Ultrasonic Object Detection and Classification for AMR Safety

Abstract

Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) are used in industrial indoor applications for heavy loads. However, due to the lack of safety, only lightweight AMRs can be used for outdoor applications. In indoor applications, the binary information whether an object is in the protective field is sufficient and is often determined through use of a safety certified 2D scanner. AMRs intended for outdoor use must be able to traverse obstacles such as curbs and continue driving even if greenery, rainfall or dust enters the protective field. Therefore, a safe perception system capable of classifying objects is necessary. This perception system must function reliably under all weather and lighting conditions, be cost- and space-efficient, and can be computed in real time on processing resources with limited capabilities. To achieve this, we propose a method for localising and classifying multiple objects using an ultrasonic array mounted on an AMR.