one of configurations 1 to 6, wherein the arc path of the corner includes a path based on an arc of a circle having a turning radius of the corner.
[Configuration 9]
The moving body includes a moving body that carries a load (60),
The travel route creation system according to configuration 8, wherein the radius of the inscribed circle is set based on the attribute (14A) of the package.
[Configuration 10]
10. The travel route generation system according to configuration 9, wherein the attribute of the parcel is related to whether or not the parcel requires precision.
[Configuration 11]
A program for causing a computer (103) to implement a travel route creation method,
The travel route creation method includes:
A step (S1) of creating route information (77) indicating a travel route (70) of a mobile body (300) having one or more corners (Cn) from an environment map (80);
storing the route information in a storage (105);
a step (S3) of extracting partial route information (78) including a route width (7A) of a partial route forming the corner from the route information of the storage, for each of the one or more corners;
a step (S7) of determining, for each corner, whether or not the path width indicated by the partial path information of the corner is equal to or greater than twice the turning radius (R) of the moving object plus an error (D);
a step of changing the path information of the storage (S9, S31);
The modifying step includes:
A program comprising a step (S9) of changing the partial path information of the corner determined to have the path width equal to or greater than the length so that the partial path of the corner indicates an arc path.
[Configuration 12]
A program for causing a computer (103) to implement a travel route creation method,
The travel route creation method includes:
A step (S1) of creating route information (77) indicating a travel route (70) of a mobile body (300) having one or more corners (Cn) from an environment map (80);
storing the route information in a storage (105);
a step (S3) of extracting partial route information (78) including a route width (7A) of a partial route forming the corner from the route information of the storage, for each of the one or more corners;
a step (S7) of determining, for each corner, whether or not the path width indicated by the partial path information of the corner is equal to or greater than twice the turning radius (R) of the moving object plus an error (D);
a step (S13, S15, S19) of controlling the moving object to travel along the travel route indicated by the route information;
a step of detecting, for each corner, whether the moving body interferes with an object at the corner when the moving body travels in the controlling step (S17);
changing the path information of the storage to first path information (75) and second path information (76), respectively;
The first route information is
wherein the route information indicates information in which the partial route information of the corner determined to have the route width equal to or greater than the length is changed so that the partial route of the corner indicates an arc route, and the partial route information of the corner where the interference is detected is changed so that the partial route of the corner indicates a right-angled route;
The second route information is
The program, wherein the route information indicates the partial route information of the corner determined to have the route width equal to or greater than the length, the partial route information of the corner determined to indicate an arc route, and the partial route information of the corner determined not to have the route width equal to or greater than the length, and indicating the information changed to indicate a right-angled route.

It should be considered that the embodiments disclosed this time are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the scope of the claims rather than the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the scope of the claims.

13A arc change unit 13B right angle change unit 13C mode change unit 50 travel route creation unit 60 package 70, 70A, 70B travel route 71 oblique route 72 configuration information 73 transport schedule information 74 load information 75 first mode route information 76 second mode route information 77 route information 78 corner information 79 arc route 80 environment map 82 Right angle route, 100 travel control device, 131 route creation unit, 132 extraction unit, 133 determination unit, 134 travel control unit, 135 interference detection unit, 136 route change unit, 300 autonomous carrier, 307 autonomous travel program, 309 scan program, 340 sensor group, 341 laser scanner, 350 drive unit, 360 wheels, 400 route creation program, 401 extraction Program, 402 determination program, 403 route change program, 404 running control program, 405 interference detection program, 406 self-position estimation program, 407 instruction generation program, CR1 inscribed circle, Cn corner, D error, EQ facility, G target position, R turning radius, ST start position.

Claims (12)

a route creation unit that creates route information indicating a travel route of a moving object having one or more corners from an environmental map;
a storage unit that stores the route information;
an extraction unit for extracting, from the route information in the storage unit, partial route information including route widths of partial routes forming the corners, for each of the one or more corners;
a determination unit for determining whether or not the path width indicated by the partial path information of the corner is equal to or greater than twice the radius of rotation of the moving body plus an error for each of the corners;
a route changing unit that changes the route information in the storage unit;
The route changing unit
A travel route creation system comprising an arc changing unit that changes the partial route information of the corner determined to have the route width equal to or greater than the length so that the partial route of the corner indicates an arc route. The route changing unit further
2. The travel route creation system according to claim 1, further comprising a right angle changing unit that changes the partial route information of the corner determined not to have the route width equal to or greater than the length so that the partial route of the corner indicates a route with a right angle. a travel control unit that controls the mobile object to travel along the travel route indicated by the route information;
an interference detection unit that detects, for each corner, whether the moving object interferes with an object at the corner when the moving object travels by the travel control unit;
The route changing unit further
2. The travel route creation system according to claim 1, further comprising a right angle changing unit that changes the partial route information of the corner where the interference is detected so that the partial route of the corner indicates a route with a right angle. a route creation unit that creates route information indicating a travel route of a moving object having one or more corners from an environmental map;
a storage unit that stores the route information;
an extraction unit for extracting, from the route information in the storage unit, partial route information including route widths of partial routes forming the corners, for each of the one or more corners;
a determination unit for determining whether or not the path width indicated by the partial path information of the corner is equal to or greater than twice the radius of rotation of the moving body plus an error for each of the corners;
a travel control unit that controls the mobile object to travel along the travel route indicated by the route information;
an interference detection unit that detects, for each corner, whether the moving object interferes with an object at the corner when the moving object travels by the travel control unit;
a route changing unit that changes the route information in the storage unit to first route information and second route information, respectively;
The first route information is
wherein the route information indicates information in which the partial route information of the corner determined to have the route width equal to or greater than the length is changed so that the partial route of the corner indicates an arc route, and the partial route information of the corner where the interference is detected is changed so that the partial route of the corner indicates a right-angled route;
The second route information is
The route information indicates the partial route information of the corner determined to have the route width equal to or greater than the length, the partial route information of the corner determined to indicate an arc route, and the partial route information of the corner determined not to have the route width equal to or greater than the length, and indicating the information changed to indicate a right-angled route. 5. The travel route creation system according to claim 4, wherein said travel control unit selects a travel route indicated by one of said first route information and said second route information as a travel route along which said mobile body travels. The moving body includes a moving body that carries and transports cargo,
6. The travel route creation system according to claim 5, wherein the travel control unit selects a travel route indicated by one of the first route information and the second route information as a travel route for the moving body to travel based on which of suppression of external force applied to the load and shortening of travel time is prioritized in travel. 7. The travel route creation system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the arc path of the corner includes a path based on an arc of an inscribed circle with respect to a line segment representing a partial path of the corner. The travel route creation system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the arc path of the corner includes a path based on an arc of a circle having a turning radius of the corner. The moving body includes a moving body that transports a load,
9. The travel route creation system according to claim 8, wherein said turning radius is set based on attributes of said baggage. 10. The travel route creation system according to claim 9, wherein the attribute of the parcel is related to whether or not the parcel requires precision. A program for causing a computer to implement a travel route creation method,
The travel route creation method includes:
a step of creating route information indicating a travel route of a moving object having one or more corners from the environmental map;
storing the route information in a storage;
a step of extracting, for each of the one or more corners, partial route information including a route width of a partial route forming the corner from the route information in the storage;
a step of determining, for each of the corners, whether the path width indicated by the partial path information of the corner is equal to or greater than twice the rotation radius of the moving body plus an error;
and changing the path information of the storage;
The modifying step includes:
modifying the partial path information of the corner determined to have the path width equal to or greater than the length so that the partial path of the corner indicates an arc path. A program for causing a computer to implement a travel route creation method,
The travel route creation method includes:
a step of creating route information indicating a travel route of a moving object having one or more corners from the environmental map;
storing the route information in a storage;
a step of extracting, for each of the one or more corners, partial route information including a route width of a partial route forming the corner from the route information in the storage;
a step of determining, for each of the corners, whether the path width indicated by the partial path information of the corner is equal to or greater than twice the rotation radius of the moving body plus an error;
a step of controlling the moving body to travel along the travel route indicated by the route information;
a step of detecting, for each corner, whether the moving body interferes with an object at the corner when the moving body travels in the step of controlling;
changing the path information of the storage to first path information and second path information, respectively;
The first route information is
wherein the route information indicates information in which the partial route information of the corner determined to have the route width equal to or greater than the length is changed so that the partial route of the corner indicates an arc route, and the partial route information of the corner where the interference is detected is changed so that the partial route of the corner indicates a right-angled route;
The second route information is
The program, wherein the route information indicates the partial route information of the corner determined to have the route width equal to or greater than the length, the partial route information of the corner determined to indicate an arc route, and the partial route information of the corner determined not to have the route width equal to or greater than the length, and indicating the information changed to indicate a right-angled route.

Images