Develoment of a navigation system for an autonomous guided vehicle using android technology

Modern cell phone hardware, due to its integrated peripherals, provides a low cost intelligent controller for use in the navigation of an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV). Most commercial AGV’s use proprietary hardware which is expensive to replace and also difficult to maintain. Using industrial hardware components combined with Android mobile platforms could provide a low-cost alternative. This would be easier to maintain, using existing in-house factory maintenance knowledge. A prototype AGV was designed and developed based on an integrated system between an industrial Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) and an Android operating system mobile platform. This system utilises the mobile platforms integrated Global Position System (GPS) or video camera as tools for navigation. Experimental tests were performed to determine whether the prototype can navigate a predefined course by making use of GPS and camera line following algorithms. The accuracy of the line following algorithm was influenced by the speed at which the research AGV moved. Mounting the Android camera higher above the ground improved the vision and therefore accuracy of the algorithm. The GPS algorithm successfully navigated to various waypoints. The accuracy of the implemented GPS unit on the Android device is its limitation. The research unit was only capable of reaching a waypoint consistently within a three-metre radius