Design and Analysis of an Autonomously Guided Vehicle to Minimize the Impact of COVID-19

Abstract

In this paper, the design process of an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) is presented, which is intended to be used inside a hospital environment as a multitasking robotic platform. Other than logistics, the system can be used for remote patient monitoring. The AGV will be used as a mobile platform for a mobile manipulator system. A differential drive wheel configuration is used for the vehicle, considering the simplicity of control. The kinematic model of differential drive configuration was used along with the dynamic model, AGV design parameters, and maximum allowable traction forces to simulate AGV motion in the MATLAB Simulink environment. The suggested navigation method—magnetic line following—is robust and accurate compared to other line tracking methods.