A system for automated mail portering using multiple mobile robots

This paper describes the development of a multiple mobile robot system for the frequent movement of small quantities of mail for small distances between different process areas in large automated mail sorting offices. The system is based around interaction at many levels: between robots and individual operators; between robots and other robots cooperating on a given route; and between robots and a central control computer, which itself interacts with a supervisor. The purpose-built low cost robots, known as automated guided carriers (AGCs), use a frequency-hopping spread-spectrum radio local area network for communication with one another and with the central controller