Efficient development of control software for automated guided vehicle systems

The demand for automated guided vehicle systems has decreased. A lot of expectations in this technology have not been fulfilled. Nevertheless there are fields - e.g. the textile industry - that offer an interesting potential for developments. A well known world wide acting textilmachine manufacturing firm developed in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Materialflow and Logistics an automated guided vehicle system (agvs), to automate the transport between textilmachines in the production of a spinning-mill. The obtained solution is characterized by a simple technology, standards and an efficient control concept. The underlying concept is especially adjusted for small plants with few vehicles. Economic requirements of small and medium sized enterprises are considered by this means. The main functions are concentrated on a central transport control computer. Because of the strict seperation of the control functions and the description of the agvs, the agvs control software can be used for a variety of automated guided vehicle systems. The structure of the transport system is described in a formal language. This process is based upon the "agvs-layout" and supported by a graphic editor. A special compiler translates the formal description into a datafile which can be interpreted by the agvs control software. There is no necessary to change the agvs control software, when it is adapted to further vehicle systems.