System of autonomous vehicles

A system comprising:

• N unmanned autonomous vehicles, where N≧2;
• a control device for at least partially controlling at least one of the autonomous vehicles;
• an operational area with a floor over which the vehicles can move, wherein the vehicles are each configured to travel independently over one or more routes which are possible for that vehicle, wherein for at least one vehicle at least one of the possible routes intersects at least at one point with at least one possible route of another of the vehicles;
• at least one predefined place which adjoins the operational area, with in total M predefined positions which are each provided with at least one detection device to detect the presence of one of the vehicles and to signal the presence to the control device, where M≧2,
• wherein the control device is
• configured to
• collect in the control device of a presence status of each of the vehicles to determine a condition for the system, and wherein the presence status comprises the presence of the vehicle at a predefined place as detected by the at least one detection device,
• determine on the basis of the presence statuses whether a condition is ‘safe’ for the system,
• control by way of the control device a first vehicle to perform a travel action only if the condition is identified as ‘safe’ for the system and for this travel action,
• wherein the travel action is chosen from:
• a route travel action, comprising the travelling of a route through the operational area, starting from one of the predefined places, and
• an advancing action, comprising the travelling within one of the predefined places from a first detection device to a second detection device which is not yet occupied, in particular via an advancing route,
• and wherein the condition is ‘safe’, if:
• the travel action relates to a route travel action or an advancing action, and each of the vehicles has a presence status “detected as present at one of the predefined places”, or
• the travel action relates to an advancing action, and at most one vehicle has the status “not present at one of the predefined places”.

A system comprising:

• N unmanned autonomous vehicles, where N≧2;
• control means for at least partially controlling at least one of the autonomous vehicles;
• an operational area with a floor over which the vehicles can move, wherein the vehicles are each configured to travel independently over one or more routes which are possible for that vehicle, wherein for at least one vehicle at least one of the possible routes intersects at least at one point with at least one possible route of another of the vehicles;
• at least one predefined place which adjoins the operational area, with in total M predefined positions which are each provided with at least one detection device to detect the presence of one of the vehicles and to signal the presence to the control means, where M≧2,
• wherein the control means is further a means for
• collecting a presence status of each of the vehicles to determine a condition for the system, and wherein the presence status comprises the presence of the vehicle at one of the predefined places as detected by the at least one detection device,
• determining on the basis of the presence states whether a condition is ‘safe’ for the system,
• controlling a first vehicle to perform a travel action only if the condition is identified as ‘safe’ for the system and for this travel action,
• wherein the travel action is chosen from:
• a route travel action, comprising the travelling of a route through the operational area, starting from one of the predefined places, and
• an advancing action, comprising the travelling within one of the predefined places from a first detection device to a second detection device which is not yet occupied, in particular via an advancing route,
• and wherein the condition is ‘safe’, if:
• the travel action relates to a route travel action or an advancing action, and each of the vehicles has a presence status “detected as present at one of the predefined places”, or
• the travel action relates to an advancing action, and at most one vehicle has the status “not present at one of the predefined places”.