A magnetic marker (1) to be laid on a traveling road where a vehicle travels includes a circular sheet-shaped magnet sheet (10), which is a magnet as a magnetism generation source, having a diameter of 100 mm, and a reflective sheet (15) forming a reflecting part which retroreflects laser light from a lidar unit mounted on the vehicle and is laminated on a surface of magnet sheet (10). Since the magnetic marker is detectable not only magnetically by a magnetic sensor but also by a lidar unit using laser light, the magnetic marker is easily detected compared with a general magnetic marker that is detectable only magnetically.

The disclosure relates to a method for determining position information of a motor vehicle, which has an inductive charging device with at least one charging coil, which is in particular situated in the region of the bottom of the vehicle, and a measurement means which is assigned to the charging coil to measure a magnetic field, the method having the following steps: magnetizing, by supplying current to the charging coil, at least one magnetic structure which is situated in or on a surface on which the motor vehicle drives, wherein the structure and further structures are stored together with a position indication for the respective structure in a digital map; measuring, using the measurement means, measurement data which describe the magnetic behavior of the structure; identifying the structure by evaluating the measurement data; and determining the position information depending on position indication assigned to the identified structure.

A mobile robot is configured for operation in a commercial or industrial setting, such as an office building or retail store. The robot can patrol one or more routes within a building, and can detect violations of security policies by objects, building infrastructure and security systems, or individuals. In response to the detected violations, the robot can perform one or more security operations. The robot can include a removable fabric panel, enabling sensors within the robot body to capture signals that propagate through the fabric. In addition, the robot can scan RFID tags of objects within an area, for instance coupled to store inventory. Likewise, the robot can generate or update one or more semantic maps for use by the robot in navigating an area and for measuring compliance with security policies.

A materials handling vehicle operating system is provided comprising a tag layout where a plurality of entry/exit tag sets are arranged along a travel path at different ones of the entry/exit thresholds of a restricted navigation zone. Each entry/exit tag set comprises a release tag, a restriction tag, and an indicator tag. The indicator tag is positioned between the restriction tag and the restricted navigation zone. The restriction tag is positioned between the release tag and the indicator tag. The tag reader and the reader module cooperate to compare identified tag data with stored tag data and initiate a remediation operation when an indicator tag is identified in place of a restriction tag. Tag layouts for one-way and two-way travel into and out of a restricted navigation zone are also contemplated.

A method for charging a self-propelled robotic work tool (1) in a charging station (4), comprises the steps of: the robot (1) navigating towards a charging position in the charging station (4), and sensing an attaining of a predetermined charging position of the robotic work tool (1) in the charging station (4). A charging position sensor (6a) and a sensed feature (6b) are arranged in the self-propelled robotic work tool (1) and the charging station (4). A charging procedure is initiated once said charging position is attained, and the sensor (6a) detects the sensed feature (6b) in a contactless manner.

A system includes a charging station (4) and a robotic work tool (1), which each comprises one of a sensor (6a) and a sensed feature (6b), respectively, as well as first and second charging means (5a, 5b). The sensor (6a) and sensed feature (6b) are arranged for contactless detection.

A robotic work tool (1) for use in the system comprises a charging position sensor (6a), a chargeable battery, and a charging means (5a).

A wireless tag for sensor control is connected to a sensor and configured to control execution of measurements using the sensor. The wireless tag for sensor control includes: an antenna for receiving a radio wave or a magnetic field transmitted from an external wireless device; a power generation unit configured to generate electric power based on the radio wave or the magnetic field received by the antenna; and a control unit configured to control the sensor using generated power, which is the electric power supplied from the power generation unit, wherein the control unit includes: a power supply control unit configured to use a portion of the generated power to execute power supply to the sensor; an acquisition unit configured to receive a detection result from the sensor operated by the execution of the power supply; and a transmission processing unit configured to transmit communication information including the detection result to the outside.

Systems and methods for an autonomous navigation and transportation (ANT) system are described. In one embodiment, the ANT system includes stations, ANT vehicles, a pathway infrastructure, and a computing device. The computing device is configured to assign an ANT vehicle a first station and a transportation characteristic. The computing device is also configured to receive a junction signal in response to the ANT vehicle being present at a junction. The computing device is further configured to send a navigation signal to the ANT vehicle to cause the ANT vehicle to travel from the at least one junction. The computing device is configured to receive a destination signal from the ANT vehicle that the ANT vehicle is present at the first station based on a station identifier. The computing device is configured to cause the first station to perform an action relative to the ANT vehicle based on the transportation characteristic.

A mobile robot includes a body movable over a surface within an environment, a calibration coil carried on the body and configured to produce a calibration magnetic field, a sensor circuit carried on the body and responsive to the calibration magnetic field, and a controller carried on the body and in communication with the sensor circuit. The sensor circuit is configured to generate calibration signals based on the calibration magnetic field. The controller is configured to calibrate the sensor circuit as a function of the calibration signals, thereby resulting in a calibrated sensor circuit configured to detect a transmitter magnetic field within the environment and to generate detection signals based on the transmitter magnetic field. The controller is configured to estimate a pose of the mobile robot as a function of the detection signals.

The present invention provides a swarm manufacturing platform, based on a swarm 3D printing and assembly (SPA) platform as a model for future smart factories, consisting of thousands of IoT-based mobile robots performing different manufacturing operations with different end effectors (e.g., material deposition, energy deposition, pick and place, removal of materials, screw driving, etc.) and real-time monitoring. The swarm manufacturing platform transforms a 1-D factory into a 2-D factory with manufacturing robots that can move across the 2-D factory floor, work cooperatively with each other on the same production jobs, and re-configure in real-time (i.e., the manufacturing robots can be digitally controlled to move, re-group, calibrate, and work on a new job in real-time).

A telepresence robot may include a drive system, a control system, an imaging system, and a mapping module. The mapping module may access a map of an area and tags associated with the area. In various embodiments, each tag may include tag coordinates and tag information, which may include a tag annotation. A tag identification system may identify tags within a predetermined range of the current position and the control system may execute an action based on an identified tag whose tag information comprises a telepresence robot action modifier. The telepresence robot may rotate an upper portion independent from a lower portion. A remote terminal may allow an operator to control the telepresence robot using any combination of control methods, including by selecting a destination in a live video feed, by selecting a destination on a map, or by using a joystick or other peripheral device.