THIS PAPER INTRODUCES A NEW METHOD CALLED GLOBAL VISION FOR THE INTELLIGENT CONTROL OF MULTIPLE FREE-RANGING AUTOMATIC GUIDED VEHICLES (AGVS) SYSTEMS. GLOBAL VISION CAN PROVIDE A MEANS TO ROBUSTLY CONTROL FREE-RANGING VEHICLES THROUGH THE USE OF STATIONARY CAMERAS MOUNTED AT STRATEGIC LOCATIONS IN THE WORKSPACE TO SUPPLEMENT THE LOCAL SENSING ON BOARD EACH VEHICLE. THE INFORMATION FROM THE STATIONARY CAMERAS EXPANDS THE TYPE OF INTELLIGENT CONTROL STRATEGIES AVAILABLE TO THE SYSTEM BECAUSE IT CAN BE USED TO: MONITOR THE WORKSPACE TO DETECT AND TRACK POTENTIAL OBSTACLES BOTH IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY OF EACH VEHICLE AND OVER ITS INTENDED PATH, RE-ROUTE A VEHICLE TO AVOID UNNECESSARY BACKTRACKING, TRACK EACH VEHICLE ALONG ITS INTENDED PATH TO BOUND ERRORS IN ITS DEAD-RECKONING SENSORS, AND MONITOR THE LOAD ABOARD EACH VEHICLE TO DETECT POSITIONING ERRORS. A SYSTEM WITH THESE CAPABILITIES
| Number of Pages : | 12 |
| Published : | 06/01/1991 |
