Autonomous vehicle
AssigneePreferred Robotics, Inc.
InventorsTakahiro Yamana, Yoshito Ito, Koji Terada, Toru Isobe
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An autonomous vehicle with a reduced risk of collision during conveyance is provided. The autonomous vehicle docks with a conveyance target and conveys the conveyance target. The autonomous vehicle includes a docking mechanism configured to dock with the conveyance target, a sensor configured to acquire object position data related to a position of an object within a measurement range, and a controller configured to control, based on the object position data acquired from the sensor, the conveyance performed by the autonomous vehicle docked with the conveyance target. The measurement range of the sensor includes at least an area above the autonomous vehicle.
Claims29
An autonomous vehicle configured to dock with a conveyance target and to convey the conveyance target, the autonomous vehicle comprising:
- a docking mechanism configured to dock with the conveyance target;
- a sensor, having a vertical angle of view that is an acute angle and a horizontal angle of view, configured to acquire object position data related to a position of an object within a measurement range that is based at least in part on the vertical angle of view and the horizontal angle of view, the sensor installed to be inclined at a predetermined angle relative to a travel surface, on which the autonomous vehicle travels, such that a center of the vertical angle of view of the sensor faces forward and obliquely upward relative to the travel surface of the autonomous vehicle;
- and
- a controller configured to control, based on the object position data acquired from the sensor, the conveyance performed by the autonomous vehicle docked with the conveyance target,
- wherein the measurement range of the sensor includes at least an area above the autonomous vehicle,
- a front part of the autonomous vehicle has a front surface and a recess having an opening formed in the front surface, and
- the sensor is installed inside the recess, at a location set back from the opening of the recess toward an interior of the recess, to be inclined at the predetermined angle relative to the travel surface such that the center of the vertical angle of view of the sensor faces forward and obliquely upward relative to the travel surface.
An autonomous vehicle configured to dock with a conveyance target and to convey the conveyance target, the autonomous vehicle comprising:
- a docking mechanism configured to dock with the conveyance target;
- a sensor, having a vertical angle of view that is an acute angle and a horizontal angle of view, configured to acquire object position data related to a position of an object within a measurement range based on the vertical angle of view and the horizontal angle of view, the sensor installed to be inclined at a predetermined angle relative to a travel surface, on which the autonomous vehicle travels, such that a center of the vertical angle of view of the sensor faces forward and obliquely upward relative to the travel surface of the autonomous vehicle, and
- a controller configured to control, based on the object position data acquired from the sensor, the conveyance performed by the autonomous vehicle docked with the conveyance target,
- wherein the measurement range of the sensor includes at least an area above the autonomous vehicle,
- the controller is configured to set the measurement range having a different width in a vertical direction according to the conveyance target to be docked, in acquiring the object position data,
- a front part of the autonomous vehicle has a front surface and a recess having an opening formed in the front surface, and
- the sensor is installed inside the recess, at a location set back from the opening of the recess toward an interior of the recess, to be inclined at the predetermined angle relative to the travel surface such that the center of the vertical angle of view of the sensor faces forward and obliquely upward relative to the travel surface.
An autonomous vehicle configured to dock with a conveyance target and to convey the conveyance target, the autonomous vehicle comprising:
- drive wheels provided in a width direction of the autonomous vehicle, each drive wheel being coaxially provided with respect to a rotational axis of the other drive wheel and configured to be driven independently of the other drive wheel;
- a docking mechanism configured to dock with the conveyance target, the docking mechanism including a conveyance-target docking part at a center position of the drive wheels provided in the width direction so as to be on the rotational axis of each drive wheel provided in the width direction;
- a sensor, having a vertical angle of view that is an acute angle and a horizontal angle of view, configured to acquire object position data related to a position of an object within a measurement range defined based on the vertical angle of view and the horizontal angle of view, the sensor installed to be inclined at a predetermined angle relative to a travel surface, on which the autonomous vehicle travels, such that a center of the vertical angle of view of the sensor faces forward and obliquely upward relative to the travel surface of the autonomous vehicle;
- and
- a controller configured to control, based on the object position data acquired from the sensor, the conveyance performed by the autonomous vehicle docked with the conveyance target,
- wherein the measurement range of the sensor includes at least an area above the autonomous vehicle,
- a front part of the autonomous vehicle has a front surface and a recess having an opening formed in the front surface, and
- the sensor is installed inside the recess, at a location set back from the opening of the recess toward an interior of the recess, to be inclined at the predetermined angle relative to the travel surface such that the center of the vertical angle of view of the sensor faces forward and obliquely upward relative to the travel surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.