Development of standard test methods for unmanned and manned industrial vehicles used near humans

Abstract

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been researching human-robot-vehicle collaborative environments for automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and manned forklifts. Safety of AGVs and manned vehicles with automated functions (e.g., forklifts that slow/stop automatically in hazardous situations) are the focus of the American National Standards Institute/Industrial Truck Safety Development Foundation (ANSI/ITSDF) B56.5 safety standard. Recently, the NIST Mobile Autonomous Vehicle Obstacle Detection/Avoidance (MAVODA) Project began researching test methods to detect humans or other obstacles entering the vehicle’s path. This causes potential safety hazards in manufacturing facilities where both line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight conditions are prevalent. The test methods described in this paper address both of these conditions. These methods will provide the B56.5 committee with the measurement science basis for sensing systems - both non-contact and contact - that may be used in manufacturing facilities.