Simulation and Implementation of the Modeling of Forklift with Tricycle in Warehouse Systems for ROS

In the age of labor shortage, increasing the throughput of warehouses is a good issue. In the recent two decades, automatic warehouses designed to reduce human labor have therefore become a very hot research topic. Tricycle forklifts being able to carry heavy goods can play important roles in automatic warehouses. Meanwhile, Robot Operating System (ROS) is a very famous and popular platform for developing the software of robotics. Its powerful communication function makes lots of warehouse information exchange easy. Therefore, ROS installed as the communication backbone of warehouse is very popular. However, the software modules of ROS do not offer tricycle forklifts. Therefore, in this research, the model of a tricycle forklift developed for ROS systems in warehouse applications is constructed. In spite of the developed model, the existing software modules must be modified for compatible connection such that the tricycle forklift can be navigated and controlled by constructed ROS. For the function of Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (SLAM) and the control of self-guided navigation, the constructed system is verified by Gazebo simulation. In addition, the experiments of a real tricycle forklift to demonstrate the developed ROS for enough accuracy of warehouse application are also included.