The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says approximately 34,900 forklift accidents occur each year with about 85 of those ending in death. Velodyne LiDAR is teaming up with MechaSpin and CVEDIA to showcase a safe alternative called ForkAlert.
Velodyne’s VLP-16, colloquially termed the “Puck,” delivers 300,000 geospatial data points per second. These points are used by the ForkAlert system to map the environment and build a 3D point cloud in real-time. People, vehicles, and stationary objects are identified clearly within the mapped point cloud, providing full 360-degree awareness to the forklift operator. The Puck acts as an ideal robotic eye for ForkAlert, aiding the driver when vision may be limited.
The hardware and software solution was developed by MechaSpin, a robotics house specializing in Mechatronics and industrial automation. To speed up and improve development of ForkAlert, MechaSpin partnered with CVEDIA, a simulation, modeling and big data management platform for machine learning applications, to develop a robust simulation environment. The technology from CVEDIA allows MechaSpin to quickly prototype, design, develop and test ForkAlert in a large variety of environments, ensuring the ForkAlert can navigate any environment and prevent collisions.
For scintillating details, visit Velodyne LiDAR, MechaSpin, and CVEDIA.