Laser-optic automatic positioning for electric vehicle - uses fixed reference of three retro-reflectors and measures angle of reflected light to position vehicle

摘要

The appts. controls an autonomous vehicle which uses optical methods to guide the vehicle to its stopping place and to ensure its correct orientation when it reaches the stopping place. An optical reference is provided by a fixed horizontal strip containing three optical retro-reflectors while a laser and optical detection system on the vehicle determine the angles of each reflection enabling the vehicle control circuit to steer the vehicle towards the reference. The laser light is deflected onto a scanning reflector and light returning from the reference retro-reflectors is focussed onto a photoelectric detector which provides the data for a control circuit to guide the vehicle towards the reference.