BEACON – The World’s Highest Accuracy Target Positioning System - Guidance Automation
Published on : Monday 30-11--0001
- Beacon is an all-in-one integrated laser scanner and navigation module.
- It provides a highly accurate navigation solution via a laser which is usually mounted high-up on the Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) to provide clear line of sight to a well-distributed set of reflective targets.
- To identify these reflective targets Beacon uses a rotating, slightly fanned, laser beam that covers a full 360-degree area (or a combination of scanners if mounted lower).
- By measuring the distance and angle to these targets from the laser scanner, it is possible to determine a vehicle’s precise location at any time during a given process or journey.
Pinpoint Precision for Automated Guided Vehicles
The Beacon position measurement system provides a highly accurate means of determining the location of any AGV within a facility.
It achieves consistent measurement to within 4mm using a well-distributed set of reflective targets.
The key to the accuracy of the Beacon navigation system versus similar solutions on the market is its use of a ‘continuous wave’ beam of light. Beacon calculates its position using distance and bearing data from the first point it ‘sees’ each reflective target until the last moment that target is in its ‘vision’.
This enables a precise location to be calculated.
Simple and Quick Installations
The Beacon system is fast and easy to configure. To start, our engineers can recommend the positioning of a set of reflective targets in the operating environment. Guidance Adopt Beacon software and a mapping vehicle are then used to survey the work areas to create a map which is used by the navigation system to accurately provide positioning for all your AGVs.
Vehicle Control
The angular and linear velocities of the AGV are calculated by the Vehicle Controller Unit (VCU) – kingpiN™ or the customer’s own VCU – and supplied to Beacon over a data link.
Beacon then determines its position and makes corrections based on this data and the set of visible reflective targets that are individually recognised and measured. The corrected position is then fed back to the VCU.
Typical Uses
Using the Beacon navigation system, an AGV can ‘find’ its way around a facility to carry out instructed tasks automatically. Beacon is ideally suited for environments such as wide area warehousing, automotive manufacturing or industrial processing plants.
Guidance Automation Ltd,United Kingdom,T: +44 116 243 6250,E: [email protected]