METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR AUTOMATED TRANSPORTATION OF ITEMS BETWEEN VARIABLE ENDPOINTS

• US 20160187886A1
• Filed: 08/26/2015
• Published: 06/30/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Harvest Automation, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Harvest Automation, Inc.
• Inventors: Jones, Joseph L., Vu, Clara, Sandin, Paul E., Grinnell, Charles M.
• Granted Patent: US 9,568,917 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/00 Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots drive control systems specially adapted for autonomous road vehicles B60W60/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0214 in accordance with safety or protection criteria, e.g. avoiding hazardous areas monitoring the location of vehicles within a certain area, e.g. forbidden or allowed areas, in traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/13
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0234 using optical markers or beacons optical beacons per se G01S1/70
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0244 using reflecting strips
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/01 Mobile robot

Abstract

An automated system for transporting items between variable endpoints includes a guidance system for identifying the endpoints and at least one autonomous mobile robot interacting with the guidance system for automatically moving items between the endpoints. The at least one robot is configured to (a) collect an item to be transported at a source end point, (b) travel to a destination endpoint utilizing the guidance system to locate the destination endpoint, (c) deliver the item to the destination endpoint, and (d) repeat (a) through (c) for a given set of items. The guidance system is dynamically reconfigurable to identify new endpoints.

Claims

1. An automated material handling system comprising:

a reconfigurable guidance system configured to dynamically identify a changeable source endpoint and a changeable destination endpoint; and

at least one autonomous mobile robot interacting with the guidance system for automatically moving items between the dynamically identified changeable source endpoint and the dynamically identified changeable destination endpoint;

wherein the at least one autonomous mobile robot is configured to automatically and dynamically adapt to an identified dynamic change of the dynamically identified changeable source endpoint or the dynamically identified changeable destination endpoint, which identified dynamic change to the dynamically identified changeable source endpoint or the dynamically identified changeable destination endpoint is effected while the at least one autonomous mobile robot is in autonomous operation.

2. The automated material handling system of claim 1, wherein the at least one autonomous mobile robot is configured to:

collect an item to be transported at a dynamically identified source endpoint;

travel to a dynamically identified destination endpoint utilizing the reconfigurable guidance system to locate the dynamically identified destination endpoint; and

deliver the item to the dynamically identified destination endpoint.

3. The automated material handling system of claim 1, wherein the reconfigurable guidance system defines a route to the dynamically identified changeable source endpoint and the dynamically identified changeable destination endpoint, comprising route markers that are detectable by the at least one autonomous mobile robot to guide the at least one autonomous mobile robot to the dynamically identified changeable source endpoint and the dynamically identified changeable destination endpoint.

4. The automated material handling system of claim 3, wherein the at least one autonomous mobile robot is configured to servo on each marker at an offset position relative to the marker, wherein the offset position can be automatically changed to avoid colliding with another robot servoing on the marker.

5. The automated material handling system of claim 1, wherein the reconfigurable guidance system comprises a plurality of beacons, each beacon identifying a different endpoint.

6. The automated material handling system of claim 1, wherein the reconfigurable guidance system comprises a plurality of beacons, each beacon identifying a series of intermediate locations leading to an endpoint.

7. The automated material handling system of claim 1, wherein the at least one autonomous mobile robot includes a range sensor configured to detect obstacles or other robots in its travel path.

8. The automated material handling system of claim 7, wherein the at least one autonomous mobile robot is configured to change its travel path to avoid the obstacle or other robot blocking its travel path or to wait until the travel path is unblocked.

9. The automated material handling system of claim 7, wherein the range sensor is configured to distinguish between the detected obstacles and the detected robots.

10. The automated material handling system of claim 1, wherein the at least one autonomous mobile robot includes a plurality of robots, each robot being configured to detect a presence of other robots and form a queue when another robot is detected in its travel path at an endpoint.

11. The automated material handling system of claim 1, wherein the at least one autonomous mobile robot includes a mechanism to load or unload the items at the dynamically identified changeable source endpoint and the dynamically identified changeable destination endpoint.

12. The automated material handling system of claim 1, wherein the at least one autonomous mobile robot is configured for manual loading and unloading of items to and from the at least one autonomous mobile robot.

13. The automated material handling system of claim 1, wherein each of the at least one autonomous mobile robot comprises:

a chassis;

an apparatus on the chassis for carrying an item;

a drive subsystem for maneuvering the chassis;

a subsystem on the chassis for interacting with the reconfigurable guidance system;

an obstacle detection subsystem on the chassis; and

a controller on the chassis responsive to the subsystem for interacting with the reconfigurable guidance system and the obstacle detection subsystem and being configured to control the drive subsystem to travel between the dynamically identified changeable source endpoint and the dynamically identified changeable destination endpoint.

14. An automated material handling system comprising:

a reconfigurable guidance system configured to dynamically identify a changeable source endpoint and a changeable destination endpoint;

an undeterministic travel surface along which the changeable source endpoint and the changeable destination endpoint are located; and

at least one autonomous mobile robot configured to

traverse the undeterministic travel surface, and

interact with the guidance system for automatically moving items between the dynamically identified changeable source endpoint and the dynamically identified changeable destination endpoint along the undeterministic travel surface;

wherein the at least one autonomous mobile robot is configured so that the undeterministic travel surface provides holonomic selectable paths for the at least one autonomous mobile robot substantially everywhere on the undeterministic travel surface, each of the paths being freely selectable by the at least one autonomous mobile robot for traversing along the undeterministic travel surface upon identification of a dynamic change of one or more of the changeable source endpoint and the changeable destination endpoint, where the identification of the dynamic change of one or more of the changeable source endpoint and the changeable destination endpoint is effected while the at least one autonomous mobile robot is in autonomous operation.

15. The automated material handling system of claim 14, wherein the reconfigurable guidance system is configured to change a location of one or more of the changeable source endpoint and the changeable destination endpoint and the at least one autonomous mobile robot is configured to dynamically adapt to the changed locations.

16. The automated material handling system of claim 15, wherein the at least one autonomous mobile robot is configured to dynamically adapt to the changed locations free from operation intervention.

17. The automated material handling system of claim 15, wherein the reconfigurable guidance system defines a route to the dynamically identified changeable source endpoint and the dynamically identified changeable destination endpoint, comprising route markers that are detectable by the at least one autonomous mobile robot to guide the at least one autonomous mobile robot to the dynamically identified changeable source endpoint and the dynamically identified changeable destination endpoint.

18. The automated material handling system of claim 17, wherein each marker comprises a retro-reflective material and each of the at least one autonomous mobile robot includes a marker detecting sensor for detecting the retro-reflective material.

19. The automated material handling system of claim 15, wherein the reconfigurable guidance system comprises a plurality of beacons, each beacon identifying a different endpoint.

20. The automated material handling system of claim 15, wherein the reconfigurable guidance system comprises a plurality of beacons, each beacon identifying a series of intermediate locations leading to an endpoint.

21. A method for automated material handling using an autonomous mobile robot, said method implemented in a microprocessor-based controller of the autonomous mobile robot comprising the steps of:

(a) controlling the autonomous mobile robot to interact with a reconfigurable guidance system that can dynamically identify a changeable source endpoint and a changeable destination endpoint;

(b) controlling the autonomous mobile robot to automatically move items between the dynamically identified changeable source endpoint and the dynamically identified changeable destination endpoint; and

(c) controlling the autonomous mobile robot to automatically and dynamically adapt to an identified dynamic change of the dynamically identified changeable source endpoint or the dynamically identified changeable destination endpoint, which identified dynamic change to the dynamically identified changeable source endpoint or the dynamically identified changeable destination endpoint is effected while the autonomous mobile robot is in autonomous operation.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein step (b) comprises:

controlling the autonomous mobile robot to collect an item to be transported at a dynamically identified source endpoint;

controlling the autonomous mobile robot to travel to a dynamically identified destination endpoint utilizing the reconfigurable guidance system to locate the dynamically identified destination endpoint; and

controlling the autonomous mobile robot to deliver the item to the dynamically identified destination endpoint.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the reconfigurable guidance system defines a route to the dynamically identified changeable source endpoint and the dynamically identified changeable destination endpoint, comprising route markers that are detectable by the autonomous mobile robot to guide the autonomous mobile robot to the dynamically identified changeable source endpoint and the dynamically identified changeable destination endpoint.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising controlling the autonomous mobile robot to servo on each marker at an offset position relative to the marker, wherein the offset position can be automatically changed to avoid colliding with another robot servoing on the marker.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein the reconfigurable guidance system comprises a plurality of beacons, each beacon identifying a different endpoint.

26. The method of claim 21, wherein the reconfigurable guidance system comprises a plurality of beacons, each beacon identifying a series of intermediate locations leading to an endpoint.

27. The method of claim 21, further comprising controlling the autonomous mobile robot to detect obstacles or other robots in its travel path.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising controlling the autonomous mobile robot to change its travel path to avoid the obstacle or other robot blocking its travel path or to wait until the travel path is unblocked.

29. The method of claim 21, further comprising controlling the autonomous mobile robot to detect a presence of other robots and form a queue when another robot is detected in its travel path at an endpoint.

30. The method of claim 21, further comprising controlling the autonomous mobile robot to load or unload the items at the dynamically identified changeable source endpoint and the dynamically identified changeable destination endpoint.