Conventional transport robots and AGVs were simply controlled by tracing a dedicated route with magnetic tape, etc., so PLCs and control boards were sufficient for this purpose. However, recent AGVs require more advanced functions such as processing of camera images (e.g., QR code reading), cooperative operation with other equipment (e.g., other AGVs and robots), and operation management from a central server. Also, a fully autonomous AMR requires advanced computational processing, such as recognition of the current position by area sensors and optimal calculation (SLAM) to the destination based on map information. For this reason, in recent years, more and more AGV/AMRs are being equipped with a separate box computer and communication devices. By installing an expansion board for sensor input and motor control on the PiLink4, it is possible to replace the AGV driving control function by a PLC or dedicated control board, or the upper-level communication function by an LTE router, etc. OpenCV (image processing), which has a long history of use on the Raspberry Pi OS, ROS ( It is of course possible to use free open source software such as OpenCV (image processing) and ROS (AGV/AMR control), which have a long history of use on the Raspberry Pi OS, to develop a state-of-the-art AGV/AMR controller in-house with minimal cost and resources. One end-user in the domestic manufacturing industry has started a project to develop an AGV/AMR just right for their needs, and they have adopted PiLink4 as their all-in-one integrated controller.
