No description available.

No description available.

The purpose of this research was to determine the feasibility of a laser-based positioning system as a primary navigation method. The system developed for this research consisted of an automated guided vehicle which navigated solely with the use of the laser-based positioning system in real-time. To date, there are no systems which can navigate a pre-defined path using such a positioning system. Some lessons were learned by the researcher, however, concerning the viability of this system in an industrial environment. The system should have had the following advantages over previous systems: 1) Greater range, 2) no prior structuring of environment, 3) real-time navigation, and 4) no reliance on dead-reckoning for navigation. The results showed that goals two through four had been met and are advantages of this system over current systems. The range of this system is limited, however, but it is believed that the next generation system should have greater range than the system used in this research. / Master of Science

Ålö AB is a world-leading company in agricultural equipment. They sell and manufacture front loaders and implement solutions for tractors. The transport solution currently used in assembly is outdated and must be replaced in the near future. The purpose of the project was to carry out a preliminary investigation to provide increased knowledge for future decisions regarding the implementation of a new transport system. The investigation was conducted through a literature review and observation of the existing transport system. Additionally, a market survey of the transport systems has also been performed. The study is based on theories such as 5s and the Toyota Production system (TPS). In this report, five different transport solutions such as monorail, drag chain conveyor, and Automated Guided Vehicles, are compared with each other based on various aspects identified during the implementation process. Examples of these aspects include expansion possibilities, safety, and ergonomics. Each transport system was evaluated and compared in a table, scored on a scale of 1-5 based on these aspects. The two systems that were considered most suitable were selected for further comparison. The project was limited to addressing only the transport system itself, excluding layout proposals or logistics. The result indicate that an Automated Guided Vehicle system is the most optimal transport solution for the assembly line. Further work on the project should include a cost comparison of the different transport solutions, as well as a deeper analysis of their integration with existing systems. / Ålö AB är ett världsledande företag inom jordbruksredskap. De säljer och tillverkar frontlastare och redskapslösningar till traktorer. Transportlösningen som används på monteringen idag är gammal och måste bytas ut inom en snar framtid. Syftet med projektet var att genomföra en förundersökning som kan bidra med ökade kunskaper inför kommande beslut om implementering av ett nytt transportsystem. Genomförandet av undersökningen bygger på en litteraturstudie och observation av befintligt transportsystem. Även en marknadsundersökning över transportsystem har gjorts. Arbetet utgår från teorier som 5s och Toyota Production system. Fem olika transportlösningar, exempelvis monorail, drag chain conveyor och Automated Guided Vehicles, jämförs med varandra och diskuteras utifrån aspekter som tagits fram under genomförandet. Exempel på aspekterna är utbyggnadsmöjligheter, säkerhet och ergonomi. Aspekterna poängsattes på en skala 1–5. De två system som ansågs mest lämpade valdes ut för en vidare jämförelse. Projektet avgränsades till att endast behandla själva transportsystemet, inte layoutförslag eller logistik. Resultatet visar att ett Automated Guided Vehicle system är det mest optimala transportsystemet för monteringslinan. Fortsatt arbete med projektet borde inkludera en jämförelse av kostnaderna för de olika transportlösningarna. Samt en djupare analys av deras integrering med befintliga system.

O aumento no número de dispositivos móveis com crescente capacidade de processamento traz como incentivo o desenvolvimento de sistemas distribuídos que possam explorar estas novas tecnologias. Dentro dos sistemas distribuídos, os mecanismos que permitem a troca de dados entre os processos que o constituem, possuem um papel importante para o desempenho da aplicação. Uma abordagem interessante para implementar estes mecanismos é por meio do uso de middlewares. O middleware abstrai as funcionalidades básicas oferecidas pelo sistema operacional e hardware para oferecer serviços de alto nível aos desenvolvedores. Estes serviços permitem aos desenvolvedores se concentrarem somente na lógica interna de suas aplicações, reduzindo também seu custo de manutenção. Incentivado pela necessidade de um mecanismo que garantisse a troca de informações entre as unidades de um sistema autônomo para o gerenciamento de AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicle), desenvolvido pelo grupo de mecatrônica da Universidade de São Paulo, este trabalho propõe uma arquitetura de comunicação baseada em middlewares que é inspirada no paradigma de comunicação RMI (Remote Method Invocation) para suprir a troca de dados necessária por meio do conceito de objetos distribuídos. Para apresentar o uso da IDL (Interface Definition Language) disponibilizada pela arquitetura proposta, uma demonstração de como acrescentar novos serviços à arquitetura é descrita. Para avaliar o desempenho da arquitetura e analisar o comportamento dos serviços oferecidos, testes de tempo de resposta, throughput e disponibilidade foram realizados. Pode-se verificar que a arquitetura proposta, além de apresentar um desempenho satisfatório para a operação do sistema de AGVs, proporcionou uma estrutura que pode ser facilmente adaptada para futuras alterações no projeto sem modificar diretamente as definições da arquitetura de comunicação. / The increase in the process capacity of mobile devices has motivated the development of distributed applications that exploit new technologies. In distributed applications, the mechanisms that enable the exchange of data among the application processes play an important role in their performance. An interesting way to deal with such an exchange is to adopt middleware to handle communication. The middleware abstracts the functionalities provided by the underlying operational system and hardware and offers a set of high-level services, which assist developers in working directly with the logic of the application and reducing its maintenance costs. Motivated by the necessity of a mechanism that ensures the exchange of information among the units of an AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) system designed by the University of São Paulo, this dissertation develops a communication architecture based on middleware. The architecture is inspired in the RMI (Remote Method Invocation) paradigm to enable the data exchange based on the concept of distributed objects. An IDL (Interface Definition Language) was conceived for the architecture and a demonstration of how new services can be added to the structure was conducted. To validate the performance of the proposed middleware and its services, tests of network response time, throughput and availability were carried out. The architecture showed a satisfactory performance for the operation of the AGV system and provided a structure that can be easily adapted for future changes in the project.

O aumento no número de dispositivos móveis com crescente capacidade de processamento traz como incentivo o desenvolvimento de sistemas distribuídos que possam explorar estas novas tecnologias. Dentro dos sistemas distribuídos, os mecanismos que permitem a troca de dados entre os processos que o constituem, possuem um papel importante para o desempenho da aplicação. Uma abordagem interessante para implementar estes mecanismos é por meio do uso de middlewares. O middleware abstrai as funcionalidades básicas oferecidas pelo sistema operacional e hardware para oferecer serviços de alto nível aos desenvolvedores. Estes serviços permitem aos desenvolvedores se concentrarem somente na lógica interna de suas aplicações, reduzindo também seu custo de manutenção. Incentivado pela necessidade de um mecanismo que garantisse a troca de informações entre as unidades de um sistema autônomo para o gerenciamento de AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicle), desenvolvido pelo grupo de mecatrônica da Universidade de São Paulo, este trabalho propõe uma arquitetura de comunicação baseada em middlewares que é inspirada no paradigma de comunicação RMI (Remote Method Invocation) para suprir a troca de dados necessária por meio do conceito de objetos distribuídos. Para apresentar o uso da IDL (Interface Definition Language) disponibilizada pela arquitetura proposta, uma demonstração de como acrescentar novos serviços à arquitetura é descrita. Para avaliar o desempenho da arquitetura e analisar o comportamento dos serviços oferecidos, testes de tempo de resposta, throughput e disponibilidade foram realizados. Pode-se verificar que a arquitetura proposta, além de apresentar um desempenho satisfatório para a operação do sistema de AGVs, proporcionou uma estrutura que pode ser facilmente adaptada para futuras alterações no projeto sem modificar diretamente as definições da arquitetura de comunicação. / The increase in the process capacity of mobile devices has motivated the development of distributed applications that exploit new technologies. In distributed applications, the mechanisms that enable the exchange of data among the application processes play an important role in their performance. An interesting way to deal with such an exchange is to adopt middleware to handle communication. The middleware abstracts the functionalities provided by the underlying operational system and hardware and offers a set of high-level services, which assist developers in working directly with the logic of the application and reducing its maintenance costs. Motivated by the necessity of a mechanism that ensures the exchange of information among the units of an AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) system designed by the University of São Paulo, this dissertation develops a communication architecture based on middleware. The architecture is inspired in the RMI (Remote Method Invocation) paradigm to enable the data exchange based on the concept of distributed objects. An IDL (Interface Definition Language) was conceived for the architecture and a demonstration of how new services can be added to the structure was conducted. To validate the performance of the proposed middleware and its services, tests of network response time, throughput and availability were carried out. The architecture showed a satisfactory performance for the operation of the AGV system and provided a structure that can be easily adapted for future changes in the project.

No description available.

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-63).

Context: Due to an increase in inter-terminal transportation (ITT) volume within a container port; complexity of transportation processes between the terminals has also increased. Problems with the current way of handling ITT resources are expected to rise in the near future. Different types of vehicles are already in place for transporting containers between different terminals in a container port. However, there need to be an efficient and effective use of these vehicle types in order to get maximum benefits out of these resources. Objectives: In this thesis, we investigate and propose a solution model for ITT considering the combination of both manned (MTS, Trucks) and unmanned (AGV) vehicles. An agent based model is proposed for ITT focusing on three ITT vehicle types. Objective of proposed model is to investigate the capabilities and combination of different vehicles for transporting containers between different container terminals in a port.  Methods: A systematic literature review is conducted to identify the problems and methods and approaches for solving those problems in the domain of container transportation. As a case, an agent-based model is proposed for the Maasvlakte area of the Rotterdam port. Simulations are performed on different scenarios to compare three different road vehicle types, i.e., AGV, MTS, and truck, in a network comprising of ten terminals. Results: Literature review results indicate that heuristics is the most commonly used method to solve different problems of container transportation in the recent past. The review also depicts that limited research has been published focusing on ITT when compared to intra-terminal transportation. Simulation results of our proposed model indicate that AGVs outperforms trucks in terms of loading/unloading time and number of vehicles required to handle the given volume of all scenarios. In most of the cases, it is observed that the number of trucks required are twice as much as compared to AGVs in order to transport containers between different terminals. Results also show that lower number MTS vehicles (as compared to AGVs) are required for handling containers in certain scenarios; however, the loading/unloading time for MTS is much higher than that of AGVs. Conclusions: Using agent-based simulation experiments, we propose a model that can help in estimating the required resources (vehicles) to handle the ITT containers volume and improve the utilization of different resources in a network of terminals. From comparison of three road vehicle types, it was concluded that trucks are incapable to handle higher container volume in an ITT. It was also concluded that AGVs can be an appropriate choice if automated operations are supported in the terminals, otherwise MTS is the best choice concerning the number of vehicles required to handle containers. Our simulation results may help the ITT planners in better estimations and planning of ITT to meet current and future challenges of transporting high containers volume.

The need for faster and more reliable logistics solutions is rapidly increasing. This is due to higher demands on the logistical services to improve quality,  quantity, speed and reduce the error tolerance. An arising solution to these increased demands is automated solutions in warehouses, i.e., automated material  handling. In order to provide a satisfactory solution, the vehicles need to be smart and able to solve unexpected situations without human interaction.  The purpose of this thesis was to investigate if obstacle detection and avoidance in a semi-unknown environment could be achieved based on the data from a 2D LIDAR-scanner. The work was done in cooperation with the development of a new load-handling vehicle at Toyota Material Handling. The vehicle is navigating from a map that is created when the vehicle is introduced to the environment it will be operational within. Therefore, it cannot successfully navigate around new unrepresented obstacles in the map, something that often occurs in a material handling warehouse. The work in this thesis resulted in the implementation of a modified occupancy grid map algorithm, that can create maps of previously unknown environments if the position and orientation of the AGV are known. The generated occupancy grid map could then be utilized in a lattice planner together with the A* planning algorithm to find the shortest path. The performance was tested in different scenarios at a testing facility at Toyota Material Handling.  The results showed that the occupancy grid provided an accurate description of the environment and that the lattice planning provided the shortest path, given constraints on movement and allowed closeness to obstacles. However, some performance enhancement can still be introduced to the system which is further discussed at the end of the report.  The main conclusions of the project are that the proposed solution met the requirements placed upon the application, but could benefit from a more efficient usage of the mapping algorithm combined with more extensive path planning. / <p>Digital framläggning</p>