Systems and methods for operating robotic equipment in controlled zones

A self-driving vehicle for operating within a facility having a controlled zone, the self-driving vehicle comprising:

• a vehicle chassis;
• at least one drive motor mounted on the chassis for driving at least one drive wheel;
• at least one sensor mounted on the chassis;
• a processor in communication with the at least one drive motor and at least one sensor;
• and
• a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon for configuring the processor to:
• identify a predetermined inspection location associated with the controlled zone, the predetermined inspection location being defined relative to the controlled zone to enable the self-driving vehicle to capture environmental data in respect of an operational state of a machine located in the controlled zone;
• determine that the self-driving vehicle is at the predetermined inspection location;
• while the self-driving vehicle is at the predetermined inspection location, use the at least one sensor to capture the environmental data;
• determine whether the controlled zone is in a safe state based on the operational state of the machine by comparing the captured environmental data with a safe-state environmental data, the safe-state environmental data being associated with the operational state of the machine when the controlled zone is in the safe state;
• and
• in response to determining the controlled zone is not in the safe state, operate the self-driving vehicle in a safe mode of operation, otherwise, operate the self-driving vehicle in a normal mode of operation.