Sustainable Automated Guided Vehicle

The aim of this project is to construct, from scratch, an automated guided vehicle. There are to be some deviations from conventional AGVs, in the sense that this AGV is to be a sustainable one; capable of utilizing solar power to allow for a greener world. Furthermore, this AGV attempts to be more

Project Title

Sustainable Automated Guided Vehicle

Project Area of Specialization

Mechatronics Engineering

Project Summary

The aim of this project is to construct, from scratch, an automated guided vehicle. There are to be some deviations from conventional AGVs, in the sense that this AGV is to be a sustainable one; capable of utilizing solar power to allow for a greener world. Furthermore, this AGV attempts to be more feasible for smaller enterprises by removing the need for a battery. The elimination of a battery results in the reduction of a standby AGV that has to be present during charging of conventional AGVs. This makes the Sustainable Automated Guided Vehicle feasible and practical for smaller enterprises. Furthermore, conventional AGVs rely on magnetic or colored tapes for the purposes of navigation. This is not effective in the long term as these tapes are easily worn down. As a replacement, the Sustainable AGV uses a metallic strip for the purposes of navigation which is more robust and requires lower maintenance. The target environment for this AGV is the manufacturing industry or the automation industry, where material handling can be entirely automated, removing the need for labor.

Project Objectives

The primary objective of this project is to make a sustainable automated guided vehicle that can be used for material handling in a manufacturing environment.The minimum required goal for load is 30kg. This means the AGV can carry a minimum of 30kg of materials and transport them effectively.

The second goal is to produce an automated guided vehicle capable of tracking the shortest path to any work station at any given point. This means, when the AGV receives a signal to approach a work station, from multiple paths, the AGV will be able to reach its target destination using the shortest path, or if there are mutliple shortest paths present, the AGV can make a decision on which shortest path to use.

The third goal is to produce a battery-less automated guided vehicle. This elimination of the need to recharge will consequently result in the elimination of a standby AGV, reducing on costs.

The final goal is to ensure that this AGV uses solar power to function, thus not relying on the national grid, and running off of clean energy. Through this, more energy is available to the residential consumer.

Project Implementation Method

To achieve all the goals, a specific methodology has to be followed. The first step will be the design of the AGV, including material, design, analyses of structure, sensors and actuators. 

The design will be made using a solid modelling software, such as SolidWorks. During this design phase, it must be carefully assessed that no metal sheet should bend due to load, that the AGV should be able to lift its target load of 30kg with a minimum factor of safety of 2, there must not be failure in any part of the structure, and that the dimensions would be adequate for all further components such as controllers, circuitry, sensors and actuators. Once this is done, the design has to be simulated to ensure all calculations meet the results. 

Once the design is complete, the next step will be the hardware fabrication where materials must be worked in a metalworks shop to produce the body of the Automated Guided Vehicle. The processes involved will be material acquisition, cutting, drilling, welding and finishing. The result of this should be the body of the AGV. This has to then be padded with rubber to act as an insulating material so that the circuitry is not at risk of short circuits.

After the hardware fabrication is complete, the next step will be gear/motor coupling with the wheels, and installation of the electronics necessary to bring the AGV to life. This includes all the sensors, drivers, ICs, controllers and any extra wiring/insulation required. 

From there, the programming for navigation, node detection, collision avoidance and shortest path tracking must be implemented. The navigation code has to be a PID based line-following control system. The node detection has to utilize RFID sensors to provide interrupts to the above coding. The collision avoidance system must use ultrasonic sensors to measure distance in front of the vehicle, and to apply brakes if the AGV is about to collide. The shortest path algorithm must then use all of the above systems to finalize the programming of the AGV.

Once the programming is tested using a battery, the system will be implemented onto a battery-less power system using copper tracks that run along the AGV, much like an electric train. By feeding live power into the AGV, there is no requirement of battery power which accomplishes an additional goal.

Benefits of the Project

The primary benefit of this project is to move towards a new era in the manufacturing industry, where material handling is still done through use of manual labor. This project aims to provide an alternative method where requirement of personnel on the site is minimized. According to research, the market of AGVs is expected to double in the next five years. 

Automation of manufacturing industries also makes them more efficient, as the absence of labor results in lesser need for breaks, lunch-times, along with reducing risk of health and safety present in hazardous industries and finally, these systems can also work overtime without violation of any human rights or requiring wages for working over-time. Theoretically, the machines could work 24/7 without any interruption.

Furthermore, switching over to solar power will be beneficial not just for the country but also the world, relieving load from the fossil fuel based national grid. According to further research, a facility that requires 172kWh, by switching to solar power, can save up to $25,000 per year.

Finally, as this project will not be using a battery for powering, and will cut down on any backup AGVs that have to be there for downtime during charging, this project will become more feasible for smaller enterprises.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

The body of the AGV will consist of two primary sections; the mobile robot that will consist of the electronic circuitry such as sensors and controllers; and the load-bearing cage in which the material will be stored. The sensors to be used are: NPN inductive proximity sensors, RFID readers and ultrasonic sensors. This body will be tested on SolidWorks through a Static Analysis to determine the factor of safety. 

The selected controller for this project will be the Raspbery Pi 3 Model B which is a microprocessor that is equipped with a WiFi module, to be used for communication between workstations and the AGV, as well as its ability to process multiple commands simultaneously. 

The metallic strip to be followed will be made of stainless steel, of thickness 0.2mm and a width of 50.8mm or 2inches. 

There will be copper tracks running along the AGV to allow for powering, and there will be wooden guides to insulate these copper tracks from personnel present in the environment. 

The motors selected must be able to overcome a torque of 120Nm combined. This means that the two motors each must be able to overcome 60Nm of torque, which can be reduced by using gears.

The shortest path algorithm to be used will be the A* algorithm. 

Final Deliverable of the Project

HW/SW integrated system

Core Industry

Manufacturing

Other Industries

Transportation

Core Technology

Robotics

Other Technologies

Clean Tech

Sustainable Development Goals

Affordable and Clean Energy, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Sustainable Cities and Communities

Required Resources

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