Abstract
To cope with variable types and quantities of production in factories and a wide variety of orders in distribution centers, the demand for autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), which are not restricted by guide rails, is increasing in place of automated guided vehicles (AGVs). Accurate localization is necessary to realize a highly efficient AMR transport system, and accurate posture control is necessary for cooperative operation with a manipulator on AMR. To realize this, it is important to investigate how AMR changes its localization and posture accuracy while operating, and to correct its position and posture. In this study, we tracked the actual position of an AMR using an overhead camera while the AMR was operating, and examined the accuracy of the AMR’s localization and posture sequentially when the course geometry was changed. It was found that the reflected light was weak in the areas where the incident angle of infrared rays was large, and the areas were lost on the map, which affected the accuracy of localization. A linear relationship was observed between the posture estimation error and angular velocity, and the accuracy could be improved by modifying the posture estimates using this relationship. The accuracy of posture estimation decreased when the AMR turned, which affected the accuracy of localization.
