Autonomous travel cart

An autonomous travel cart travelling autonomously in accordance with a travel route, the autonomous travel cart comprising:

• an obstacle detection device having a two-dimensional planer obstacle detection flat region where a laser beam is scanned, and outputting a detection information including an obstacle position which is a position of an obstacle in the obstacle detection flat region;
• and
• a control device controlling the autonomous travel cart to travel autonomously based on the detection information from the obstacle detection device, wherein
• the control device includes:
• a surroundings information acquisition unit that acquires a surroundings information around the autonomous travel cart in the front thereof based on the detection information input from the obstacle detection device;
• an entrance determination unit that determines whether or not the autonomous travel cart has entered a narrow path in which fixed obstacles are disposed on both sides of the autonomous travel cart in the width direction thereof based on the surrounding information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit;
• a wall length detection unit that detects wall lengths of wall portions from the autonomous travel cart to an exit end of the narrow path, the wall portions being formed by the fixed obstacles disposed on both sides of the autonomous travel cart in the width direction thereof, when the entrance determination unit determines that the autonomous travel cart has entered the narrow path;
• a wall length determination unit that determines whether or not the respective wall lengths detected by the wall length detection unit are greater than a predetermined wall length threshold;
• and
• a narrow path travel control unit that controls the autonomous travel cart to travel at a normal speed when the wall length determination unit determines that the wall lengths detected by the wall length detection unit are greater than the predetermined wall length threshold, and controls the autonomous travel cart to decelerate and travel at a predetermined reduced speed when the wall length determination unit determines that at least one of the wall lengths detected by the wall length detection unit is equal to or less than the predetermined wall length threshold.