Adaptive intervehicle positioning for robotic material transfer

This paper deals with analysis, simulation, and laboratory results for a solution to the inter-vehicle positioning problem in an outdoor environment. It is based on employing nine independent position sensors and three corner reflectors which enable one to uniquely define the location of a coordinate system on the vehicle to which material is to be transferred. The total robot position error is derived in terms of sensor errors and validated with laboratory measurements. Theoretical results are shown to correspond to laboratory measurements within 5 percent when using a custom end effector on a standard robot. Also, two sets of two-position sensors, corner reflectors, and electronics were constructed to allow demonstration of a mobile pick-and-place operation for rounds of ammunition in a laboratory environment.