Stand-alone self-driving material-transport vehicle
Systems and methods for a stand-alone self-driving material-transport vehicle are provided. A method includes: displaying a graphical map on a graphical user-interface device based on a map stored in a storage medium of the vehicle, receiving a navigation instruction based on the graphical map, and navigating the vehicle based on the navigation instruction. As the vehicle navigates, it senses features of an industrial facility using its sensor system, and locates the features relative to the map. Subsequently, the vehicle stores the updated map including the feature on the vehicle's storage medium. The map can then be shared with other vehicles or a fleet-management system.
1. A method for operating one or more self-driving vehicles in an industrial facility for completing at least one recurring task, the method comprising:
operating a self-driving vehicle of the one or more self-driving vehicles, in one of a semi-autonomous mode and a guided mode, to complete one or more tasks that involve operating the self-driving vehicle to engage a feature location in the industrial facility,
wherein in the semi-autonomous mode, the self-driving vehicle is operated based on control instructions received from both user inputs and a control system of the self-driving vehicle, and in the guided mode, the self-driving vehicle is operated based on control instructions received only from user inputs;
during operation of the self-driving vehicle, recording the control instructions received in respect of the one or more tasks;
determining, based at least on the feature location and one or more characteristics of the one or more tasks, that the one or more tasks comprises the at least one recurring task for the one or more self-driving vehicles;
in response to determining that the one or more tasks comprise the at least one recurring task, generating a recipe that can be used by the one or more self-driving vehicles for subsequent operation to complete the at least one recurring task, the recipe comprising a subset of the user-provided control instructions and corresponding to a reduced amount of user-provided control instructions, wherein the recipe is generated by:
deriving one or more task instructions from the recorded control instructions to identify user-provided control instructions necessary for engaging the feature location;
evaluating the recorded control instructions to identify one or more redundant control instructions which comprise navigation instructions that can be autonomously generated by the self-driving vehicle when executing the one or more task, instructions during the subsequent operation; and
generating the recipe to include the one or more task instructions while excluding the one or more redundant control instructions; and
at a subsequent time, autonomously operating at least one of the one or more self-driving vehicles to complete the at least one recurring task according to the recipe and one or more navigation instructions autonomously generated in accordance with the recipe.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more tasks involve operating the self-driving vehicle to navigate to one or more locations within the facility, and the control instructions comprise navigation instructions for navigating the self-driving vehicle towards the one or more locations.
3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
sensing a salient feature at at least one of the one or more locations using a sensor system of the self-driving vehicle;
storing an image of the salient feature in association with the at least one location; and
to complete the at least one recurring task at the subsequent time, navigating the at least one of the one or more self-driving vehicles to the at least one location in part based on the image.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein engaging the feature location includes operating the self-driving vehicle to interact with a feature at the feature location, and the control instructions comprise one or more of: a direction of approach of the self-driving vehicle towards the feature, the self-driving vehicle's position relative to the feature upon arriving at the feature location, and an action performed by the self-driving vehicle in association with the feature.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the one or more self-driving vehicles comprises one or more of:
the self-driving vehicle; and
a second self-driving vehicle, and the method further comprises transmitting the recipe to the second self-driving vehicle.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein transmitting the recipe to the second self-driving vehicle comprises transmitting the recipe to a fleet-management system, and subsequently transmitting the recipe from the fleet-management system to the second self-driving vehicle.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more redundant control instructions excluded from the recipe include control instructions related to navigation instructions for a path portion that is traversed at the subsequent time by the at least one of the one or more self-driving vehicles to complete the one or more tasks based on the recipe.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein operating the self-driving vehicle to complete the one or more tasks further comprises operating the self-driving vehicle to map the facility, wherein the mapping comprises:
identifying an electronic map stored in a non-transient computer-readable medium of the self-driving vehicle, wherein the electronic map comprises a mapped area and an unmapped area separated from the mapped area by a boundary edge;
determining, based on a current location of the self-driving vehicle and the electronic map, whether the self-driving vehicle is within the mapped area;
in response to determining that the self-driving vehicle is within the mapped area, navigating the self-driving vehicle to a goal located within the unmapped area, wherein navigating the self-driving vehicle to the goal located within the unmapped area comprises:
operating the self-driving vehicle in an autonomous mode up to the boundary edge, wherein during operation in the autonomous mode, the control system of the self-driving vehicle autonomously operates a drive system of the self-driving vehicle to follow a path;
upon arrival at the boundary edge, switching the self-driving vehicle into the semi-autonomous mode to sense features within the unmapped area while navigating towards the goal;
while operating in the semi-autonomous mode, operating a sensor system of the self-driving vehicle to sense one or more features of the facility at a location in the unmapped area; and
updating the electronic map to include the one or more features within the unmapped area.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the self-driving vehicle autonomously navigates to perform the one or more tasks based on the updated electronic map.
10. A system for operating self-driving vehicles in an industrial facility for completing at least one recurring task, the system comprising:
a self-driving vehicle comprising a drive system for moving the self-driving vehicle, and a control system for controlling the drive system wherein the control system comprises a non-transient computer-readable medium, wherein
the control system of the self-driving vehicle being configured for:
operating the drive system, in one of a semi-autonomous mode and a guided mode, to complete one or more tasks that involve operating the self-driving vehicle to engage a feature location in the industrial facility,
wherein in the semi-autonomous mode, the drive system is operated based on control instructions received from both user inputs and the control system, and in the guided mode, the drive system is operated based on control instructions received only from user inputs;
during operation of the drive system, recording the control instructions received in respect of the one or more tasks;
determining, based at least on the feature location and one or more characteristics of the one or more tasks, that the one or more tasks comprises the at least one recurring task for the one or more self-driving vehicles;
in response to determining that the one or more tasks comprises the at least one recurring task, generating a recipe that can be used by the one or more self-driving vehicles for subsequent operation to complete the at least one recurring task, the recipe comprising a subset of the user-provided control instructions and corresponding to a reduced amount of user-provided control instructions, wherein the recipe is generated by:
deriving one or more task instructions from the recorded control instructions to identify user-provided control instructions necessary for engaging the feature location;
evaluating the recorded control instructions to identify one or more redundant control instructions which comprises navigation instructions that can be autonomously generated by the self-driving vehicle when executing the one or more task instructions during the subsequent operation; and
generating the recipe to include the one or more task instructions while excluding the one or more redundant control instructions; and
at a subsequent time, autonomously operating the drive system to complete the at least one recurring task according to the recipe and one or more navigation instructions autonomously generated in accordance with the recipe.
11. The system for operating self-driving vehicles of claim 10 , wherein the one or more tasks involve operating the drive system to navigate to one or more locations within the facility, and the control instructions comprise navigation instructions for navigating the self-driving vehicle towards the one or more locations.
12. The system for operating self-driving vehicles of claim 11 , wherein the self-driving vehicle further comprises a sensor system, and the control system is further configured for:
sensing a salient feature at at least one of the one or more locations using the sensor system;
storing, in the non-transient computer-readable medium, an image of the salient feature in association with the at least one location; and
to complete the at least one recurring task at the subsequent time, navigating the at least one self-driving vehicle to the at least one location in part based on the image.
13. The system for operating self-driving vehicles of claim 10 , wherein engaging the feature location includes operating the self-driving vehicle to interact with a feature at the feature location, and the control instructions comprise one or more of: a direction of approach of the self-driving vehicle towards the feature, the self-driving vehicle's position relative to the feature upon arriving at the feature location, and an action performed by the self-driving vehicle in association with the feature.
14. The system for operating self-driving vehicles of claim 10 , wherein the system further comprises a second self-driving vehicle, and the control system of the second vehicle being configured for:
receiving the recipe; and
autonomously operating a drive system of the second self-driving vehicle to complete the one or more tasks based on the recipe.
15. The system for operating self-driving vehicles of claim 14 , wherein the system further comprises a fleet-management system which receives the recipe from the self-driving vehicle, and transmits the recipe to the second self-driving vehicle.
16. The system for operating self-driving vehicles of claim 10 , wherein the one or more redundant control instructions excluded from the recipe include control instructions related to navigation instructions for a path portion that is traversed at the subsequent time to complete the one or more tasks based on the recipe.
17. The system for operating self-driving vehicles of claim 10 , wherein the self-driving vehicle further comprises a sensor system, and operating the self-driving vehicle to complete the one or more tasks further comprises operating the self-driving vehicle to map the facility, and wherein the mapping comprises the control system being further configured for:
identifying an electronic map stored in the non-transient computer-readable medium of the self-driving vehicle, wherein the electronic map comprises a mapped area and an unmapped area separated from the mapped area by a boundary edge;
determining, based on a current location of the self-driving vehicle and the electronic map, whether the self-driving vehicle is within the mapped area;
in response to determining that the self-driving vehicle is within the mapped area, navigating the self-driving vehicle to a goal located within the unmapped area, wherein navigating the self-driving vehicle to the goal located within the unmapped area comprises:
operating the drive system in an autonomous mode up to the boundary edge, wherein during operation in the autonomous mode, the control system of the self-driving vehicle autonomously operates the drive system of the self-driving vehicle to follow a path;
upon arrival at the boundary edge, switching the self-driving vehicle into the semi-autonomous mode to sense features within the unmapped area while navigating towards the goal;
while operating in the semi-autonomous mode, operating the sensor system to sense one or more features of the facility at a location in the unmapped area; and
updating the electronic map to include the one or more features within the unmapped area.
18. The system for operating self-driving vehicles of claim 17 , wherein the self-driving vehicle autonomously navigates to perform the one or more tasks based on the updated electronic map.