System and method for tracking guiding lines by an autonomous vehicle

摘要

An autonomous transporting tool is adapted to travel along a guiding line. The tool comprises two transporting elements. Each of the transporting elements comprise autonomous propulsion means, a control system and an optical system. The optical system comprises two cameras and two lighting units. The system is adapted to identify the location of the image of a guiding line within a received image of the floor and to provide steering commands adapted to steer the transporting tool so that the image of the guiding line is located substantially in the center of the received image.

主权项

1. An autonomous transporting tool (TT)configured to travel along a guiding line comprising:
a first transporting tool element(TTE); and a second transporting tool element (TTE), each of said transporting tool elements comprising:
four wheels, each of them is separately motorized by a respective motor;a steering mechanism comprising two of the wheels connected to an axle that is pivotally connected to a main body of the transporting tool element by a pivot;a control system;an optical system comprising two cameras and two lighting units, wherein a first camera and a first lighting unit are located proximal to a first end of said transporting tool element and said second camera and said second lighting unit are located proximal to a second end of said transporting tool element and wherein said first and second lighting units are directed to illuminate the field of view each of its respective camera; andcommunication unit that allows said first transporting tool element and said second transporting tool element to communicate at least with each other, wherein said first and second transporting tool elements are mechanically disengaged, wherein said first and second transporting tool elements are configured to communicate with each other via a wireless communication channel that manages and controls the distance between them and coordinates movements of the first and second transporting tool elements, and wherein said control system is configured to:
control a location of the first transporting tool element to thereby lift a first pair of wheels of a vehicle onto the first transporting tool element;control a location of the second transporting tool element to thereby lift a second pair of wheels of the vehicle onto the second transporting tool element; andcontrol each of said steering mechanisms and said respective motors to maintain the distance between the first and second transporting tool elements to be equal to the distance between the front and the rear axles of the vehicle.