Characterization of a relatively simple optical sensor used for recognition
of the desired fixed trajectory for an automated guided vehicle (ACV), pai
nted on an industrial shop floor, is described. The optical sensor consists
of 14 infrared (IR) emitter-detector pairs arranged in two columns and is
fixed underneath the vehicle chassis. A microcomputer-based test platform f
or evaluation of the proposed sensor is also described. The sensor performa
nce is evaluated using two geometrical algorithms and one based on neural n
etworks, with the latter giving better results.