ASTM F3381-19

This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the
Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.
Designation: F3381 − 19
Standard Practice for
Describing Stationary Obstacles Utilized within A-UGV Test
Methods
This standard is issued under the fixed designation F3381; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (´) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
INTRODUCTION
Automatic, automated, or autonomous unmanned ground vehicles (A-UGVs) in many scenarios
encounter obstacles or objects that obstruct or impair their intended movement. This practice is used
to describe stationary objects that serve as obstacles inASTM Committee F45 test methods, both for
existing, real world obstacles and for test artifacts that can be constructed to serve as representative
obstacles.ExamplesofusingobstaclesintestmethodsincludeaddinganobstacleintotheTestMethod
F3244 – 17 apparatus or verifying a sensor’s ability to detect an obstacle. Several physical
characteristics of stationary obstacles are defined in this standard, such as geometry, surface, and
configuration. The characteristics specified herein can be used to describe common, real world
obstacles that A-UGVs typically interact with, such as pallets on the ground, desks and tables, and
otherA-UGVs. This practice only covers obstacles or objects that exist on or above the ground plane
and remain stationary while the A-UGV is performing its task.
1. Scope characteristics to that of real world obstacles. The obstacles
that can be described using this practice may be found in
1.1 This practice specifies physical characteristics that can
indoor and outdoor environments.
be used to describe obstacles utilized withinASTM Committee
F45 test methods. The obstacle characteristics specified in this
1.3 This practice does not purport to cover all relevant
practice are not described with respect to the manner in which obstacle characteristics that may have an effect on A-UGV
they will be sensed or detected by an A-UGV. Rather, the
performance. The characteristics specified in this practice are
obstacles are described according to their real world charac- limited to the physical properties which are considered to be
teristics. For example, the real world characteristics of a
the most salient in terms of the effects they can have on
wooden box that is flat black on one side can be described A-UGV performance. As such, the user of this standard may
according to its actual dimensions, material, and color. An
select the level of detail to use in order to describe the
A-UGV with a lidar sensor may have difficulty detecting the characteristics of an obstacle in such a way.The characteristics
sideoftheboxthatisflatblack,whichcouldmaketheobstacle
are also limited to those which are more easily measurable and
appear smaller to the A-UGV compared to its actual dimen- replicable when comparing test method results that use similar
sions in the real world. However, this may not be the case for
obstacles.
otherA-UGVs due to the wide variety of sensors used to detect
1.4 This practice only covers obstacles that exist on or
obstacles, so the actual, real world characteristics are used to
above the ground, sometimes referred to as positive obstacles,
describe it instead.
and remain stationary while the A-UGV is performing tasks.
1.2 Realworld,existingobjectscanbeusedasobstaclesand
Stationary real world obstacles of this type include pallets on
described using this practice. The characteristics specified
the ground, desks and tables, and otherA-UGVs. This practice
herein can also be used to construct test artifacts to use as
does not include obstacles that exist below the ground (for
representative obstacles that are intended to have similar
example, holes), sometimes referred to as negative obstacles.
This practice does not cover boundaries or features in an
environment that are unchanging and known prior to an
This test method is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee F45 on
Driverless Automatic Guided Industrial Vehicles and is the direct responsibility of A-UGV task, such as walls, racks, or other infrastructure.
Subcommittee F45.03 on Object Detection and Protection.
1.5 This practice specifies a variety of physical characteris-
Current edition approved Dec. 1, 2019. Published December 2019. DOI:
10.1520/F3381-19. tics of an obstacle, including shapes, dimensions, and surface
Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959. United States
F3381 − 19
qualities. This practice does not specify the location properties F3218 Practice for Documenting Environmental Conditions
of an obstacle within a test method apparatus aside from for Utilization with A-UGV Test Methods
measurements in reference to the ground plane of the environ- F3244 Test Method for Navigation: Defined Area
ment.
2.2 Other Standards:
1.6 When constructing a test artifact as an obstacle repre- ANSI/ITSDF B56.5 2016, Safety Standard for Rough Ter-
sentative of a genuine obstacle (see 4.1), a combination of rain Forklift Trucks
characteristics can be selected and used to guide fabrication. IEC 61496-1:2012 Safety of machinery - Electro-sensitive
The use of similar genuine obstacles (that is, real world protective equipment
objects) may decrease reproducibility of testing conditions ISO 20471:2013 High visibility clothing - Test methods and
compared to using artifact obstacles (that is, those that are requirements
fabricated for the purposes of testing), unless the same real
world object is used between multiple tests. 3. Terminology
1.7 This practice does not specify A-UGV performance in
3.1 For this practice, the term obstacle refers to stationary
thepresenceofobstacles.Theintentofthispracticeistoenable
objects that exist on or above the ground (see Terminology
comparisons between tests that use obstacles with similar
F3200–18).
characteristics.
4. Significance and Use
1.8 This practice does not require that certain obstacle
characteristics be used as part of a test method. The test
4.1 Thissectionlistsandexplainsthecharacteristicsthatare
requestor can elect specific obstacle characteristics to be used
used to describe a stationary obstacle.
as part of a test method.
4.2 It is essential that sufficient information about the
1.9 Obstaclesdescribedusingthispracticecanbeutilizedin
obstacle is recorded using this practice so that the obstacle can
test methods specified by other ASTM Committee F45
be replicated.This will allow comparisons to be made between
standards, such as Test Method F3244 – 17. In the appendix, a
test method performances that use obstacles with similar
baseline test is described that can be used to determine if an
characteristics.
obstacle is able to be detected by anA-UGV’s sensors prior to
4.3 Class:
utilizing the obstacle in another ASTM Committee F45 test
4.3.1 When describing an obstacle to be utilized in ASTM
method (see X1.2).
Committee F45 test methods, two classes are defined:
1.10 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the
4.3.1.1 Genuine—The obstacle being described is an exist-
standard. The values given in parentheses are not precise
ing real world object (for example, a chair, table, machinery, or
mathematical conversions to imperial units. They are close
equipment).Anyidentifyinginformation,suchasmake,model,
approximate equivalents for the purpose of specifying material
SKU, etc., should be recorded.
dimensions or quantities that are readily available to avoid
4.3.1.2 Artifact—The obstacle being described has been
excessive fabrication costs of test apparatuses while maintain-
constructed according to the characteristics outlined in this
ing repeatability and reproducibility of the test method results.
section. Obstacles of this class are intended to be replicable.
These values given in parentheses are provided for information
4.4 Parts of the Obstacle:
only and are not considered standard.
4.4.1 Each characteristic can be used to describe a property
1.11 This standard does not purport to address all of the
of the entire obstacle or a part of the obstacle. All parts of the
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the
obstacle must be uniquely named and identified in the test
responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-
report described in Section 6.
priate safety, health, and environmental practices and deter-
4.5 Shape:
mine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
4.5.1 The shape refers to the relationships between the
1.12 This international standard was developed in accor-
external, physical boundaries of the obstacle.All shapes can be
dance with internationally recognized principles on standard-
in contact with the ground or elevated above the ground (see
ization established in the Decision on Principles for the
Fig. 1, Fig. 2, and Fig. 3). The unique obstacle shapes are:
Development of International Standards, Guides and Recom-
4.5.1.1 Bar (for example, column)
mendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical
4.5.1.2 Panel (for example, sign, pallet, shelf)
Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.
4.5.1.3 Cuboid
2. Referenced Documents
4.5.1.4 Sphere
4.5.1.5 Cone
2.1 ASTM Standards:
4.5.1.6 Other—Obstacle shapes that do not fall into one of
F3200 Terminology for DriverlessAutomatic Guided Indus-
theabovecategories(forexample,apileoffabric).Anobstacle
trial Vehicles
can use a single shape to describe its overall volume or
multiple shapes to describe parts of the obstacle. For example,
For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or
theshapeofadeskcouldbedescribedasanelevatedhorizontal
contact ASTM Customer Service at service@astm.org. For Annual Book of ASTM
panel with two vertical panels spanning from the ground to the
Standards volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page on
the ASTM website. horizontal panel or the shape of a table could be described as
F3381 − 19
FIG. 1 Obstacle Shapes, Shown with Hard Edges in Varying Directions (Left to Right):
Vertical Bar, Horizontal Bar, Vertical Panel, Horizontal Panel, Elevated Horizontal Panel
FIG. 2 Obstacle Shapes (Left to Right): Cuboid (Shown with Hard Edges), Sphere, Cone
FIG. 3 Example Combinations of Obstacle Shapes, Shown with Hard Edges (Left to Right):
Elevated Horizontal Panel with Two Vertical Panels Spanning from the Ground to the Horizontal Panel (for example, Desk),
Elevated Horizontal Panel with Four Vertical Bars Spanning from the Ground to the Horizontal Panel (for example, Table),
the Same as the Previous but with Inset Vertical Bars (for example, Table)
an elevated horizontal panel with one or more vertical bars 4.8 Edge Quality.
spanning from the ground to the horizontal panel (see Fig. 3).
4.9 The quality of the vertices where the boundaries of the
4.6 Face Quality:
shape meet (see Fig. 5), which can be internal or external on
4.6.1 Thefacesofeachobstaclecaneitherbeclosed(thatis,
the obstacle. The edge characteristics can be:
it has a surface that fills that face) or open (that is, it h
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