Docking of a mobile platform based on infrared sensors

This paper presents a sensor based docking strategy for a nonholonomic mobile platform used to support material transportation operations in industrial like environments. A low cost infrared sensor system was designed and implemented, aiming at locating the mobile platform relative to the docking station where passive reflectors are installed. With this information, trajectories are generated and followed, docking the platform with a good accuracy (around /spl plusmn/0.5 cm in x and y, and /spl plusmn/1/spl deg/ in /spl theta/) considering that the system was designed based on low cost sensors. The paper presents relevant experimental results.