Method and apparatus for using unique landmarks to locate industrial vehicles at start-up

摘要

A method and apparatus for using unique landmarks to position industrial vehicles during start-up. In one embodiment, a method of using pre-positioned objects as landmarks to operate an industrial vehicle is provided. The method comprises identifying a start-up scenario from sensor data, wherein the start-up scenario comprises a unique marker start-up or a pre-positioned object start-up. in response to the identified start-up scenario, either a unique marker or pre-positioned object is identified within a physical environment, wherein the pre-positioned object or unique marker corresponds with a sub-area of the physical environment. The industrial vehicle pose is determined in response to the identity of the pre-positioned object or unique marker and the industrial vehicle is operated based on the determined industrial vehicle pose.

主权项

1. A method of operating an industrial vehicle in a navigation system, wherein the method comprises:
providing the industrial vehicle, one or more sensors coupled to the industrial vehicle, a mobile computer operably coupled to the industrial vehicle, and an environment based navigation module comprised in the mobile computer; utilizing the mobile computer coupled to the industrial vehicle to process measurement data from the sensors, wherein the measurement data is indicative of the presence of pre-positioned objects or landmarks within a range of the sensors; utilizing the mobile computer coupled to the industrial vehicle to determine initial pose prediction data for the industrial vehicle from the measurement data, wherein
the initial pose prediction data is sufficient to determine a sub-area of a physical environment in which the industrial vehicle is positioned, butthe initial pose prediction data is insufficient to determine a location of the industrial vehicle within the determined sub-area; utilizing the mobile computer coupled to the industrial vehicle to select a sub-area of the physical environment based on the initial pose prediction data and obtain a sub-area map from an overview map of the physical environment based on the initial pose prediction data; utilizing the mobile computer coupled to the industrial vehicle to refine the initial pose prediction data for the industrial vehicle using the sub-area map and features observable by the sensors from the selected sub-area to generate a new pose; and utilizing the new pose, the sensors, and the environment based navigation module of the mobile computer to navigate the industrial vehicle through the physical environment.