Vision-Based Handling Tasks for an Autonomous Outdoor Forklift

摘要

In the aluminium industry, Hot Metal Carriers (HMCs) perform the task of transporting molten aluminium from the smelter (where the aluminium is made) to the casting shed where it is turned into block products. The vehicles weigh approximately 20 tonnes unloaded and resemble forklifts except they have a dedicated hook for manipulating the load, called the crucible. In the perspective of a full automation of this kind of vehicle, this paper main contribution is the implementation of robust outdoor crucible handling capacities, relying on the autonomous tracking of especially designed fiducials attached to the crucible handle.