Improvement of Automated Mobile Marking Robot System Using Reflectorless Three-Dimensional Measuring Instrument

In previous study we have already reported fully automated mobile marking robot system in construction site for streamlining marking work that is currently carried out manually. However, marking accuracy and efficiency were not satisfied compared to those of construction worker, further improvement was desired. This paper is the second report of the system. The purpose of this paper is to improve the marking performance of the system. The proposed system consists of a reflectorless three-dimensional measuring instrument and a mobile marking robot. The former accurately directs a measuring laser and measures a distance to the robot. The latter is a mobile robot which has a marking device and a special positioning sensor. It is important to navigate the marking robot to the designated marking position quickly and correctly. Two self-positioning estimation method is combined. The robot position is roughly estimated by the wheel odometry method during movement. On the other hand, it is accurately measured by the combination of a three-dimensional measuring instrument and the special positioning sensor just before drawing a mark on the floor. The marking device draws the mark exactly on the designated position based on the deviation between the designated position and the measured robot position. This paper describes the mechanism of proposed system and some experimental results. It also shows improvement of the marking performance compared to previous prototype.