A car transportation system using multiple robots iCART: (1st report, the design and the control algorithm of robots)

Abstract

We propose a novel car transportation system termed as iCART (intelligent cooperative autonomous robot transporters). This system transports cars using two robots that move in coordination. This car transportation system can transport cars of any size and offers various functions such as parking, valet parking, towing service, and the transportation of cars inside a factory, onto a ferry, and in complicated parking areas. The robots in this car transportation system comprise three modules: the mobile base module, the lifter module, and the connecting module. This paper describes the details of the operation mechanism and the basic algorithm of each module. A leader-follower-type distributed motion control algorithm is applied to the proposed system and is used in an experiment performed to verify the validity of its function.