Automated vehicle control.

摘要

A guided vehicle (2,3) determines its position relative to a number of uniquely-coded reflector boards (13) by scanning the boards with a rotating laser beam (14,15). In order to determine the position of a load (18) which is to be picked up by the vehicle, the laser beam scans three plain vertical retroreflective strips (19,20,21) which are affixed to the load at accurately known spacings. The position of the load is calculated from these spacings and from angles measured by the laser system. The calculations are continuously updated as the vehicle moves.