Visual navigation did not first appear in the field of AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) navigation; it first appeared in the field of automated production lines.
In the field of visual navigation for unmanned transport vehicles, the technology used is to acquire visible light signals through cameras. Based on the analogy of visual navigation systems, the navigation provided by military active infrared cameras does not belong to the field of visual navigation.
In addition to visual navigation, several other types of navigation systems have emerged for AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles), including laser navigation and magnetic navigation. However, even world-renowned OEMs have not yet perfected visual navigation.
Visual navigation differs from other navigation methods; its biggest advantage in AGVs is the absence of fixed reference points. However, the precision required for vehicle and track component positioning during AGV operations is constantly increasing. While current visual navigation systems used in automated production lines can achieve an accuracy of 0.1mm, the positioning accuracy of AGVs operating without fixed reference points is typically not high (for pure visual navigation systems).
To achieve higher positioning accuracy, AGV vision navigation systems require additional navigation methods besides visual navigation. By using vision systems with fixed reference objects as much as possible, excellent positioning accuracy and safety performance can be achieved.
From a long-term perspective, the development prospects of visual navigation systems are still very good. One reason is that visual navigation is the closest to understanding human "navigation and obstacle avoidance" methods. In addition to navigation, multiple cameras can also be used for inspection and recording functions, and AGVs will eventually move towards artificial intelligence navigation.
Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) employ visual navigation without fixed reference points, enabling more convenient deployment. Artificial intelligence navigation can completely overcome the shortcomings and deficiencies of current time-based navigation methods, and visual navigation offers advantages in terms of hardware cost and maintainability.
