JP5461494B2 - Automated traveling vehicle and control method for automated traveling vehicle - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic traveling vehicle and an automatic traveling method for a vehicle.

  As a vehicle used as a work vehicle for agriculture or the like, there is a vehicle that performs automatic traveling for labor saving. As such an automatic traveling vehicle, one that travels by detecting a guide member embedded in a travel route is well known, but in this case, labor and cost of embedding the guide member in the travel route are generated, and Also, changing the travel route is not easy.

  In view of this, there has been proposed a vehicle that travels on a travel route prepared in advance by detecting the vehicle position with GPS (Global Positioning System). Cited Document 1 describes an agricultural work vehicle that includes a GPS receiver that recognizes the travel position of a vehicle body and that has autonomous travel means that travels along a recognized route in a recognized field area.

JP 2002-186309 A

  In order to detect the vehicle position with accuracy that can withstand practical use such as agriculture by GPS, it is necessary to use D-GPS (Differential GPS) or RTK-GPS (Real Time Kinetic GPS). (Mobile stations) are expensive, and separate reference stations are installed, or communication means with these reference stations is required.

  If the vehicle travels through a place where there is an obstacle that blocks GPS signals, such as in an orchard (in the case of an orchard, the fruit tree itself is an obstacle), the vehicle position May not be detected and may not be able to run as intended.

  Further, in the case of an automatic traveling vehicle using GPS, when setting the traveling route, detailed position data of the traveling route is required or teaching by an operator is necessary. However, in the former case, it is not easy to prepare detailed position data of the travel route. In the latter case, as described above, if the GPS signal cannot be received, teaching is difficult in the first place, and teaching must be performed again every time the travel route is changed.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a viewpoint, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic traveling vehicle that does not require detailed position data and teaching of a traveling route, and can greatly reduce the effort for setting the traveling route. It is to be.

In order to solve the above problems, an automatic traveling vehicle according to the present invention includes a vehicle main body, a detection unit that detects an object located at least on both sides of the vehicle main body, and a storage unit that stores an operation pattern of the vehicle main body. And a controller for controlling the operation of the vehicle body, wherein the vehicle body is caused to travel so as to draw an arc centered on an object located at one side of the vehicle body, and the vehicle body counting the number of objects passing through the side of, on the basis of the counted number of the object, it has a, and a controller to change the behavior of the vehicle body in accordance with the operation pattern, wherein the detection portion is detected The distance to the object can be measured, and the controller, among objects passing through the other side of the vehicle body, Counting the number of closer than the distance constant object.

  According to the present invention, there is provided an automatic traveling vehicle that does not require detailed position data and teaching of a traveling route, and that greatly reduces the effort for setting the traveling route.

1 is an external view of an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of an automatic traveling vehicle. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation | movement pattern given to an automatic traveling vehicle, and the unmanned driving by it. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation | movement pattern given to the automatic traveling vehicle containing a straight traveling, and the unmanned driving by it. It is a figure which shows an example of the image obtained with the perimeter camera provided with the axially symmetric optical member. It is a figure which shows the position of the object detected from the image | video shown in FIG.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an external view of an automatic traveling vehicle 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The automatic traveling vehicle according to the present invention is intended to circulate around an arbitrary object that is arranged at approximately equal intervals on the ground or floor by automatic driving. Therefore, the automatic traveling vehicle referred to in the present specification refers to a vehicle capable of unmanned traveling during the above-described rounding and patrol, and it does not matter whether it is manned / unmanned driving during other traveling. In addition, a target on which the automatic traveling vehicle 1 circulates and circulates is hereinafter referred to as an object. The practical role of the automatic traveling vehicle 1 and the specific substance of the object are not particularly limited, and the objects are arranged at approximately equal intervals, and the automatic traveling vehicle 1 circulates around the object. Anything is acceptable. In the present embodiment, the object is a fruit tree planted in an orchard, and the automatic traveling vehicle 1 is an agricultural vehicle that sprays chemicals such as agricultural chemicals on the fruit tree. However, this is merely an example of a practical role of the autonomous vehicle 1.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic traveling vehicle 1 is provided with a detection unit 3 that detects an object on a vehicle main body 2 that is a four-wheel-powered vehicle, and a spraying unit 4 that sprays a chemical toward both sides of the vehicle main body 2. Is. The vehicle body 2 is capable of both manned operation by an operator and unmanned operation by a controller 5 described later, and the manned / unmanned operation is switched by an operation or instruction by the operator. The form of the vehicle body 2 is not particularly limited, and may be selected appropriately. What is shown here is a two-wheel drive vehicle in which the front wheels are steering wheels and the rear wheels are drive wheels. However, this may be four-wheel drive or four-wheel steering, or may be a three-wheel vehicle or an endless track vehicle. The driving power is not limited, and may be an engine vehicle or an electric vehicle.

  The detection unit 3 is a sensor or a camera that detects an object located at least on both sides of the vehicle body 2. The detection unit 3 is preferably capable of measuring the distance between the vehicle main body 2 and the object using the detection result. Further, the detection range of the object by the detection unit 3 is sufficient if both sides of the vehicle body 2 are included, but it is desirable that the widest possible range around the vehicle body 2 can be detected. Preferably, the object can be detected. In the present embodiment, an all-round camera provided with an optical member that is axisymmetric with respect to the vertical axis is used as the detection unit 3 that can detect an object over the entire circumference of the vehicle body 2 and can measure the distance to the object. Adopted. In this type of omnidirectional camera, a single camera is usually placed vertically upward so that its optical axis is along the vertical axis, and is placed on the vertical axis, that is, the optical axis of the camera so as to face the camera. An axisymmetric curved mirror or lens is arranged. Then, the image of the entire circumference in the horizontal direction is reflected or refracted by the optical member and photographed by the camera. As the curved mirror, for example, a spherical surface, a conical surface, a (two-leaf) hyperboloid, or the like that is convex toward the camera is used. At this time, the camera itself includes a lens group which is an optical system used in a general camera. In addition, when taking a video image of the entire circumference in the horizontal direction with a lens, a lens for guiding the image of the entire circumference in the horizontal direction to the imaging surface of the camera by refraction is attached on the optical axis of the camera. An example of such a lens is a so-called fisheye lens. With these types of all-around cameras, the obtained image is distorted, but the entire circumference can be taken with one camera, the equipment cost is low, and the relative positional relationship of sensors such as multiple cameras It is easy to install and handle because there is no need to adjust. On the other hand, since the distortion becomes larger as the object is located farther from the camera, it is difficult to accurately measure the distance to the object located far away.

  Note that the type and number of the detection units 3 are not particularly limited, and are not limited to the all-around camera described above. For example, a scanning distance measuring device such as a so-called laser scanner may be used to measure the direction in which the object exists and its distance. In this case, a plurality of laser scanners may be attached to the vehicle body 2 according to the scanning range of the laser scanner. If the scanning range of the laser scanner to be used is about 180 °, by attaching two laser scanners to the left and right side surfaces of the vehicle body 2, it is possible to detect a wide range over the entire circumference. In the case of using a scanning distance measuring device, a plurality of distance measuring devices are required to set both sides of the vehicle body 2 as a detection range, resulting in an increase in cost and the relativeity of the plurality of scanning distance measuring devices. Troublesome adjustment of the positional relationship. On the other hand, there is no distortion in the measurement result obtained from the scanning rangefinder, and there is an advantage that the direction and distance can be obtained relatively accurately even for an object located far away. What is used for the detection unit 3 may be selected so as to satisfy practical performance in consideration of the application of the automatic traveling vehicle 1.

  The spraying unit 4 is a sprayer attached so as to be directed in the left-right direction of the vehicle body 2 and is capable of spraying chemicals such as agricultural chemicals independently from the left and right sprayers by unmanned control. In the drawing, the sprayer is a boom in which a plurality of spray nozzles are arranged on a vertically mounted boom. However, any type, number, and arrangement of sprayers may be used. Further, the spraying unit 4 itself is an example of a working member for work performed by the automatic traveling vehicle 1, and any arbitrary working member may be used depending on the use and purpose of the automatic traveling vehicle 1. Even when agriculture is assumed as an application, in addition to the chemical spray shown here, various purposes such as detection of crop growth and fertilization of soil are assumed, and the work members are different. Of course, if the application itself is different, the working member will be different. The working member mounted on the automatic traveling vehicle 1 can be replaced as appropriate.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the automatic traveling vehicle 1. The vehicle main body 2 of the automatic traveling vehicle 1 provides rotational driving force to the steering wheel 21 that is the front wheel, the steering motor 22 that changes the steering angle of the steering wheel 21, the driving wheel 23 that is the rear wheel, and the driving wheel 23. The driving motor 24 is electronically controlled by a controller 25 which is an information processing device. Here, the drive motor 24 is an electric motor, and the vehicle body 2 is an electric vehicle. However, the type of the prime mover is not limited, and an appropriate internal combustion engine such as a gasoline engine or a diesel engine may be used. A so-called hybrid of an internal combustion engine and an electric motor may be used.

  The operation unit 26 is a member for various operations when the automated traveling vehicle 1 is manned, and specifically includes a handle, a pedal such as an accelerator / brake, and various switches. In the present embodiment, when the automated traveling vehicle 1 performs manned driving by a crew member, the operation amount input to the operation unit 26 is transmitted to the controller 25, and the steering motor 22 or the like according to the operation amount is transmitted. The drive motor 24 is driven. On the other hand, when the automatic traveling vehicle 1 is unattended, the input from the operation unit 26 is not reflected in the traveling of the automatic traveling vehicle 1. Switching between the manned driving / unmanned driving of the automatic traveling vehicle 1 may be performed by changing the position of an appropriate switch provided in the operation unit 26, for example, a key switch.

  The interface 27 is a man-machine interface for inputting various information necessary for the unmanned operation of the autonomous vehicle 1 to the controller 25. The format of the interface 27 is not particularly limited and may be any type. For example, an operation box such as an arbitrary computer or teaching pendant connected so as to be communicable wirelessly or by wire may be used as the interface 27. Alternatively, an input device such as a touch panel display may be provided at an appropriate location of the autonomous vehicle 1, for example, the driver's seat, and the input device may be used as the interface 27. In any case, the operator uses the interface 27 to input parameters necessary for automatically traveling the autonomous vehicle 1 and an operation pattern described later to the controller 25.

  The storage unit 28 is information storage, and is preferably a nonvolatile memory. The storage unit 28 stores parameters and operation patterns necessary when the autonomous vehicle 1 performs automatic traveling. The controller 25 controls the automatic traveling vehicle 1 while referring to necessary parameters and operation patterns from the storage unit 28 when the automatic traveling vehicle 1 is unattended.

  In addition, the detection result obtained by the detection unit 3 is input to the controller 25 and used for control when the automatic traveling vehicle 1 is automatically driven. As described above, the spraying unit 4 is a sprayer here, and the presence or absence of spraying is controlled according to a command from the controller 25.

  The automatic traveling vehicle 1 is travel-controlled so as to circulate and circulate around the object detected by the detection unit 3 during automatic traveling by unmanned driving. For this reason, a basic operation is a traveling operation in which a circle around a certain object detected by the detection unit 3 is drawn.

  This lap driving is performed as follows. That is, when the detection unit 3 pays attention to the object detected on either the right side or the left side in the traveling direction of the automatic traveling vehicle 1 and the position of the object is on the right side of the automatic traveling vehicle 1. The object is always at a position that is 90 degrees clockwise with respect to the traveling direction of the automatic traveling vehicle 1 and the distance from the automatic traveling vehicle 1 to the object is a predetermined distance. Thus, the speed and steering angle of the vehicle body 2 are controlled. Alternatively, when the position of the object is on the left side of the automatic traveling vehicle 1, the object is always in the direction of 90 degrees counterclockwise with respect to the traveling direction of the automatic traveling vehicle 1, and automatically The speed and steering angle of the vehicle main body 2 are controlled so that the distance from the traveling vehicle 1 to the object is a predetermined distance. This control is performed by the controller 25. When r is a predetermined distance, the automatic traveling vehicle 1 is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise so as to draw an arc having a radius r centered on the object focused on. Become.

  At this time, the radius r of the circular traveling is determined so as to be approximately half of the distance between adjacent objects. In this way, if the object is located around one side of the vehicle body 2, the adjacent object passes through the other side and the position where the distance is approximately r. Become. The controller 25 counts the number of objects passing through the other side, and changes the operation of the vehicle main body 2 based on the counted number of objects. For example, the rotation direction of the circular traveling is reversed or the traveling is stopped. The count number for changing the operation of the vehicle body 2 and the content of the operation to be changed are stored in advance in the storage unit 28 as an operation pattern. Therefore, the controller 25 changes the operation of the vehicle body 2 according to the operation pattern based on the counted number of objects.

  Most simply, the operation pattern describes the number of counts to be reversed in the circulation direction in order. Of course, the operation pattern may also describe other operations that the vehicle body 2 should perform. Therefore, it can be said that the motion pattern describes in order the number of objects passing through the other side until at least the motion of the vehicle body 2 is changed.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an operation pattern given to the automatic traveling vehicle 1 and an unmanned operation based on the operation pattern. Here, it is assumed that six objects 5a to 5f, which are fruit trees, are arranged in two rows of three in the field, and this figure is a plan view of the field. The distance between adjacent objects, for example 5a and 5b or 5f, is approximately equal and 2r. Moreover, the position of the automatic traveling vehicle 1 is an initial position, and after being placed at the initial position by, for example, manned operation, the operation is switched to an unmanned operation by an operator, thereby starting automatic traveling. In addition, the black circle attached to the rectangle shown as the automatic traveling vehicle 1 indicates the traveling direction (forward) of the automatic traveling vehicle 1. Further, the given operation pattern of the automatic traveling vehicle 1, that is, the operation pattern stored in the storage unit 28 is a numerical string shown in the lower part of FIG.

  First, the automatic traveling vehicle 1 searches for an object existing on the left or right side of the vehicle body 2 by the detection unit 3. At this time, if the object is not found immediately, the vehicle may travel straight. In the illustrated example, since the object 5a is found on the left side of the vehicle body 2, the controller 25 sets the distance between the vehicle body 2 and the object 5a to r, and the direction of the object 5a to the left side of the vehicle body 2. In order to perform control so as to maintain the automatic traveling vehicle 1, the object 5a runs around the object 5a so as to draw an arc with a radius r counterclockwise.

  At this time, as the autonomous vehicle 1 travels, an adjacent object passes through the side opposite to the object 5a of the vehicle body 2, that is, the right side. In this example, first, the object 5f passes. Whether or not the object detected by the detection unit 3 is adjacent to the object 5a serving as the rotation center is determined based on the distance from the vehicle body 2. That is, it is determined that those whose distance from the vehicle body is approximately r are adjacent. On the other hand, when the autonomous vehicle 1 further travels and the object 5e is detected to the right of the vehicle body, the distance between the vehicle body and the object 5e is approximately (2√2-1) r. This is determined not to be adjacent. For this determination, for example, an appropriate threshold value is provided, and it is only necessary to determine the presence or absence of an adjacency depending on whether the distance from the object is smaller than the threshold value. For example, this threshold value is set to 1.3r to 1.5r.

  The controller 25 counts the number of passes each time an adjacent object passes. That is, the controller 25 counts the number of objects closer than a predetermined distance among the objects passing through the other side of the vehicle body. In the illustrated example, the count value becomes 1 when the object 5f passes, the count value becomes 2 when the object 5b passes, the count value becomes 3 when the object 5f passes again, and the count value becomes 3 when the object 5b passes further. The count value is 4.

  The controller 25 compares the count value with the numerical values described in the operation pattern in order. Here, among the numerical values described in the operation pattern, the first number “4” is referred to and compared by the controller 25. And if both number corresponds, the controller 25 will change operation | movement of the vehicle main body 2, and the rotation direction is reversed here. The trajectory from when the automatic traveling vehicle 1 starts automatic traveling to when the turning direction of the vehicle body 2 is first reversed is as shown in 100 in the figure. At this point, the automatic traveling vehicle 1 moves in the left direction in the figure. It is located in the middle between the object 5a and the object 5b. Then, the controller changes the object serving as the rotation center from the object 5a to the object 5b located on the opposite side.

  Thereby, the turning direction of the automatic traveling vehicle 1 is reversed. At the same time, the controller 25 resets the count value to 0 and refers to the next numerical value described in the operation pattern. Here, it is “4”. As a result, the automatic traveling vehicle 1 goes around the object 5b in a clockwise direction until it passes through the object 5c following the adjacent objects 5c, 5e, and 5a. This trajectory is as shown in FIG.

  At this point, the turning direction is changed again. That is, the object serving as the center of rotation is changed from the object 5b to the object 5c located on the opposite side, and the count value is reset to zero. The next numerical value described in the operation pattern is “3”. The result of this operation is as shown in the locus 102 in the figure.

  Similarly, as shown in the locus 103 for the next numerical value “3” described in the operation pattern, as shown in the locus 104 for the next numerical value “5”, and for the last numerical value “2”. The automatic traveling vehicle 1 travels as indicated by the trajectory 105.

  At the time when the travel indicated by the trajectory 105 is completed, the operation pattern does not include the following numerical values. Therefore, the controller 25 terminates the automatic traveling at this time, and the automatic traveling vehicle 1 stops.

  In addition, the automatic traveling vehicle 1 in this embodiment sprays a chemical | medical solution on the objects 5a-5f which are fruit trees by the dispersion | spreading part 4. FIG. Therefore, here, for example, when the automatic traveling vehicle 1 is traveling by the controller 25 so as to draw an arc centered on an object located on the left or right side, the scattering unit 4 on the object side is It is operated and sprayed with chemicals. In this way, as described above, since the automatic traveling vehicle 1 travels around the object to be sprayed, the chemical liquid is less likely to scatter to portions other than the spray target object. The amount of use is reduced, and the environmental load is small. In addition, since the automatic traveling vehicle 1 is operated unattended during the spraying of the chemical solution, the safety of farm work is also high.

  The operation pattern may include information for instructing the operation of the work member such as the spraying unit 4 such as the spraying of the chemical solution shown here. If a specific example is given, what is necessary is just to attach | subject "R" to a numerical value, etc., when spraying on the right side of a vehicle main body by the spraying part 4, and spraying on the left side. In this case, “4L” means to run around while spraying to the left until the count value reaches 4.

  As is clear from the description so far, the information that must be given to make the autonomous vehicle 1 run unattended is an action pattern. If the approximate arrangement of the target object is known, this action pattern is known. Can be created without knowing its exact location. Further, if the distance between adjacent objects is approximately equal, it is not required that the target object array has a specific regularity. Therefore, the arrangement of the objects is a square lattice as shown in FIG. The operation pattern can be easily corrected even when some objects are missing due to, for example, replanting of fruit trees.

  The motion pattern described above is such that the automatic traveling vehicle 1 travels around a plurality of objects only by traveling around the object so as to draw a circular arc. good. This straight running is also performed according to the description of the operation pattern. Then, in the straight running for traveling around a plurality of objects, first, the automatic running vehicle 1 runs so as to draw an arc centered on a specific object until the vehicle 1 is directed in a straight direction, and then the next operation change. And a step of running straight ahead until

  The first step is located at one side of the center object, that is, one side of the vehicle main body 2 while continuing the round trip for the object that is the center of the current round trip of the autonomous vehicle 1 described above. The detection unit 3 detects the position of an object that is adjacent to the object and located on the same side with respect to the vehicle body 2. Then, the controller 25 continues the circling until the straight line connecting the object serving as the center of the circling and the adjacent object located on the same side is parallel to the vehicle body 2.

  When the straight line connecting the object that becomes the center of the round trip and the adjacent object becomes parallel to the vehicle main body 2, as a next step, the controller 25 sets the steering angle of the steered wheels 21 to 0 degree and causes the vehicle main body 2 to travel straight ahead.

  Then, when the straight traveling is continued until an object adjacent to one side of the vehicle body 2 comes, the operation is changed and the straight traveling is terminated. The action to be performed next is determined based on the action pattern, and usually it may be a round run with the adjacent object as a new center, but it may be a new straight run.

  Geometrically, the above-mentioned straight traveling travels on the common tangent line when considering the object having the center of the circular traveling first and the circle of radius r centering on the object adjacent to the object. It has become a thing.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation pattern given to the automatic traveling vehicle 1 including straight traveling and an unmanned operation based thereon. Here, the arrangement of the six objects 5a to 5f, which are fruit trees, is the same as in the case of FIG. Further, the given operation pattern of the automatic traveling vehicle 1, that is, the operation pattern stored in the storage unit 28 is the numerical value sequence shown in the lower part of FIG. 4, and “0” in the numerical value sequence indicates the above-mentioned straight traveling It means.

  First, the automatic traveling vehicle 1 searches for an object existing on either the left or right side of the vehicle body 2 by the detection unit 3 as in the previous example. In the illustrated example, since the object 5a is found on the right side of the vehicle body 2, the controller 25 sets the distance between the vehicle body 2 to the object 5a to r and the direction of the object 5a to the right side of the vehicle body 2. In order to control the vehicle so as to maintain the direction, the automatic traveling vehicle 1 travels in an arc with a radius r around the object 5a in the clockwise direction.

  Since the first numerical value of the motion pattern is “2”, the automatic traveling vehicle 1 has a trajectory 200 until the two objects, the object 5b and the object 5f, pass the side of the vehicle body 2 opposite to the center of the circular traveling. Run around as shown in. Here, the controller 25 resets the count value and refers to the next numerical value of the operation pattern.

  Next, the numerical value of the operation pattern read into the controller is “0”. In this example, “0” means the straight traveling described above. Therefore, as a first step, the controller first sets an object adjacent to the object 5a that is the center of the current orbit, that is, an object whose distance from the object 5a is approximately 2r, on the same side as the object 5a, here, Search from the right side of the vehicle body. Since the vehicle body 2 faces downward in the figure at the end of the previous round travel, such an object cannot be found, but if the round travel around the object 5a continues, When 2 passes the lower side of the object 5a in the figure, the object 5b is found by the detection unit 3 as an adjacent object. The controller 25 continues the circular traveling around the object 5a until the straight line connecting the object 5b and the object 5a is parallel to the traveling direction of the vehicle main body 2, and then sets the steering angle to 0 as the next step. Drive 2 straight ahead. The state of this traveling is as shown by the locus 201 in the figure.

  Furthermore, when the detection unit 3 detects that an arbitrary object, here the object 5b, has come to one side of the vehicle body 2, here rightward, during the straight traveling, the controller 25 further moves the vehicle body. The next numerical value of the operation pattern is referred to change the operation of 2. Since the numerical value to be read next is “3”, the automatic traveling vehicle 1 performs the circular traveling around the object 5b as a new center as indicated by the locus 202 in the drawing.

  Next, since the numerical value of the operation pattern read into the controller 25 is “0” again, which means that the vehicle travels straight, the traveling state of the automatic traveling vehicle 1 is as shown by a locus 203. Thereafter, according to the numerical value of the operation pattern, in the example shown in the figure, the autonomous mobile vehicle 1 performs unmanned operation as indicated by the tracks 204 to 210 and stops.

  In the control described above, the traveling direction of the vehicle body 2 when the vehicle travels straight is determined based on the detection result of the object by the detection unit 3. For this reason, the automatic traveling vehicle 1 is automatically oriented so that it can run around the next object, even with respect to the part where the object is placed at a corner, in the example of FIG. 4, the objects 5c and 5d. Detect and travel. Therefore, when an operator creates an action pattern, it is not necessary to consider the arrangement of objects separately, and the creation and change of an action pattern is extremely easy.

  By the way, as described above, in controlling the automatic traveling vehicle 1, the type of the detection unit 3 is not particularly limited as described above. However, as employed in the present embodiment, when an omnidirectional camera including an optical member that is axially symmetric with respect to the vertical axis is used as the detection unit 3, the obtained image is distorted. Therefore, a control method for causing the vehicle body 2 of the automatic traveling vehicle 1 to travel around based on this image will be described below.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of an image obtained by an omnidirectional camera equipped with an axially symmetric optical member, which is a detection unit 3 mounted on an automatic traveling vehicle 1 traveling between a plurality of objects 5 such as fruit trees. FIG. As shown in the figure, the image obtained by the camera is an image reflected on an axisymmetric optical member, here, a hyperboloidal mirror, and the whole image is circular. The upward direction in the figure coincides with the traveling direction of the vehicle main body 2, and in the figure, the appearance of the automatic traveling vehicle 1 itself and a number of objects 5 are distorted.

  By performing appropriate image processing on this video, the distance and direction of the object 5 to the vehicle body can be known. When the object 5 is a fruit tree, the image processing may be, for example, processing for detecting the root position of the trunk. When it is difficult to detect the position of the trunk, for example, the object 5 can be easily detected by attaching a member different from the surrounding colors, such as wrapping a specific color, for example, a red sheet around the base of each object 5. It may be.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the position of the object 5 detected from the video shown in FIG. In the figure, the detected position of each object 5 is indicated by X. The coordinate system is set with the imaging center as the origin O, the traveling direction of the vehicle body 2 as the y direction, and the right direction with respect to the traveling direction as the x direction. At this time, paying attention to the object indicated by A and considering the line segment OA connecting the origin and the object A, since the optical member used by the all-around camera is axisymmetric with respect to the vertical axis, the line segment OA and the x axis Is equal to an angle formed by a direction in which the object A can be seen from the actual vehicle body 2 and a direction that is 90 degrees clockwise with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle body 2. The length l of the line segment OA does not have a simple proportional relationship, but corresponds to the actual distance L between the vehicle body 2 and the object A. That is, there is a function f, and l = f (L). The function f varies depending on the shape of the optical member used by the all-around camera, the arrangement of the all-around camera itself, particularly the height from the ground.

  And as described above, in order to make the vehicle body 2 run around a certain object, the object always has a direction of 90 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle body 2. In addition, the speed and the steering angle are controlled so that the distance from the vehicle body 2 becomes a predetermined distance. On the image plane shown in FIG. 6, this means that if the object A is the center of the circular travel, the angle θ is 0 (in the case of clockwise rotation) or π (in the case of counterclockwise rotation). Also, if the target turning radius of the round trip is r, it means that the length l of the line segment OA may be controlled to a predetermined value of f (r). ing. This indicates that the control input for the speed and the steering angle can be set from the coordinates of the object A on the image plane shown in FIG. 6, and the image shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. It is not necessary to remove the distortion by deformation. Therefore, when obtaining a control input for controlling the angle θ to 0 or π and l to a predetermined value from the coordinates of the object A on the image plane, the amount of information processing to be performed by the controller 25 is reduced. High-speed and stable automatic control can be obtained at low cost. The control input may be arbitrarily set. For example, when the target value of the steering angle when the traveling speed of the vehicle body 2 is constant is used as the control input, the target value of the steering angle is By modeling the behavior of the vehicle body 2 and the relationship between the coordinates on the image obtained by the all-around camera and the position on the actual coordinates, it can be obtained as a function of the coordinates of the object A on the image plane.

  Note that when the autonomous vehicle 1 actually travels, the ground state is not necessarily ideal, and therefore, disturbance due to external factors such as slip is expected. Therefore, it is desirable to perform appropriate robust control or adaptive control in the control. These control methods are not particularly limited. For example, so-called H∞ control or sliding mode control may be used as the robust control. Alternatively, stabilization control using a Lyapunov function may be performed.

  According to another aspect of the embodiment of the present invention described above, the detection unit can measure the distance to the detected object, and the controller includes, among objects passing through the other side of the vehicle body, Count the number of objects closer than a predetermined distance. Thereby, it is possible to accurately count the number of objects passing through the other side of the vehicle main body without being influenced by the presence or absence of objects arranged far away.

  Further, according to still another aspect of the embodiment of the present invention, the detection unit can detect an object adjacent to an object located on at least one side, and the controller can detect the vehicle body on the one side. The vehicle body is caused to travel so as to draw an arc centered on the object located on the one side until the vehicle body is parallel to a straight line connecting the object located at the object and the adjacent object, and then the vehicle body Drive to go straight ahead. As a result, the automatic traveling vehicle can automatically sense a direction in which the vehicle can go around the next object and can travel straight ahead.

  According to still another aspect of the embodiment of the present invention, the motion pattern describes at least the number of objects that pass through the other side until the motion of the vehicle body is changed. is there. Thereby, the traveling route of an automatic traveling vehicle can be set simply.

  According to still another aspect of the embodiment of the present invention, the detection unit is an omnidirectional camera including an optical member that is axisymmetric with respect to a vertical axis, and is on an image plane captured by the omnidirectional camera. The distance between the origin on the image plane of the object located on one side and the origin, where the imaging center is the origin O, the traveling direction of the vehicle body is the y direction, and the right direction of the vehicle body is the x direction. Where l is the angle formed by the x-axis and the straight line connecting the position on the image plane of the object located on the one side and the origin and the x axis, the controller sets l to a predetermined value and θ is 0 Alternatively, by controlling to be π, the vehicle body is caused to travel so as to draw an arc centered on an object located on one side. As a result, the amount of information processing to be performed by the controller is reduced, and high-speed and stable automatic control can be obtained at low cost.

  According to still another aspect of the embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle body is caused to travel so as to draw an arc centered on an object located on one side of the vehicle body; A step of counting the number of objects passing through the other side, and a step of changing the operation of the vehicle body according to a predetermined operation pattern based on the counted number of objects. A control method is provided. Thereby, it is possible to control the automatic traveling vehicle so that detailed position data and teaching of the traveling route are unnecessary, and the labor for setting the traveling route is greatly reduced.

  Note that the embodiment described above is an example for realizing the present invention, and the shape and structure thereof may be appropriately changed by those skilled in the art.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic traveling vehicle, 2 Vehicle main body, 3 Detection part, 4 Spreading part, 5, 5a-5f Object, 21 Steering wheel, 22 Steering motor, 23 Driving wheel, 24 Driving motor, 25 Controller, 26 Operation part, 27 Interface, 28 storage, 100-105 trajectory, 200-210 trajectory.

Claims (5)

A vehicle body,
A detection unit that detects at least an object located on both sides of the vehicle body;
A storage unit for storing an operation pattern of the vehicle body;
A controller for controlling the operation of the vehicle body, at least,
Running the vehicle body to draw an arc centered on an object located on one side of the vehicle body;
Count the number of objects that pass the other side of the vehicle body,
A controller that changes the operation of the vehicle body according to the operation pattern based on the counted number of the objects;
I have a,
The detection unit can measure the distance to the detected object,
The controller counts the number of objects closer than a predetermined distance among objects passing through the other side of the vehicle body . The detection unit is capable of detecting an object adjacent to an object located at least on the one side,
The controller draws an arc centering on the object located on the one side until the vehicle body is parallel to a straight line connecting the object located on the one side and the adjacent object. The automatic traveling vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle main body is caused to travel, and thereafter the vehicle main body is caused to travel straight ahead. The automatic traveling vehicle according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the movement pattern describes at least the number of objects that pass through the other side until the movement of the vehicle main body is changed. The detection unit is an all-around camera provided with an optical member that is axisymmetric with respect to a vertical axis,
On the image plane imaged by the all-around camera, the center of imaging is the origin O, the traveling direction of the vehicle body is the y direction, the right direction of the vehicle body is the x direction, and the object located on the one side is If the distance between the position on the image plane and the origin is l, and the angle formed by the straight line connecting the position on the image plane and the origin of the object located on the one side and the x axis is θ,
The controller causes the vehicle body to travel so as to draw an arc centered on an object located on one side by controlling l to a predetermined value and θ to be 0 or π. The automatic traveling vehicle according to any one of 1 to 3 . Running the vehicle body so as to draw an arc centered on an object located on one side of the vehicle body;
A step of counting the number of objects passing through the other side of the vehicle body, measuring a distance to the detected object, and selecting a predetermined object among objects passing through the other side of the vehicle body Counting the number of objects closer than the distance ;
Changing the operation of the vehicle body according to a predetermined operation pattern based on the counted number of the objects;
A control method for an autonomous vehicle having

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