Design of flexible autonomous transport robots for industrial production

Autonomously guided vehicles (AGVs) are a key element to perform flexible transport tasks in industrial production. At present AGVs, usually guided via induction wires laid in the floor, are widely used for material transport. The ESPRIT-project RETRARO addresses, in an trial application, advanced data processing techniques to develop a free navigation capability for the AGV in order to achieve a higher operational flexibility. On basis of the REAKT real-time expert system and a low cost range detection system using sensor data fusion, the following functionalities are provided: algorithms for efficient path planning and health monitoring; economic sensor systems to provide navigation and obstacle avoidance functions; and the combination of free navigation capabilities with an existing wire-guided AGV system. There results a flexible transport system, able to adapt to changing production configurations. This paper provides details of this approach and reports on the trial implementation in a spinning mill.