Adept Lynx Platform - Manual (Page 9)

Adept Lynx Platform User's Guide, Rev B
Page 9 of 116
Chapter 1: Introduction
This manual covers the setup, operation, and user maintenance of the Adept Lynx™ platform.
Other than the basics, this manual does not cover configuration performed using the software
that comes with the platform. That is covered in the
Adept Motivity
®
User's Guide .
Definitions
Platform: The most basic part of the robot. It includes the chassis, drive assemblies, sus-
pension, wheels, battery, safety scanning laser, sonar, an on-board Lynx core with a built-in
gyroscope, software needed to navigate, connectors for interfacing with and powering the pay-
load, and the robot covers.
Payload: Anything you attach to the Lynx platform. This could be as simple as a box for hold-
ing parts or documents that you want transported, or as complicated as a robotic arm that will
be used to pick up parts to transport.
AIV (Autonomous Indoor Vehicle): The Lynx platform with a payload attached to it. This is
your complete mobile robot, which will transport your products, parts, or data.
When referring to the initial setup, configuration, and connections, we will refer to the plat-
form.
When talking about controlling or monitoring the full mobile robot, with a payload attached,
we will refer to the AIV.
1.1 Product Description
The Adept Lynx platform is a general-purpose, indoor mobile robot platform, designed and
sized to carry loads up to 60 kg (132 lb) while working around people. It is self-guided and
self-charging, with an automated docking station. The platform's size and drive assembly are
designed to work in any wheelchair-accessible environment.
The platform combines hardware and mobile-robotics software to provide an intelligent,
mobile platform to support and transport your payload. The platform comes complete with the
ability to know where it is within an indoor workspace, and to navigate safely and autonom-
ously to any accessible destination within that workspace, continuously and without human
intervention.
Its primary guidance uses a safety scanning laser to navigate, comparing the laser readings to
a digital map stored on the platform. The laser is backed up by four front- and four rear-facing
sonar units, a front sensing bumper, a gyroscope mounted on the internal Lynx core, and
encoders and Hall sensors on each drive wheel.
For situations which are so dynamic that laser localization becomes difficult, Adept offers the
Acuity Localization option, which localizes the platform using an upward-facing camera to
recognize overhead lighting patterns. Refer to the Adept Lynx Platform Peripherals Guide. This
would apply to areas where objects, such as pallets or carts, are moved so frequently that they
can’t be mapped, or where they block the laser’s view of the mapped features.