Comparison between Line-Followers and Free Movement Robots in Tasks Execution in a Simulated Environment

• Igor Pardal Latini UTFPR
• Wilson Eduardo Barioni UTFPR
• Marco Teixeira UTFPR
• Flavio Neves-Jr UTFPR
• Lucia Valeria Ramos de Arruda UTFPR

Resumo

In Industry 4.0, there is a constant pursuit for efficiency and productivity, and, searching to achieve this, the usage of multiple robots to attend to several tasks simultaneously is usual. Nowadays, there is plenty of robotic architectures, having their navigation system based on numerous different sensors. This work compares the line-follower robots, having a determined path, with the free-moving robots that navigate based on odometry, for load collecting and delivery tasks in specific locations. For this, four simulated experiments are run in two scenes, with two and four tasks, respectively. The comparison is based on a difference in robot quantity, with more line-followers than free-moving ones, aiming to collect values such as idle time, task wait time, and the number of tasks done for each machine. The results show advantages in using less but more intelligent robots with free movement. Such robots are not bound to one unique task and can use their idle time to roam and complete other processes. However, the task wait time is a concerning issue, as too few robots for overcharged situations can increase execution delays.

Palavras-chave: Service robots, Navigation, Robot sensing systems, Time measurement, Sensor systems, Sensors, Delays, Robotics, simulation, line-follower robot, free movement robot, fuzzy controller