Making Robotic Movement Of Goods More 'Pallet-Able'

(a) Simulation of pseudo-color coded image showing man (left) and pallet (right) where blue indicates objects near the AGV and red indicates things far away. (b) The corresponding 3-D point cloud view of the man and pallet. Points seen are less than 3 meters away and lower than 10 meters in height from the sensor. Credit: NIST

by Staff Writers
Charlotte NC (SPX) Nov 13, 2006
Robots running amok and destroying property may be a staple in science fiction films, but they aren't welcome in factories, warehouses and other places where automatic guided vehicle (AGV) forklifts are used. Under a cooperative research and development agreement with Transbotics, a Charlotte, N.C., AGV manufacturer, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is developing advanced sensor processing and modeling algorithms to help robot forklifts verify the location and orientation of pallets laden with goods.

The experimental system utilizes two onboard, single scan-line LADAR devices to negotiate obstacles and hone in on warehouse pallets. (LADAR--Laser Detection and Ranging--is an optical technology which measures properties of scattered laser light to find range and other information about a distant target.) One LADAR device, located at the base of the AGV, is used as a safety sensor to detect obstacles such as humans in the forklift's path. It also can be used to scan inside a truck's cargo area to detect the presence of a pallet or define distances from the forklift to the truck's inside walls.

The other sensor, called the Panner, is a panning laser ranger mounted on a rotating motor at the top front of the AGV. The Panner acquires many scan lines of range data that allows the scene in front of the device to be reconstructed in various visual formats such as a pseudo-colored coded image (where colors indicate relative proximity to an object) or a 3-dimensional data point "cloud." A computer model is then derived from the data with the output sent immediately to the AGV's control center. This allows the robot forklift to maneuver, load and unload pallets, verify the remaining space within the truck being loaded, and track the number of pallets still needing handling.

The research team recently presented the results of its visualization program at the SPIE Optics East 2006 Conference in Boston.* Transbotics is planning to implement the NIST pallet verification software on one of its AGVs in 2007 for use in real manufacturing situations.

ROBO SPACE

Receptionist And Porter Robots Make Debut At Japanese Hospital

Tokyo (AFP) Nov 4, 2006
Robots have made their debut at a Japanese hospital where an android receptionist and two porters now work alongside their human counterparts. Aizu Central Hospital in Aizu-Wakamatsu some 200 kilometers (124 miles) north of Tokyo introduced the trio on October 28 at a cost of 60 million yen (508,000 dollars). The receptionist robot, produced by Japanese robot maker Tmsuk Co. Ltd., welcomes visitors at the entrance and answers spoken inquiries.

SUPERPOWERS Use Of Force Dominating International Relations Says Putin Russian US Relations Will Continue Deteriorating Bush Says China Saving Too Much Money China The Anti-Superpower Or The Second Hyperpower	NUKEWARS Japanese PM Refuses To Sack FM Over Nuclear Call Boeing Awarded Contract To Upgrade ICBM Weapon System France Tests Ballistic Missile For Nuclear Deployment Russia Tests Ballistic Missile
MISSILE NEWS NetFires Conducts Successful Precision Attack Missile All-Up-Round Container Cover Test Saab Carries Out IRIS-T Flight Test Trials For Sweden Iran Test-Fires More New Weapons In War Games Iran To Fire Ballistic Missiles In War Games	MISSILE DEFENSE Raytheon Selects ATK For Stunner Interceptor Booster Motor Development Aegis Open Architecture Using Joint Single Integrated Air Picture Product Phalanx Has A Future ThalesRaytheonSystems Battle Control System Declared Operational in Alaska, Hawaii And Canada
AEROSPACE Technologies Evaluated For The Future National Airspace System Silent Aircraft Readies For Take-Off Global Aviation Industry Gathers For Key Chinese Air Show China Marks 50th Anniversary Of Aerospace Industry	UAV NEWS Aurora GoldenEye 80 Makes Successful First Flight Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron Continues Surveillance In Iraq Unmanned Aircraft Trial Successfully Completed Raytheon Gets FAA Experimental Certificate for Cobra Unmanned Aircraft System
IRAQ WARS New Defense Chief Gates Brings Steady Hand To Pentagon Rumsfeld Pays Price For Voter Anger Over Iraq US Losses Rise Again In Iraq Iraq Disaster Warning	MILTECH Teledyne Awarded Army Contract For Third Generation Infrared Imaging Sensors Lockheed Martin Awarded US Army Contract To Provide Improved Signal-Location Systems Iran Tests New Automatic Cannons In War Games Smiths Detection To Develop Portable Next-Gen Radiation Detectors

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement