CN112327820A - Control method, device, system and storage medium for automatic guided vehicle AGV - Google Patents

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a method, a device and a system for controlling an AGV (automatic guided vehicle) and a storage medium. The method comprises the following steps: receiving a plurality of first positions reported by a plurality of AGV's in a warehouse at a first moment and a second position reported by a mobile terminal held by a user entering the warehouse at the first moment; a first AGV located within the first parking area is controlled to park based on a plurality of first positions and a second position, wherein the second position is within the first parking area. The control method can avoid collision of the AGV to personnel and improve the safety of the system. Compared with the prior art, the method has the advantages that the obstacle avoidance sensors in a plurality of directions do not need to be installed on each AGV, so that the cost for constructing the AGV system is reduced.

Description

Control method, device, system and storage medium for automatic guided vehicle AGV

technical field

The embodiments of the present application relate to the technical field of warehousing obstacle avoidance, and in particular, to a control method, device, system and storage medium for an AGV of an automatic guided vehicle.

Background technique

An Automatic Guided Vehicle (AGV) is a battery-powered, unmanned automated handling vehicle equipped with a non-contact guiding device and an independent addressing system. Its system technology and products have become important equipment and technologies for flexible production lines, flexible assembly lines, and warehousing and logistics automation systems.

At present, the autonomous navigation technology of AGV is mature, and AGV can autonomously perform some tasks of handling and towing goods. In the process of warehouse management, staff sometimes need to enter the working area of AGV. In order to prevent the running AGV from colliding with the entering staff, the most commonly used technology is to install obstacle avoidance sensors on the AGV. When an obstacle is identified , AGV autonomous parking.

In order to improve the AGV obstacle avoidance effect, it is necessary to install obstacle avoidance sensors in multiple positions of the AGV body. For warehouses that require a large number of AGVs to operate, the cost of building an AGV system is very high.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present application provide a control method, device, system and storage medium for an AGV of an automatic guided vehicle, so as to avoid the collision of the AGV with a person and improve the safety of the system.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an AGV control method, including:

Receive multiple first positions reported by multiple AGVs online in the warehouse at the first moment, and second positions reported at the first moment by the mobile terminal held by the user entering the warehouse;

According to the plurality of first positions and the second positions, the first AGV located in the first parking area is controlled to park, and the second position is in the first parking area.

In a possible implementation manner, the controlling the parking of the first AGV located in the first parking area according to the first position and the second position includes:

determining the first parking area in the warehouse with the second position as the center and the preset distance as the radius according to the second position;

determining a first AGV currently located in the first parking area according to the first parking area and the plurality of first positions;

Send a parking instruction to the first AGV.

Optionally, the preset distance is greater than or equal to the sum of the maximum parking distance of the AGV and the positioning error value of the mobile terminal.

In a possible implementation, the method further includes:

controlling the second AGV in the warehouse to avoid the first parking area according to the plurality of first positions and the second positions, and the second AGV is located within a preset range outside the first parking area, And the preset running route of the second AGV passes through the first parking area.

In a possible implementation manner, the controlling the second AGV in the warehouse to avoid the first parking area according to the plurality of first locations and the second locations includes:

determining the first parking area in the warehouse with the second position as the center and the preset distance as the radius according to the second position;

According to the first parking area and the plurality of first positions, a third AGV currently located within a preset range outside the first parking area is determined, and a preset running path is selected from the third AGV to pass through a second AGV in the first parking area;

The running path of the second AGV is re-planned, and a new path control instruction is sent to the second AGV.

In a possible implementation, the method further includes:

Receive multiple third positions reported by multiple AGVs online at the warehouse at the second moment, and the fourth position reported by the mobile terminal at the second moment;

A fourth AGV located in a second parking area is controlled to park according to the plurality of third positions and the fourth position, the fourth position being in the second parking area.

Optionally, the second parking area includes a first sub-area that does not overlap with the first parking area.

In a possible implementation manner, the controlling the fourth AGV to stop according to the plurality of third positions and the fourth positions includes:

determining a second parking area in the warehouse with the fourth position as the center and the preset distance as the radius according to the fourth position;

determining a fourth AGV currently located in the first sub-area according to the second parking area, the first parking area, and the plurality of third locations;

A parking instruction is sent to the fourth AGV.

Optionally, the first parking area includes a second sub-area that does not overlap with the second parking area.

In a possible implementation, the method further includes:

The fifth AGV currently located in the second sub-area is controlled to be activated.

In a possible implementation manner, if the location update reported by the mobile terminal is not received within a preset time period, the method further includes:

Send parking instructions to all online AGVs.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an AGV control device, including:

a receiving module, configured to receive multiple first positions reported by multiple AGVs online in the warehouse at the first moment, and second positions reported by the mobile terminal held by the user entering the warehouse at the first moment;

The processing module is configured to control the parking of the first AGV located in the first parking area according to the plurality of first positions and the second positions, and the second position is in the first parking area.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing module is specifically configured to determine, according to the second position, a first parking area in the warehouse with the second position as a center and a preset distance as a radius;

determining a first AGV currently located in the first parking area according to the first parking area and the plurality of first positions;

The device further includes: a sending module for sending a parking instruction to the first AGV.

The preset distance is greater than or equal to the sum of the maximum parking distance of the AGV and the positioning error value of the mobile terminal.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing module is further configured to:

controlling the second AGV in the warehouse to avoid the first parking area according to the plurality of first positions and the second positions, and the second AGV is located within a preset range outside the first parking area, And the preset running route of the second AGV passes through the first parking area.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing module is specifically used for:

determining the first parking area in the warehouse with the second position as the center and the preset distance as the radius according to the second position;

According to the first parking area and the plurality of first positions, a third AGV currently located within a preset range outside the first parking area is determined, and a preset running path is selected from the third AGV to pass through a second AGV in the first parking area;

re-plan the running path of the second AGV;

The sending module is further configured to send a new path control instruction to the second AGV.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving module is further configured to receive a plurality of third positions reported by a plurality of online AGVs in the warehouse at a second moment, and a number of third positions reported by the mobile terminal at the second moment. four positions;

The processing module is further configured to control a fourth AGV located in a second parking area to park according to the plurality of third positions and the fourth position, and the fourth position is in the second parking area.

Optionally, the second parking area includes a first sub-area that does not overlap with the first parking area.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing module is specifically used for:

determining a second parking area in the warehouse with the fourth position as the center and the preset distance as the radius according to the fourth position;

determining a fourth AGV currently located in the first sub-area according to the second parking area, the first parking area, and the plurality of third locations;

The sending module is further configured to send a parking instruction to the fourth AGV.

Optionally, the first parking area includes a second sub-area that does not overlap with the second parking area.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing module is further configured to control the activation of the fifth AGV currently located in the second sub-area.

In a possible implementation manner, if the location update reported by the mobile terminal is not received within a preset time period, the sending module is further configured to send a parking instruction to all online AGVs.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an AGV control device, including:

at least one processor; and

a memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor; wherein,

The memory stores instructions executable by the at least one processor, the instructions being executed by the at least one processor to enable the control device to perform the method of any one of the first aspects.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an AGC control system, including: an AGV control device, a plurality of AGVs on-line in a warehouse, and a mobile terminal held by a user entering the warehouse, wherein the AGV control device is respectively connected with the multiple AGVs. AGV, the mobile terminal communication connection;

Wherein, the control device is configured to execute the method according to any one of the first aspect, and control the multiple AGVs to stop or start.

In a possible implementation, the control system further includes:

At least three positioning transmitters, the positioning transmitters are used for transmitting broadcast signals, the mobile terminal is used for receiving the broadcast signals transmitted by the at least three positioning transmitters, and the real-time position of the mobile terminal is determined according to the broadcast signals , and report the real-time position to the control device of the AGV.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, including: a computer program for storing a computer program, which, when the computer program is executed on a computer, causes the computer to execute any one of the first aspects. Methods.

Embodiments of the present application provide a control method, device, system, and storage medium for an automatic guided vehicle AGV. The method includes: receiving multiple first positions reported at the first moment by multiple AGVs online in the warehouse, and second positions reported at the first moment by a mobile terminal held by a user entering the warehouse; according to the multiple first positions and In the second position, the first AGV located in the first parking area is controlled to park, wherein the second position is in the first parking area. The above control method can avoid the collision of the AGV with the personnel and improve the safety of the system. Compared with the existing solution, since there is no need to install obstacle avoidance sensors in multiple directions for each AGV, the cost of building an AGV system is reduced.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1a is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an AGV system provided by an embodiment of the application;

FIG. 1b is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an AGV system provided by an embodiment of the application;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a control method of an AGV provided by an embodiment of the present application;

3 is a top view of a warehouse at the first moment provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an AGV control method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

5 is a top view of a warehouse at the first moment provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an AGV control method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

7 is a schematic diagram of a parking area at two consecutive times provided by an embodiment of the present application;

8 is a top view of a warehouse at two consecutive moments provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of an AGV control device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of an AGV control apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, but not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

The terms "first", "second" and the like in the description and claims of the present application and the above drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It is to be understood that the data so used may be interchanged under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the application described herein can, for example, be practiced in sequences other than those illustrated or described herein.

Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having" and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, for example, a process, method, system, product or device comprising a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those expressly listed Rather, those steps or units may include other steps or units not expressly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

At present, e-commerce warehouses have used AGVs for cargo handling, with a high degree of automation. However, due to AGV failure or other management needs of the warehouse, workers sometimes need to enter the AGV work area. In order to prevent the AGV from colliding with workers, an obstacle avoidance sensor is usually installed on the AGV, which is used to identify obstacles near the AGV, obstacles Objects include staff and other AGVs. Usually, an obstacle avoidance sensor is installed in front of the AGV. Due to the limited recognition range, the obstacle avoidance effect is not good. In order to enhance the recognition ability of the AGV, obstacle avoidance sensors can be installed in multiple directions of the AGV. This solution is suitable for scenarios with a small number of AGVs. However, for warehouses that require a large number of AGVs to operate, the cost of adopting the above solutions is high.

In order to solve the above problems, an embodiment of the present application provides an AGV control method, which can be applied to a control platform of an AGV system. The AGV stops within a preset range near the location. The above solution can effectively prevent the AGV from colliding with the staff entering the warehouse and improve the safety of the entire system. It should be noted that the above solution is suitable for large, medium and small warehouses. Only one low-precision and low-cost obstacle avoidance sensor (used to assist in detecting obstacles or people) is required on each AGV controlled by the platform, which greatly reduces the construction cost. The cost of the AGV system.

First, the system architecture of the AGV control method provided by the embodiment of the present application is introduced in detail with reference to FIG. 1a and FIG. 1b.

FIG. 1a is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an AGV system provided by an embodiment of the application. As shown in FIG. 1a, the AGV system 100 provided by this embodiment includes a control platform 110, a plurality of AGVs 120, and a mobile terminal 130 held by a user entering the warehouse . The control platform 110 is connected in communication with a plurality of AGVs 120 and mobile terminals 130, respectively.

Based on the system architecture shown in FIG. 1a, the control platform 110 receives the real-time positions reported by multiple AGVs 120 and the mobile terminal 130 at the same time, and the real-time position reported by the mobile terminal is the real-time position of the staff in the warehouse. The control platform 110 is based on the multiple According to the real-time position reported by the AGV 120 and the mobile terminal 130, a part of the AGV whose distance from the worker is less than the preset safe distance is determined, and the part of the AGV is controlled to stop to prevent the AGV from colliding with the worker during the operation. Among them, the AGV 120 can determine its own position by identifying the two-dimensional code laid on the warehouse floor, and report the position to the control platform 110 in real time. The mobile terminal 130 may use any indoor positioning technology to determine its own position, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 1b is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an AGV system provided by an embodiment of the application. As shown in FIG. 1b, the AGV system 100 provided by this embodiment includes a control platform 110, a plurality of AGVs 120, and a mobile terminal 130 held by a user entering the warehouse , locate the transmitter 140 . The control platform 110 is connected in communication with a plurality of AGVs 120 and mobile terminals 130, respectively. At least three positioning transmitters 140 are arranged in the warehouse, the positions of each positioning transmitter 140 in the warehouse are fixed, and the positioning transmitters 140 transmit signals with a fixed power. In practical applications, more positioning transmitters can be set up according to the size of the warehouse to achieve full coverage of the transmitted signal.

Based on the system architecture shown in FIG. 1b, the mobile terminal 130 determines the distance from the mobile terminal 130 to each positioning transmitter 140 by receiving the broadcast signals transmitted by each positioning transmitter 140, and then obtains the distance between the mobile terminal 130 in the warehouse through spatial coordinate calculation. real-time location. Optionally, the mobile terminal 130 may calculate the distance from each positioning transmitter 140 using various methods, such as received signal strength indication (RSSI) ranging and positioning method or time-of-arrival method. The control platform 110 receives the real-time positions reported by multiple AGVs 120 and the mobile terminal 130 at the same time, and the real-time position reported by the mobile terminal is the real-time position of the staff in the warehouse. Position, determine a part of the AGV that is less than the preset safety distance from the staff, and control this part of the AGV to stop to prevent the AGV from colliding with the staff during operation.

In some embodiments, the control platform 110 can connect to the wireless access point AP through a router switch, the control platform 110 can communicate with multiple AGVs 120 through wifi, and the AGVs 120 receive and execute various instructions sent by the control platform 110 to perform various actions Processing, such as start, stop, acceleration and deceleration, etc.

This embodiment of the present application does not impose any restrictions on the type of the mobile terminal, as long as it has a positioning function.

The technical solutions of the present application will be described in detail below with specific examples. The following specific embodiments may be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be repeated in some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an AGV control method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 2 , the control method provided by this embodiment includes the following steps:

Step 210: Receive multiple first positions reported at the first moment by multiple AGVs online in the warehouse, and second positions reported at the first moment by the mobile terminal held by the user entering the warehouse.

Step 220: Control the parking of the first AGV located in the first parking area according to the plurality of first positions and the second positions.

Wherein, the second location is within the first parking area. In a possible implementation manner, the second position is used as the center position of the first parking area, and the first parking area may be a circular area with the second position as the center and the preset distance as the radius, or the second position as the center. The square area with the position as the center may also be an area of other shapes, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

In a possible implementation manner, step 220 specifically includes the following steps: determining, according to the second position, a first parking area in the warehouse with the second position as the center and the preset distance as the radius. Then, according to the first parking area and the plurality of first positions, determine the first AGV currently located in the first parking area. Finally, a parking instruction is sent to the first AGV.

The preset distance in this embodiment can be set according to empirical values, and can also be set in the following ways:

The preset distance is greater than or equal to the sum of the maximum parking distance of the AGV and the positioning error of the mobile terminal. Among them, the maximum parking distance of the AGV refers to the driving distance of the AGV after receiving the parking instruction to the final parking of the AGV. For example, the maximum parking distance of the AGV is 5m, the positioning error of the mobile terminal is 0.5m, and the preset distance is greater than or equal to 5.5m. In order to prevent the AGV from colliding with the staff, the preset distance can be expanded, for example, set to 8m, that is, the first A parking area is an area with a second location as the center and a radius of 8m.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the warehouse at the first moment provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 3 , at the first moment, the control platform receives the second position 310 reported by the mobile terminal held by the user, and the second position 310 is There are two AGVs running online in the first parking area 320 with the center and the preset distance r1 as the radius, respectively AGV331 and AGV332. The control platform sends parking instructions to these two AGVs.

In the AGV control method provided by this embodiment, the real-time position of the personnel entering the warehouse is obtained through the position reported by the mobile terminal held by the user, and the AGV parking within a preset range near the position is controlled according to the position, so as to avoid the collision of the AGV with the personnel, Improve system security. Compared with the existing solution, since there is no need to install obstacle avoidance sensors in multiple directions for each AGV, the cost of building an AGV system is greatly reduced.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an AGV control method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 4 , the control method provided by this embodiment includes the following steps:

Step 410: Receive multiple first positions reported at the first moment by multiple AGVs online in the warehouse and second positions reported at the first moment by the mobile terminal held by the user entering the warehouse.

Step 420: Control the second AGV in the warehouse to avoid the first parking area according to the plurality of first positions and the second positions.

Wherein, the second AGV is located within a preset range outside the first parking area, and the preset running route of the second AGV passes through the first parking area. The first parking area is the same as that in the above-mentioned embodiment, and details are not repeated here.

In a possible implementation manner, the first parking area is set as a circular area with the second position as the center and the preset distance as the radius. Step 420 specifically includes the following steps:

A first parking area in the warehouse with the second position as the center and the preset distance as the radius is determined according to the second position. Then, according to the first parking area and the plurality of first positions, determine the third AGV currently located within the preset range outside the first parking area. Then, the second AGV whose preset running path passes through the first parking area is selected from the third AGV. Finally, the running path of the second AGV is re-planned, and a new path control instruction is sent to the second AGV.

In the above example, considering that some third AGVs within the preset range outside the first parking area may not pass through the first parking area, there is no need to re-route these AGCs. In order to avoid unnecessary path adjustment, the control platform needs to further screen the third AGV, and finally obtain the second AGV whose path needs to be re-planned. The second AGC bypasses the first parking area. It should be noted that the first parking area in this embodiment will not change within a certain period of time.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the warehouse at the first moment provided by this embodiment of the application. As shown in FIG. 5 , at the first moment, the control platform receives the second position 310 reported by the mobile terminal held by the user, and the second position 310 is There are two AGVs running online in the first parking area 320 with the center and the preset distance r1 as the radius, respectively AGV331 and AGV332. The control platform sends parking instructions to these two AGVs. In addition, there are three AGVs running online, namely AGV333, AGV334, and AGV335, in the annular area composed of two rings with radii r1 and r2 centered on the second position 310. According to the preset running paths of the three AGVs, the control platform can determine that the preset running paths of two AGVs, AGV333 and AGV334 respectively, will pass through the first parking area 320. In order to improve the operating efficiency of online AGVs, the control platform can schedule The AGV 333 and AGV 334 that are about to enter the first parking area 320 re-plan the paths of the two AGVs to avoid the first parking area 320 . Since the AGV 335 in the annular area will not pass through the first parking area 320, the control platform does not need to command and control the AGV.

In the AGV control method provided in this embodiment, the real-time position of the personnel entering the warehouse is obtained through the position reported by the mobile terminal held by the user, and the AGV parking within a preset range near the position is controlled according to the position. Appropriately adjust the running path of AGVs within a certain range outside the preset range, so that the AGVs that are about to enter the preset range bypass, avoid more AGV parking, and improve the operating efficiency of the system online AGV.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an AGV control method provided by an embodiment of the present application. On the basis of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 , as shown in FIG. 6 , the control method provided by this embodiment further includes:

Step 510: Receive multiple third positions reported by multiple AGVs online in the warehouse at the second moment, and fourth positions reported by the mobile terminal at the second moment.

In this embodiment of the present application, the second time is the next time that is continuous with the first time. The AGV and the mobile terminal can report the position to the control platform based on the same reporting period, for example, report the position every 2s. The reporting period is the time difference between the second moment and the first moment.

Step 520: Control the fourth AGV located in the second parking area to park according to the plurality of third positions and the fourth positions.

Wherein, the fourth location is within the second parking area.

Similar to the first parking area in the embodiment of FIG. 2 , in a possible implementation manner, the fourth position is used as the center position of the second parking area, and the second parking area may be centered on the fourth position with a preset distance. is a circular area with a radius, may also be a square area with the fourth position as the center, or may be an area of other shapes, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

The first moment and the second moment are two consecutive moments. The first moment corresponds to the first parking area, and the second moment corresponds to the second parking area. There are two positional relationships between the first parking area and the second parking area: independent of each other, Or, some areas overlap.

In a possible situation, the first parking area and the second parking area are independent of each other.

Step 520 specifically includes the following steps: determining a second parking area in the warehouse with the fourth location as the center and the preset distance as the radius according to the fourth location, and then determining the current location in the warehouse according to the second parking area and a plurality of third locations. The fourth AGV in the second parking area finally sends a parking instruction to the fourth AGV.

In a possible situation, the first parking area and the second parking area have a partial overlap. The second parking area includes a first sub-area that does not overlap with the first parking area, the first parking area includes a second sub-area that does not overlap with the second parking area, and both the second parking area and the first parking area include a first parking area. There are three sub-regions, and the third sub-region is an overlapping region.

Step 520 specifically includes the following steps: according to the fourth position, determine a second parking area in the warehouse with the fourth position as the center and the preset distance as the radius, and then according to the second parking area, the first parking area and a plurality of third positions , determine the fourth AGV currently located in the first sub-area, and finally send a parking instruction to the fourth AGV.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a parking area at two consecutive times provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 7 , the first time corresponds to the first parking area 320 , and the second time corresponds to the second parking area 350 . The second parking area 350 includes an area C (ie, a first sub-area) that does not overlap with the first parking area 320 , and an area B (ie, a third sub-area) that overlaps the first parking area 320 . The first parking area 320 includes an area A (ie, a second sub-area) that does not overlap with the second parking area 350 , and an area B that overlaps the second parking area 350 .

FIG. 8 is a top view of the warehouse at two consecutive times provided by this embodiment of the application. As shown in FIG. 8 , at the first moment, the control platform receives the second position 310 reported by the mobile terminal held by the user, and uses the second position 310 There are two AGVs running online in the first parking area 320 with a preset distance r1 as the center, AGV331 and AGV332 respectively. The control platform sends parking instructions to these two AGVs. At the second moment, the control platform receives the fourth position 340 reported by the mobile terminal. There are three AGVs in the second parking area 350 with the fourth position 340 as the center and the preset distance r1 as the radius, namely AGV332, AGV361 and AGV362 . Since the control platform has sent the parking command to AGV332 at the last moment, the control platform can only send parking commands to AGV361 and AGV362, reducing the signaling consumption of the control platform.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the control method may further include the following steps:

The fifth AGV currently located in the second sub-area is controlled to start. This example implements dynamic scheduling of the AGV that stopped at the last moment. If the stopped AGV is not in the current parking area, the control platform can control it to re-run, improving the operating efficiency of the system's online AGV.

As shown in FIG. 8 , there is an AGV 331 in the second sub-area that does not overlap with the second parking area 350 in the first parking area 320 , because the AGV 331 is not in the current second parking area 350 (ie, the updated parking area) , so the control platform can send start instructions to AGV331.

Optionally, in some embodiments, before controlling the operation of the fifth AGV currently located in the second sub-area, the control platform may further include the following steps:

It is determined whether the preset running path of the fifth AGV located in the second sub-area passes through the current second parking area. Specifically, if the fifth AGV does not pass through the second parking area, a start instruction is sent to the fifth AGV. If passing through the second parking area, the running path of the fifth AGV can be re-planned, and a new path control instruction can be sent to the fifth AGV.

The above example realizes dynamic scheduling of stopped AGVs, and controls the stopped AGVs to continue to run based on the positional relationship between the stopped AGVs and the current parking area, or to run according to new path control instructions to improve the operating efficiency of the system online AGVs.

The AGV control method provided by this embodiment dynamically adjusts the actions of each AGV in the old and new parking areas according to the changes of the parking areas by analyzing the positions of the parking areas at two consecutive times. If there is no overlapping area between the old and new parking areas, the AGV located in the new parking area is controlled to park, and the AGV in the old parking area is controlled to restart. If there is an overlapping area between the old and new parking areas, control the AGV in the new parking area except the overlapping area to park, and control the AGV in the old parking area except the overlapping area to restart. The above scheme realizes dynamic scheduling of AGVs and improves the operation efficiency of online AGVs in the system.

Optionally, on the basis of the foregoing embodiments, if the location update reported by the mobile terminal is not received within a preset time period, the control method further includes:

Send parking instructions to all online AGVs.

In the above example, if the control platform does not receive a signal from the mobile terminal for a long time, it can be determined that the mobile terminal is faulty. In order to prevent accidents, the control platform will initiate an emergency response and control the parking of all AGVs online in the warehouse to ensure the safety of personnel. .

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of an AGV control device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 9 , the AGV control device 600 provided in this embodiment includes:

The receiving module 610 is configured to receive multiple first positions reported by multiple AGVs online in the warehouse at the first moment, and second positions reported at the first moment by the mobile terminal held by the user entering the warehouse;

The processing module 620 is configured to control the parking of the first AGV located in the first parking area according to the plurality of first positions and the second position, and the second position is in the first parking area.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing module 620 is specifically configured to:

determining the first parking area in the warehouse with the second position as the center and the preset distance as the radius according to the second position;

determining a first AGV currently located in the first parking area according to the first parking area and the plurality of first positions;

The sending module 630 is configured to send a parking instruction to the first AGV.

Optionally, the preset distance is greater than or equal to the sum of the maximum parking distance of the AGV and the positioning error value of the mobile terminal.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing module 620 is further configured to:

controlling the second AGV in the warehouse to avoid the first parking area according to the plurality of first positions and the second positions, and the second AGV is located within a preset range outside the first parking area, And the preset running route of the second AGV passes through the first parking area.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing module 620 is specifically configured to:

determining the first parking area in the warehouse with the second position as the center and the preset distance as the radius according to the second position;

According to the first parking area and the plurality of first positions, a third AGV currently located within a preset range outside the first parking area is determined, and a preset running path is selected from the third AGV to pass through a second AGV in the first parking area;

re-plan the running path of the second AGV;

The sending module 630 is further configured to send a new path control instruction to the second AGV.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving module 610 is further configured to:

Receive multiple third positions reported by multiple AGVs online at the warehouse at the second moment, and the fourth position reported by the mobile terminal at the second moment;

The processing module 620 is further configured to control a fourth AGV located in a second parking area to park according to the plurality of third positions and the fourth position, and the fourth position is in the second parking area.

Optionally, the second parking area includes a first sub-area that does not overlap with the first parking area.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing module 620 is specifically configured to:

determining a second parking area in the warehouse with the fourth position as the center and the preset distance as the radius according to the fourth position;

determining a fourth AGV currently located in the first sub-area according to the second parking area, the first parking area, and the plurality of third locations;

The sending module is specifically configured to send a parking instruction to the fourth AGV.

Optionally, the first parking area includes a second sub-area that does not overlap with the second parking area.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing module 620 is further configured to control the activation of the fifth AGV currently located in the second sub-area.

In a possible implementation manner, if the location update reported by the mobile terminal is not received within a preset time period, the sending module 630 is further configured to send a parking instruction to all online AGVs.

The AGV control device provided in the embodiment of the present application is used to execute the technical solution in any of the foregoing method embodiments, and the implementation principle and technical effect thereof are similar, and are not repeated here.

It should be noted that it should be understood that the division of each module of the above apparatus is only a division of logical functions, and may be fully or partially integrated into a physical entity in actual implementation, or may be physically separated. And these modules can all be implemented in the form of software calling through processing elements; they can also all be implemented in hardware; some modules can also be implemented in the form of calling software through processing elements, and some modules can be implemented in hardware. For example, the processing module may be a separately established processing element, or may be integrated into a certain chip of the above-mentioned device to be implemented, in addition, it may also be stored in the memory of the above-mentioned device in the form of program code, and a certain processing element of the above-mentioned device Call and execute the function of the above processing module. The implementation of other modules is similar. In addition, all or part of these modules can be integrated together, and can also be implemented independently. The processing element described here may be an integrated circuit with signal processing capability. In the implementation process, each step of the above-mentioned method or each of the above-mentioned modules can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor element or an instruction in the form of software.

For example, the above modules may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, such as: one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), or one or more digital microprocessors (digital) signal processor, DSP), or, one or more field programmable gate array (field programmable gate array, FPGA) and so on. For another example, when one of the above modules is implemented in the form of a processing element scheduling program code, the processing element may be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or other processors that can invoke program codes. For another example, these modules can be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of an AGV control apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 10 , the AGV control device 700 provided in this embodiment includes:

at least one processor 710 (only one processor is shown in Figure 7); and

a memory 720 in communication with the at least one processor; wherein,

The memory 720 stores instructions executable by the at least one processor 710, and the instructions are executed by the at least one processor 710, so that the control apparatus 700 can execute the technical solutions in any of the foregoing method embodiments.

Optionally, the memory 720 may be independent or integrated with the processor 710 .

When the memory 720 is a device independent of the processor 710 , the control apparatus 700 further includes: a bus 730 for connecting the memory 720 and the processor 710 .

Embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium, where computer-executable instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer-executable instructions are executed by a processor, are used to implement any of the foregoing method embodiments. Technical solutions.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, including: a processing module and a communication interface, where the processing module can execute the technical solutions in any of the foregoing method embodiments.

Further, the chip also includes a storage module (eg, memory), the storage module is used for storing instructions, the processing module is used for executing the instructions stored in the storage module, and the execution of the instructions stored in the storage module causes the processing module to execute any of the foregoing. The technical solutions in the method examples.

It should be understood that the above processor may be a central processing unit (English: Central Processing Unit, referred to as: CPU), and may also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (English: Digital Signal Processor, referred to as: DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (English: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, referred to as: ASIC) and so on. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the invention can be directly embodied as executed by a hardware processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

The memory may include high-speed RAM memory, and may also include non-volatile storage NVM, such as at least one magnetic disk memory, and may also be a U disk, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and the like.

The bus may be an industry standard architecture (Industry Standard Architecture, ISA) bus, a Peripheral Component (Peripheral Component, PCI) bus, or an extended industry standard architecture (Extended Industry Standard Architecture, EISA) bus, or the like. The bus can be divided into address bus, data bus, control bus and so on. For convenience of representation, the buses in the drawings of the present application are not limited to only one bus or one type of bus.

The above-mentioned storage medium may be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, such as static random access memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), erasable Except programmable read only memory (EPROM), programmable read only memory (PROM), read only memory (ROM), magnetic memory, flash memory, magnetic disk or optical disk. A storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor, such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the storage medium may be located in application specific integrated circuits (Application Specific Integrated Circuits, ASIC for short). Of course, the processor and the storage medium may also be present in the control device as discrete components.

Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, but not to limit them; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that: It is still possible to modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments, or perform equivalent replacements on some or all of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application. scope.

Claims (14)

1. A method for controlling an AGV (automatic guided vehicle) is characterized by comprising the following steps:

receiving a plurality of first positions reported by a plurality of AGV's in a warehouse at a first moment and a second position reported by a mobile terminal held by a user entering the warehouse at the first moment;

and controlling a first AGV located in a first parking area to park according to the plurality of first positions and the second position, wherein the second position is in the first parking area.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said controlling parking of a first AGV located within a first parking area based on said first position and said second position comprises:

determining a first parking area which takes the second position as a center and takes a preset distance as a radius in the warehouse according to the second position;

determining a first AGV currently located in the first parking area according to the first parking area and the plurality of first positions;

and sending a parking instruction to the first AGV.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said predetermined distance is greater than or equal to the sum of the maximum stopping distance of the AGV and the value of the mobile terminal positioning error.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

according to the plurality of first positions and the second position, a second AGV in the warehouse is controlled to avoid the first parking area, the second AGV is located in a preset range outside the first parking area, and a preset running route of the second AGV passes through the first parking area.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said controlling a second AGV in the warehouse to avoid the first parking area based on the plurality of first locations and the second location comprises:

determining a first parking area which takes the second position as a center and takes a preset distance as a radius in the warehouse according to the second position;

determining a third AGV currently located in a preset range outside the first parking area according to the first parking area and the plurality of first positions, and screening out a second AGV of which the preset running path passes through the first parking area from the third AGV;

and replanning the running path of the second AGV, and sending a new path control instruction to the second AGV.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, further comprising:

receiving a plurality of third positions reported by a plurality of AGV's in the warehouse at a second moment and a fourth position reported by the mobile terminal at the second moment;

and controlling a fourth AGV located in a second parking area to park according to the plurality of third positions and the fourth position, wherein the fourth position is in the second parking area.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the second parking area comprises a first sub-area that does not overlap the first parking area; controlling a fourth AGV to park according to the plurality of third positions and the fourth position, including:

determining a second parking area which takes the fourth position as the center and the preset distance as the radius in the warehouse according to the fourth position;

determining a fourth AGV currently located in the first sub-area according to the second parking area, the first parking area and the plurality of third positions;

and sending a parking instruction to the fourth AGV.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the first parking area includes a second sub-area that does not overlap the second parking area, the method further comprising:

and controlling a fifth AGV currently positioned in the second sub-area to start.

9. The method according to any of claims 1-5, wherein if the location update reported by the mobile terminal is not received within a preset time period, the method further comprises:

and sending a parking instruction to all online AGVs.

10. A control apparatus for an AGV, comprising:

the system comprises a receiving module and a processing module, wherein the receiving module is used for receiving a plurality of first positions reported by a plurality of AGV's (automatic guided vehicles) in a warehouse at a first moment and a second position reported by a mobile terminal held by a user entering the warehouse at the first moment;

and the processing module is used for controlling a first AGV positioned in a first parking area to park according to the plurality of first positions and the second position, and the second position is positioned in the first parking area.

11. A control apparatus for an AGV, comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor; wherein,

the memory stores instructions executable by the at least one processor to enable the control device to perform the method of any one of claims 1-9.

12. A control system for AGC, comprising: the system comprises an AGV control device, a plurality of online AGVs of a warehouse and a mobile terminal held by a user entering the warehouse, wherein the AGV control device is respectively in communication connection with the AGVs and the mobile terminal;

wherein the control means is adapted to perform the method according to any of claims 1-9 for controlling the stopping or starting of the AGVs.

13. The control system of claim 12, further comprising: the AGV comprises at least three positioning transmitters, wherein the positioning transmitters are used for transmitting broadcast signals, the mobile terminal is used for receiving the broadcast signals transmitted by the at least three positioning transmitters, determining the real-time position of the mobile terminal according to the broadcast signals, and reporting the real-time position to the AGV control device.

14. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising: for storing a computer program which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1-9.

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