A method of correction of odometry errors during the autonomous drive of a wheel-equipped apparatus having a drive mechanism operatively connected to at least two drive wheels, at least one pivoting wheel operatively connected to a sensor and a control unit operatively connected to the drive mechanism and to the sensor, the method including: an acquisition phase, wherein the sensor acquires an angle of rotation of the at least one pivoting wheel with respect to an axis of rotation substantially perpendicular to a rest surface of the at least one pivoting wheel; a generation phase, wherein the control unit generates a corrective signal that controls the drive mechanism in such a way as to independently operate the at least two drive wheels on the basis of the angle of rotation of the at least one pivoting wheel.

A map updating technique offers the performance advantages gained by robots using a good-quality static map for autonomous navigation within an environment, while providing the convenience of automatic updating. In particular, one or more robots log data while performing autonomous navigation in the environment according to the static map, and a computer appliance, such as a centralized server, collects the logged data as historic logged data, and performs a map update process using the historic logged data. Such operations provide for periodic or as needed updating of the static map, based on observational data from the robot(s) that capture changes in the environment, without need for taking the robot(s) offline for the computation.

The present disclosure provides an apparatus for facilitating navigation of a device. Further, the apparatus may include a sensor board comprising two or more sensors. Further, the two or more sensors include a first sensor and a second sensor. Further, the first sensor and the second sensor may be in line on a first plane and separated by a distance. Further, the two or more sensors may be configured to generate a first sensor data and a second sensor data. Further, the apparatus may include a processing device communicatively coupled with the sensor board. Further, the processing device may be configured to analyze the first sensor data and the second sensor data. Further, the processing device may be configured to generate a navigation data. Further, the apparatus may include a communication device. Further, the communication device may be configured to transmit the navigation data to the device.

An autonomous transport robot for transporting a payload is provided and includes a frame with an integral payload support, a transfer arm connected to the frame for autonomous transfer of payload to and from the frame, and a drive section with at least a pair of traction drive wheels astride the drive section, the drive section being connected to the frame. The at least the pair of traction drive wheels have a fully independent suspension coupling each traction drive wheel of the at least the pair of traction drive wheels to the frame, with at least one intervening pivot link between at least one traction drive wheel and the frame configured to maintain a substantially steady state traction contact patch between the at least one traction drive wheel and a rolling surface over rolling surface transients throughout traverse of the at least one traction drive wheel over the rolling surface.

A remotely controlled vehicle (RCV) includes a vehicle propulsion system constructed and arranged to move the RCV. The RCV further includes a vehicle control computer coupled with the vehicle propulsion system. The vehicle control computer is constructed and arranged to operate the vehicle propulsion system. The RCV further includes electronic safety equipment coupled with the vehicle propulsion system. The electronic safety equipment is constructed and arranged to perform a method which includes receiving a set of speed signals indicating a current speed of the RCV. The method further includes performing a comparison operation which compares the current speed of the RCV, as indicated by the set of speed signals, to a predefined maximum speed. The method further includes triggering an emergency vehicle stop in response to a result of the comparison operation indicating that the current speed of the RCV exceeds the predefined maximum speed by a predefined amount.

A control system for a vehicle includes a first controller, a second controller, and an auto-tuner. The first controller is configured to generate an optimal trajectory of the vehicle along a path. The second controller is configured to, based on the optimal trajectory generated by the first controller, generate motoring and braking commands to a motoring and braking system of the vehicle for controlling the vehicle to travel along the path. The auto-tuner includes a processor configured to solve a real-time optimization problem to determine at least one parameter of at least one of the first controller or the second controller.

An automated storage and retrieval system including a storage structure with storage racks having a seating surface configured to support case units where a position of each case unit non-deterministic for each storage location on the storage racks, each case unit has a predetermined storage position and a controller is configured to determine the predetermined storage position, a picking aisle configured to provide access to the case units within the storage structure, and a seismic disturbance restorative system including seismic disturbance motions sensors disposed on the storage racks, a seismic disturbance control module in communication with the seismic disturbance sensors and configured to identify a seismic disturbance, and an automated case mapper configured to traverse the picking aisle, the automated case mapper being in communication with and initialized by the seismic disturbance control module to identify a seated position of at least one case unit within the storage structure.

A mobile cleaning robot configured to clean an environment. The mobile cleaning robot can include a body and a drivetrain operable to move the body within the environment. The robot can include a sensor connected to the body and configured to generate a sensor signal based on interactions between the mobile cleaning robot and the environment. The robot can include an image capture device connected to the body and configured to generate an image stream based on an optical filed of view of the image capture device. The robot can include a controller connected to the body and configured to determine whether the mobile cleaning robot is in a stasis condition based on the image stream and the sensor signal. The controller can also update a map of the environment based on the stasis determination.

A method and apparatus are disclosed for a clutter tidying robot utilizing floor segmentation for its mapping and navigation system, whereby a perception module and navigation module transform lidar and image data from lidar sensors and cameras of a robot sensing system using segmentation and pseudo-laserscan or point cloud transformations to generate global and local maps. The robot pose and maps are transmitted to a robot brain that directs an action module to produce robot action commands controlling the operation of a clutter tidying robot using the pose and map data. In this manner multi-stage planning and sophisticated obstacle avoidance techniques may be incorporated into autonomous robot operations.

A mobility platform is configured to execute one or more tasks in a worksite including a passive landmark. A mobility platform may include a first laser rangefinder and at least one processor configured to sweep the first passive landmark with the first laser rangefinder to collect a first plurality of distance measurements for a first plurality of yaw angles, fit a first shape to the first plurality of distance measurements based on a predetermined shape of the first passive landmark, and determine a position of a geometric center of the first passive landmark relative to the first location of the first laser rangefinder based on the fit first shape.