Open Access

ARTICLE

Mobile Robots’ Collision Prediction Based on Virtual Cocoons

by Virginijus Baranauskas^1,*, Žydrūnas Jakas¹, Kastytis Kiprijonas Šarkauskas¹, Stanislovas Bartkevičius², Gintaras Dervinis¹, Alma Dervinienė³, Leonas Balaševičius¹, Vidas Raudonis¹, Renaldas Urniežius¹, Jolanta Repšytė¹

1 Department of Automation, Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, LT-51367, Lithuania
2 Department of Electrical Power Systems, Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, LT-51367, Lithuania
3 Department of Electronics Engineering, Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, LT-51367, Lithuania

* Corresponding Author: Virginijus Baranauskas. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Soft Computing Methods for Intelligent Automation Systems)

Intelligent Automation & Soft Computing 2022, 32(3), 1343-1356. https://doi.org/10.32604/iasc.2022.022288

Received 03 August 2021; Accepted 06 September 2021; Issue published 09 December 2021

Abstract

The research work presents a collision prediction method of mobile robots. The authors of the work use so-called, virtual cocoons to evaluate the collision criteria of two robots. The idea, mathematical representation of the calculations and experimental simulations are presented in the paper work. A virtual model of the industrial process with moving mobile robots was created. Obstacle avoidance was not solved here. The authors of the article were working on collision avoidance problem solving between moving robots. Theoretical approach presents mathematical calculations and dependences of path angles of mobile robots. Experimental simulations, using the software Centaurus CPN, based on colored Petri nets, has shown, that the possible conflict can be predicted in advance using calculations of the angle of movement of two possibly colliding cocoons. Authors of the paper presents and explains experimental simulations, where robots are moving in different path angles, which intersects each other. Proposed collision avoidance algorithm solves collision avoidance task using several possibilities. Software Centaurus CPN gives possibility to stop simulation of manufacturing process in the place where it finds possible collision between two cocoons. In order to check correctness of proposed collision prediction and avoidance algorithm, further simulation is done step by step, while situation is solved. Simulated manufacturing process is continued till new possible collision is obtained.

---

Keywords

---