The pilot study of object following for automated guided vehicle

This paper aims at the pilot study of the object following for automated guided vehicle (AGV). The proposed approach utilizes the laser range finder (LRF) to detect the distances of all obstacles surrounded in a specified angle range. The AGV can autonomously follow the assigned object according to the rational reflection intensity and range of the object sensed from LRF. The cruise speed control for a moving object depending on the distance between AGV and this object is considered since it is one of the crucial parameters for object following. This paper also discusses the influences of the sensor delay which is an indispensable issue in both control law and control logic. This pilot study employs a down scaled AGV to verify the feasibilities of the steering, accelerating, braking, and object following algorithms developed for AGVs.