Charging dock
The robot must automatically charge when the battery level is low to realize a large-scale autonomous mobile system. It is also desirable to shorten the charging time and resume operation as soon as possible. Therefore, we have developed a charging dock equipped with a "charging connector that enables quick charging" and a "ROS package that aligns toward the AR marker."
* [Patent number] Patent No. 6893230
Information
"Automatic charging connector for autonomous mobile robots" jointly developed with Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Ltd.
We are developing an automatic charging connector for autonomous mobile robots with Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Ltd . The connector's allowed deviation between the robot and the charging station is ± 13 mm along the horizontal plane and ± 5 ° along the horizontal angle. The rated current is continuous 50A. *
The connector includes a circuit that charges when the connector alignment is detected by an optical sensor, preventing malfunctions and failures due to poor contact.
* Allowable deviation and rated current are values at the development stage. The permissible deviation may be smaller depending on the shape and mounting position of the robot or charging station to be mounted.
Position correction using AR marker
Use the ar_track_alvar package to correct the position of the charging station with the RGB camera only. As a result, we have developed a ROS package that approaches the recognized charging station from the front and performs automatic charging operations. You can attach an AR marker anywhere; with this function, the robot can stop accurately in various places.
Maintenance-free with automatic charging
The self-propelled drone that we are developing keeps track of the battery status, and when the battery is low, it docks itself in the charging dock and charges it. When charging is complete, it will automatically return to the patrol of the goal point, so no one will bother you.