Method for determining a direction of travel and/or a change in position and/or a speed of a driverless transport vehicle, driverless transport vehicle and driverless transport system

A driverless transport vehicle, comprising:

• a vehicle frame;
• an optical sensor coupled to an underside of the vehicle frame, the optical sensor being directed towards and configured to monitor a ground region on which the driverless transport vehicle travels, wherein the optical sensor comprises a plurality of optically sensitive pixels, and the optical sensor comprises fewer than 500 optically sensitive pixels;
• a light source disposed adjacent the optical sensor and emitting in a near-infrared range, such that the light source is configured to illuminate a portion of the ground region monitored by the optical sensor, wherein the optical sensor is configured to record measurement data of the illuminated ground region and transmit the measurement data to an evaluation unit;
• the evaluation unit is configured to determine at least one of a direction of travel, a change in position, or a speed of the driverless transport vehicle based on the measurement data recorded by the optical sensor;
• and
• a controller that is configured to control at least one of a drive motor or a steering device of the driverless transport vehicle, wherein the controller is configured to receive the at least one of the determined direction of travel, the change in position, and the speed supplied by the evaluation unit as an actual value and to control the at least one of the drive motor or the steering device.

A method for controlling a driverless transport vehicle, the method comprising:

• providing an optical sensor on an underside of a vehicle frame of the driverless transport vehicle, wherein the optical sensor is directed towards a ground region on which the driverless transport vehicle travels, and wherein the optical sensor comprises a plurality of optically sensitive pixels, and the optical sensor comprises fewer than 500 optically sensitive pixels;
• illuminating the ground on which the driverless transport vehicle travels with a light source of the driverless transport vehicle, wherein the light source is disposed adjacent the optical sensor and emits in a near-infrared range, such that the ground region in which the optical sensor is directed is illuminated by the light source;
• recording measurement data using the optical sensor, wherein the measurement data comprises a plurality of images of the illuminated ground region;
• transmitting the measurement data to an evaluation unit in the driverless transport vehicle;
• comparing a sequence of the measurement data following one another in time;
• determining at least one of a direction of travel, a change in position, or a speed of the driverless transport vehicle using the recorded, transmitted, and compared measurement data;
• and
• controlling at least one of a drive motor or a steering device of the driverless transport vehicle using a controller of the driverless transport vehicle, and at least one of the direction of travel, the change in position, or the speed of the driverless transport vehicle is determined and supplied to the controller as an actual value based on the recorded, transmitted, and compared measurement data.