Design and Realization of an Inductive Power Transfer for Shuttles in Automated Warehouses

The inductive power transfer (IPT) is expected to greatly contribute towards electrification in transportation. In fact, IPT charging technology has the potential to overcome several limitations of conductive charging: in particular, the process can be fully automatable, and both static and dynamic charging are allowed, thus reducing the size of the battery pack. Additionally, safety is increased due to the absence of safety issues related to loss of cable insulation or to the unwanted interruption of the plug-socket connection. This paper presents, from a systematic approach, the design and realization of a prototype for IPT charging of autonomous shuttles in automated warehouses. First of all, the typical mission profile of the shuttle was properly identified, and a storage system based on power-oriented electrochemical cells was sized. Based on that, the architecture of the IPT system was chosen, both for transmitting and receiving sections. The pads were designed for this purpose, by considering the geometric constraints imposed by the manufacturer, through the utilization of the finite elements method. Finally, the power electronic circuitry was also designed. Numerical simulations of the components, as well as of the complete system, were performed and a prototype was built to widely verify the correspondence of the simulation outputs with the results obtained from an experimental measurements campaign.

Observer design for a single mast stacker crane

This contribution is concerned with the design of observers for a single mast stacker crane, which is used, e. g., for storage and removal of loads in automated warehouses. As the mast of such stacker cranes is typically a lightweight construction, the system under consideration is described by ordinary as well as partial differential equations, i. e., the system exhibits a mixed finite-/infinite-dimensional character. We will present two different observer designs, an Extended Kalman Filter based on a finite-dimensional system approximation, using the Rayleigh-Ritz method and an approach exploiting the port-Hamiltonian system representation for the mixed finite-/infinite-dimensional scenario where in particular the observer-error system should be formulated in the port-Hamiltonian framework. The mixed-dimensional observer and the Kalman Filter are employed to estimate the deflection of the beam based on signals acquired by an inertial measurement unit at the beam tip. Such an approach considerably simplifies mechatronic integration as it renders strain-gauges at the base of the mast obsolete. Finally, measurement results demonstrate the capability of these approaches for monitoring and vibration-rejection purposes.

An Integrated Hardware and Software Platform for Control of Automatic Ground Vehicles

With the development of factory automation, intelligent manufacturing system technology, and three-dimensional automated warehouses, an automatic ground vehicle (AGV) became an essential part of controlling the discrete logistics management system within a facility. The scope of the AGV application and technical capability have been rapidly developed in recent years. However, it is highly time-consuming and resource-intensive to develop a comprehensive AGV platform in both industrial setting and academic environment to design and control of an AGV system. This paper introduces a platform for conducting AGV research and deployment, which consists of the hardware prototyping and entire software system development. By using this platform, users can readily develop customized AGV systems or verify their self-developed algorithms.

Smart Warehouse Governance using AI and Raspberry Pi

Sorting is the process of systematic selection and arrangement. Sorting involves intense labor work. The use of Artificial Intelligence in recognizing the objects by their color makes the process of sorting completely autonomous. Modern Industries require modern solutions for the problems encountered during the process of sorting. With the advent of Artificial Intelligence, the machines that can recognize an object by their color proves to be a primary solution that can completely automate the process of sorting. This paper presents a five-axis arm mounted on a robotic model that makes use of a color sorting technique. It performs pick and place operations in realtime. The color sorting technique detects the color of the object in the frame captured by the camera. The frame size is used to detect the position of the object in the real world. The robot model moves according to the frame size of the object. Raspberry Pi microcontroller drives the servo motor and dc motor to move the five-axis arm and the robotic model to sort and perform pick and place operation based on their color. The color sorting algorithm is based on the Hue-Saturation-Value model. This model finds its application in places where sorting is done based on color and not the object itself. For example, it is used to sort objects like different colored clothes, food items, etc. It also finds its application in very large scale warehouses such as Amazon, Flipkart, etc which focusses on smart automated warehouses that reduce the labor requirements

Development of SW Interface between Healthcare Standards—DASTA and HL7

The prescription and administration of drugs are the most common process that takes place in hospitals. Although a relatively simple process, it is considered the riskiest process in hospitals because mistakes during drug administration are among the most common ones. The aim is to introduce technological and process changes that will contribute to maximally increase the safety of the medication process and the efficiency of drug management. To support the automation of the medication process, it is desirable to use the international standard Health Level 7 (HL7). However, the Czech healthcare system currently supports the local healthcare standard—DASTA. For that reason, the paper introduces some of the options how to transfer data from DASTA to HL7 and deals with the development of a software (SW) interface that converts data necessary for robotic preparation of patient medication from the Czech DASTA data standard to the HL7 international standard used by selected robotics. Based on the performed analyses, a combination of robotics for the preparation of single-dose packages of drugs with one of the automated warehouses is recommended.

No Figures in the Landscape: Post-Anthropocentric Typologies of Architectural Settings in Science-Fiction Films

In the ascending age of automation factories, storage facilities, and server farms, intelligent buildings are becoming less dependent on human maintenance. These new and updated architectural forms do not comply with traditional typologies. From the Vitruvian Man to Modulor, our bodies were the measure of most constructions. Yet automation renders new constructions incompatible with patterns of human habitation. This article focuses on the iconography of buildings designed to operate with little to none human interaction, providing an insight into how such settings influenced recent (last decade) science-fiction films like Blade Runner 2049 (dir. Denis Villeneuve, 2017), Captive State (dir. Rupert Wyatt, 2019), I Am Mother (dir. Grant Sputore, 2019), or Transcendence (dir. Wally Pfister, 2014). In each of them, artificial intelligence is an intrinsic composite of the environment, terraforming a post-anthropocentric reality of data centres, automated warehouses and drosscapes.