Description
Companies are increasingly looking for cost reductions in products manufacturing pro cesses, in order to get more profit and be more competitive in the market. The use of robots,
automatic systems and AGVs in the industry shows the growth and need of increasingly opti mized processes.
The purpose of this project is to develop an autonomous electric vehicle, which can travel
through the factory environment of a company, transporting people and supplies. The major
advantage of this project is the cost and time reduction it brings to the company - since it is a
low cost product when compared to the similar alternatives in the same segment - and the need lessness of user interaction to move the vehicle. The vehicle is 100% electric-powered, being
able to travel up to 90km without recharging, making it a cheap alternative to its competitors.
The autonomous electric vehicle can travel through both internal (factory) and external
(streets and highways) areas, making it a very versatile product, regardless of the condition of
the road or path where it operates. To get around, the device uses GPS and compass signals to
locate itself in space and follow pre-defined routes across geographic locations. When indoors,
it uses infrared sensors, identifying the difference in colors and thus following predefined lines
designated on the floor.
The vehicle is controlled by microcontrollers, which read and interpret user interactions to
make sure the product moves around areas and routes defined by the user with safety, transport ing people and supplies. The key feature of the product is safety: because it shares the space
with people, the vehicle has several sensors that perform analysis and avoid collisions and/or
accidents.
After developing the prototype, it is possible to conclude that the technologies used in au tonomous vehicles are of great importance and provide knowledge to keep improving solutions
in this segment. The results show the developed product achieved satisfying performance, but
with great room for improvement in the future.
