Autonomous Material Handling Self-Driving Car Safety Supported by Seegrid

Seegrid Autonomous Material Handling Supports Self-Driving Car Safety

Today’s Motor Vehicles speaks with Seegrid executives about self-driving car safety. High-tech lift trucks and material handling systems share environments with pedestrians and human-operated vehicles, showing that autonomous vehicle technology can be used safely.

While experts debate how to get cars to drive themselves on public roads, autonomous material handling devices already share space with pedestrians and human-navigated vehicles, safely navigating around obstacles to reach their destinations.  Seegrid’s material handling systems, vision-guided vehicles (VGVs), use five sets of dual cameras to create 360° views of the environment around the vehicle. As the vehicle moves, cameras refresh the 3D view, and software tells the machines what items in the environment have changed as the vehicle’s position changes. Algorithms determine which of the objects the cameras have sensed are fixed or moving, and how to respond to those changes in the environment.

“We live in a hybrid environment every day. Our solutions can read their environments and react, so we know that autonomous vehicles can be safe – safer than human-controlled devices,” says Jim Rock, CEO of Seegrid.

Jeff Christensen, vice president of products at Seegrid says, “We make statistical and mathematical deductions of what we see. We determine that there’s a wall over there, and the ceiling is this far, and that there are some obstructions ahead of us. It gives us an understanding of our environment in an emergent way. We’re not anticipating that there’s a specific infrastructure in place. That’s how humans drive. We see indicators like lane markers or traffic lights, but we perceive the environment in a very abstract way and make inferences based on what we see.”

Today’s Motor Vehicle is a business-to-business trade publication dedicated covering design, engineering, and manufacturing topics for the motor vehicle world. Markets covered include passenger cars, light trucks, commercial trucks, and off-highway equipment.

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About Seegrid

Seegrid (www.seegrid.com), the pioneer and leader in three-dimensional vision navigation, provides unique and revolutionary automation technology for materials handling. Engineered with state-of-the-art Seegrid Vision, industrial trucks are transformed into the next generation of automated guided vehicles (AGVs): vision guided vehicles (VGVs). VGVs navigate without wires, lasers, magnets, or tape and they deliver unmatched flexibility. Designed for simplicity and reliability, the Seegrid flexible automation solution is available in a line of pallet trucks and tow tractors.

Experience the maximum benefits of VGVs with Seegrid Supervisor to manage, monitor and control a fleet of vehicles within the context of your operation. Generating economic advantages and operational efficiencies, VGVs optimize workflow processes, increase productivity and throughput, and reduce labor and operating costs, all while improving workplace safety, reducing equipment and product damage, and delivering a rapid return on investment.

Follow Seegrid on Twitter at @Seegrid.

Media Contact
Company Name: Seegrid Corporation
Contact Person: Amanda Merrell
Email: pr@seegrid.com
Phone: (412) 621-4305
Address:216 RIDC Park West Drive
City: Pittsburgh
State: PA
Country: United States
Website: www.seegrid.com