CN114740809A

CN114740809A - Communication method, communication apparatus, relay device, storage medium, and program product

Info

Publication number: CN114740809A
Application number: CN202210314931.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 童超; 张运方
Original assignee: Alibaba China Co Ltd
Current assignee: Alibaba China Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-03-28
Filing date: 2022-03-28
Publication date: 2022-07-12

Abstract

The application provides a communication method, a communication apparatus, a relay device, a storage medium, and a program product. The relay equipment is respectively in communication connection with a first robot scheduling system (RCS) and M intelligent warehousing robots (AGV), wherein M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, the method is applied to the relay equipment, and the method comprises the following steps: receiving a first control instruction from a first RCS, wherein the first control instruction is used for controlling a first AGV to execute target operation; the first AGV is any one of M AGVs; when the first RCS is not the RCS matched with the first AGV, converting the first control instruction into a second control instruction which can be recognized by the first AGV; and sending a second control instruction to the first AGV. The problem that AGV and RCS between the different producers are mutually incompatible and can't communicate is solved in this application.

Description

Communication method, communication apparatus, relay device, storage medium, and program product

Technical Field

The present application relates to technologies of warehousing management, and in particular, to a communication method, an apparatus, a relay device, a storage medium, and a program product.

Background

An intelligent storage robot (AGV) may replace some manual labor to assist in the handling of goods. The operation of the AGV is mainly controlled by a Robot Control System (RCS).

However, there are many AGV manufacturers, and there are usually independent RCSs between AGV manufacturers. Therefore, there may be a problem that AGVs and RCSs are not compatible with each other between different manufacturers.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method, a communication device, relay equipment, a storage medium and a program product, which aim to solve the problem that an AGV and an RCS are incompatible with each other.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, in which a relay device is in communication connection with a first robot scheduling system RCS and M smart warehousing robots AGVs, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, respectively, the method is applied to the relay device, and the method includes:

receiving a first control instruction from a first RCS, wherein the first control instruction is used for controlling a first AGV to execute a target operation; the first AGV is any one of M AGVs;

when the first RCS is not the RCS matched with the first AGV, converting the first control instruction into a second control instruction which can be recognized by the first AGV;

and sending the second control instruction to the first AGV.

Optionally, the first control instruction includes an identifier of the first RCS, a first identifier of the first AGV, and first operation information for controlling the first AGV to perform a target operation;

the second control instruction comprises: the identification of a second RCS, the second identification of the first AGV and second operation information for controlling the first AGV to execute the target operation; the second identification of the first AGV is the actual identification of the first AGV;

wherein, the sign of second RCS is for controlling the sign of the RCS of first AGV, second operation information does the distinguishable operation information of first AGV, the first sign of first AGV is the distinguishable sign of first RCS.

Optionally, the method further includes:

acquiring a second identifier of the first AGV according to the first identifier of the first AGV and a first mapping relation between the first identifier and the second identifier;

acquiring an identifier of a second RCS according to the second identifier of the first AGV and a second mapping relation between the second identifier of the AGV and the identifier of the RCS;

and determining whether the first RCS is the RCS matched with the first AGV or not according to the identifier of the first RCS and the identifier of the second RCS.

Optionally, the method further includes:

receiving a first registration request by the first AGV, the first registration request comprising: first device information of the first AGV, the first device information including: a second identification of the first AGV, an identification of the second RCS;

distributing a first identifier for the first AGV according to the second identifier of the first AGV, and adding the mapping relation between the first identifier and the second identifier of the first AGV to the first mapping relation;

adding a second identifier of the first AGV and a mapping relation of the identifiers of the second RCS to the second mapping relation;

generating a second registration request of the first AGV according to the first identifier of the first AGV and the identifier of the first RCS;

sending the second registration request to the first RCS.

Optionally, the converting the first control instruction into a second control instruction recognizable by the first AGV includes:

acquiring the second operation information according to the identifier of the first RCS, the identifier of the second RCS, the first operation information and a third mapping relation among the operation information of the RCS;

and generating the second control instruction according to the identifier of the second RCS, the second identifier of the first AGV and the second operation information.

Optionally, the method further includes:

and receiving the third mapping relation from the control platform.

Optionally, the sending the second control instruction to the first AGV includes:

determining a first port matched with the second RCS according to the identifier of the second RCS and a fourth mapping relation between the identifier of the RCS and the port;

determining a second port matched with the first AGV according to the second identifier of the first AGV and a fifth mapping relation between the second identifier of the AGV and the port;

sending the second control instruction to a second port of the first AGV using the first port.

Optionally, the method further includes:

receiving the fourth mapping relation and/or the fifth mapping relation from a control platform.

Optionally, after receiving the first control instruction from the first RCS, the method further includes:

and when the first RCS is the RCS matched with the first AGV, sending the first control instruction to the first AGV.

Optionally, the method further includes:

receiving first running state information reported by a second AGV; the second AGV is any one of M AGVs;

when the first RCS is not the RCS matched with the second AGV, converting the first running state information into second running state information which can be identified by the first RCS;

and sending the second running state information to the first RCS.

Optionally, the first operating status information includes: a second identifier of the second AGV, an identifier of a third RCS and a first running state parameter;

the second operation state information includes: a first identifier of the second AGV, an identifier of the first RCS, and a second operating state parameter;

wherein, the sign of third RCS is for can controlling the sign of the RCS of second AGV, second running state parameter is the distinguishable running state parameter of first RCS, the first sign of second AGV is the distinguishable sign of first RCS.

Optionally, the converting the first operation state information into second operation state information recognizable by the first RCS includes:

acquiring a second running state parameter according to the identifier of the first RCS, the identifier of the third RCS, the first running state parameter and a sixth mapping relation among running state information of the RCSs;

and generating the second running state information according to the identifier of the first RCS, the first identifier of the second AGV and the second running state parameter.

Optionally, after receiving the first operation state information reported by the second AGV, the method further includes:

and when the first RCS is the RCS matched with the second AGV, sending the first running state information to the first RCS.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication device, a relay device is respectively connected with a first robot scheduling system RCS and a plurality of M smart storage robots AGV, M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, the device is applied to the relay device, the device includes:

the system comprises a receiving module, a first AGV and a control module, wherein the receiving module is used for receiving a first control instruction from a first RCS, and the first control instruction is used for controlling the first AGV to execute target operation; the first AGV is any one of M AGVs;

the processing module is used for converting the first control instruction into a second control instruction which can be recognized by the first AGV when the first RCS is not the RCS matched with the first AGV;

and the sending module is used for sending the second control instruction to the first AGV.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a relay device, comprising: at least one processor, memory, receiver, transmitter;

the receiver and the transmitter are both coupled to the processor, the processor controlling the receiving action of the receiver, the processor controlling the transmitting action of the transmitter;

the memory stores computer-executable instructions;

the at least one processor executing the computer-executable instructions stored by the memory causes the relay device to perform the method of any of the first aspects.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the method of any one of the first aspect.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the method of any of the first aspects.

According to the communication method, the communication device, the relay device, the storage medium and the program product, after receiving a first control instruction sent by a first RCS and used for controlling a first AGV to execute a target operation, the relay device can judge whether the first RCS is the RCS matched with the first AGV. And when the first RCS is not the RCS matched with the first AGV, converting the first control instruction into a second control instruction which can be recognized by the first AGV and sending the second control instruction to the first AGV. By the method, when the first AGV is incompatible with the first RCS, the first RCS can also control the first AGV to execute the target operation through the relay equipment, and the problem of how to control the AGV by the RCS when the AGV and the RCS are incompatible with each other is solved. Through the relay equipment, the expandability of the AGV is improved, and a foundation is laid for creating a unified freight system.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the present application or the prior art, the drawings required for the embodiments or the description of the prior art are briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain other drawings based on these drawings without inventive labor.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an unmanned transport scenario;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an unmanned transport scenario provided herein;

fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method provided in the present application;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining whether a first RCS is a matching RCS for a first AGV according to the present application;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for sending a second control command to a first AGV according to the present application;

fig. 6 is a flow chart illustrating another communication method provided herein;

fig. 7 is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided in the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a relay device according to the present application.

With the above figures, there are shown specific embodiments of the present application, which will be described in more detail below. These drawings and written description are not intended to limit the scope of the inventive concepts in any manner, but rather to illustrate the inventive concepts to those skilled in the art by reference to specific embodiments.

Detailed Description

To make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the technical solutions of the present application will be described clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings in the present application, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some, but not all embodiments of the present application. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

With the development of science and technology, unmanned transportation develops rapidly. More and more AGVs are replacing manual labor for cargo handling. Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an unmanned transport scenario. As shown in fig. 1, the robot scheduling system RCS can control each AGV to operate, so that each AGV can perform the transportation operation in order. It should be understood that the present application is not limited to the number of AGVs that a RCS can control.

In an actual warehouse management scenario, a warehouse may initially have a RCS deployed to control AGVs belonging to the same manufacturer as the RCS. However, there are many AGV manufacturers at present, and there are usually independent RCSs between different AGV manufacturers. Thus, over time, the warehouse may be configured with more AGVs. The AGV configured later may not be the same manufacturer as the RCS or the same batch of AGVs as the AGV initially deployed.

However, there may be a problem that AGVs and RCSs between different manufacturers are not compatible with each other. In addition, even if the AGVs and the RCSs are of the same manufacturer, the AGVs of different batches may be updated, and thus the AGVs and the RCSs of the same manufacturer may be incompatible.

If the AGV and the RCS are incompatible with each other, the RCS may not send a control instruction to the AGV, or the AGV may not receive the control instruction sent by the RCS, and the RCS may not control the AGV. In addition, even if the AGV can receive the control command of the RCS, the AGV may not recognize the control command because of incompatibility, and the RCS may not control the AGV. The AGV and the RCS are incompatible with each other, so that obstacles are caused for creating a unified freight transportation system, the unit price of the AGV and the RCS is high, and the short-term replacement probability is low.

Therefore, when the AGV and the RCS are incompatible with each other, how to enable the RCS to control the AGV is a problem to be solved.

Accordingly, the present application provides a method for converting a control command of an RCS into a control command recognizable by an AGV through a relay device. Through the relay equipment, when the AGV and the RCS are not compatible with each other, the RCS and the AGV can communicate.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view of an unmanned transport scenario provided by the present application. As shown in fig. 2, the relay devices may be communicatively coupled to a first RCS, and M AGVs, respectively. Wherein M is an integer greater than or equal to 1. Optionally, the M AGVs may be all generated by the same manufacturer, or may be generated by multiple manufacturers. It should be understood that the present application is not limited to how many manufacturers the M AGVs correspond to. In addition, the manufacturer corresponding to the first RCS may be the same as one of the manufacturers corresponding to the M AGVs, or may be different from any one of the manufacturers corresponding to the M AGVs.

In the event of an incompatibility between the AGV and the first RCS, the relay device can receive control instructions from the first RCS and convert the control instructions into control instructions recognizable by the AGV. The relay device transmits a control instruction that can be recognized by the AGV to the AGV so that the AGV can operate according to the operation indicated by the control instruction.

The relay device may be any relay device having processing capability, and data receiving and data transmitting capability. Alternatively, the RCS may be deployed on one physical device. In this implementation, the relay device and the device with the RCS may be separate physical devices, or the function of the relay device and the logical function of the RCS may be integrated on the same physical device. Alternatively, a physical device may integrate a part of the RCS function and a part of the relay device function.

The technical solution of the present application will be described in detail with reference to specific examples. The following several specific embodiments may be combined with each other, and details of the same or similar concepts or processes may not be repeated in some embodiments.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to the present application. As shown in fig. 3, the method comprises the steps of:

s101, receiving a first control instruction from the first RCS.

The first control instruction is used for controlling the first AGV to execute the target operation. The first AGV is any one of the M AGVs described above.

In some embodiments, the first control instruction may include, for example: the first AGV includes an identification of the first RCS, a first identification of the first AGV, and first operation information that controls the first AGV to perform a target operation.

Illustratively, the identifier of the first RCS may be, for example, a unique identification code of the first RCS. The first identification of the first AGV is an identification of an AGV recognizable by the first RCS. Optionally, when the first RCS is "an RCS matching the first AGV", the first identifier of the first AGV may be an actual identifier of the first AGV. When the first RCS is not the "matching RCS", the first id of the first AGV may be the virtual id of the first AGV. The virtual identifier is an identifier that the first RCS can use the first AGV as an AGV matching with the first RCS, and the first RCS can send the first control instruction.

Here, the "RCS matching the first AGV" means an RCS capable of controlling the first AGV. That is, the first AGV may recognize the control command issued by the "RCS matched to the first AGV". Optionally, the "RCS matched with the first AGV" and the first AGV may belong to the same manufacturer, or may not belong to the same manufacturer. Optionally, the present application does not limit the type of the above-mentioned target operation. Illustratively, the target operation may be, for example, an operation related to speed control (e.g., acceleration, deceleration, etc.), an operation related to running direction control (e.g., left turn, right turn), or the like.

In some embodiments, the first control instruction may also include, for example, a first identification of the first AGV and first operation information that controls the first AGV to perform the target operation, but does not include the identification of the first RCS. In this implementation, the identity of the first RCS may be pre-stored in the relay device. Illustratively, the identity of the first RCS may be pre-stored by the user in the relay device. Alternatively, the identifier of the first RCS may be acquired from the first RCS by the relay device sending a "request for requesting acquisition of the identifier of the first RCS" to the first RCS.

It should be understood that the content included in the first control instruction is only a part of the content related to the present application, and the present application does not limit whether the first control instruction further includes other content.

Further, it should be understood that the present application is not limited to how the first RCS generates the first control command. Optionally, the manner in which the first RCS generates the first control instruction and the manner in which the first control instruction is sent may refer to the method described in the prior art, and details are not described here.

Optionally, the relay device may receive the first control instruction from the first RCS based on a Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) technique, for example. Optionally, a specific implementation manner in which the relay device receives the first control instruction based on the DPI technology may refer to an existing method for acquiring information based on the DPI technology, which is not described herein again.

It should be understood that the present application does not limit how the relay device receives the first control command from the first RCS. The above implementation manner is only one possible implementation manner provided by the present application, and optionally, other existing implementation manners may also be referred to, and details are not described herein again.

And S102, when the first RCS is not the RCS matched with the first AGV, converting the first control instruction into a second control instruction which can be recognized by the first AGV.

If the first RCS is not the RCS matched by the first AGV, it means that the first AGV cannot recognize the first control command. The relay device may convert the first control command into a second control command recognizable by the first AGV.

In some embodiments, the second control instruction may include, for example: an identification of the second RCS, a second identification of the first AGV, and second operation information that controls the first AGV to perform the target operation.

Wherein the identity of the second RCS is an identity of an RCS capable of controlling the first AGV. That is, the second RCS is the matching RCS of the first AGV. The second identification of the first AGV is the actual identification of the first AGV. The second operation information is operation information recognizable by the first AGV. That is, the relay apparatus may convert the first operation information in the first control instruction into operation information recognizable by the first AGV. Optionally, the first AGV may check to determine that the second control command is sent by the RCS matching the first AGV through the identifier of the second RCS. Optionally, the first AGV may check to determine that the second control instruction is sent to the first AGV through the second identifier of the first AGV.

In some embodiments, the second control instruction may also include, for example, a second identification of the first AGV and second operation information that controls the first AGV to perform the target operation, but does not include the identification of the first RCS. In this implementation manner, the first AGV may be an AGV that does not need to obtain the second operation information by parsing based on the identifier of the first RCS.

It should be understood that the content included in the second control instruction is only a part of the content related to the present application, and the present application does not limit whether the second control instruction further includes other content.

For example, assuming that the target operation is "turn right", and the first operation information for controlling the AGV to perform the target operation "turn right" in the first control instruction is "R", and the first AGV turns right when recognizing that the operation information corresponding to the target operation is "S", the relay device may convert "R" in the first control instruction into "S" to obtain the second operation information. And then, obtaining a second control instruction which can be identified by the first AGV according to the second operation information.

S103, sending a second control instruction to the first AGV.

Optionally, the relay device may store, for example, an identifier of an interface of the first AGV for receiving the control command from the second RCS. The relay device may send a second control instruction to the first AGV according to the identifier of the interface.

Accordingly, the first AGV may receive the second control command. Then, the first AGV may identify second operation information included in the second control instruction and execute a target operation corresponding to the second operation information. It should be appreciated that the present application is not limited to how the first AGV recognizes the second operation information included in the second control command.

In this embodiment, after receiving a first control instruction sent by a first RCS for controlling a first AGV to perform a target operation, the relay device may determine whether the first RCS is a matching RCS of the first AGV. And when the first RCS is not the RCS matched with the first AGV, converting the first control instruction into a second control instruction which can be recognized by the first AGV and sending the second control instruction to the first AGV. By the method, when the first AGV is incompatible with the first RCS, the first RCS can also control the first AGV to execute the target operation through the relay equipment, and the problem of how to control the AGV by the RCS when the AGV and the RCS are incompatible with each other is solved. Through the relay equipment, the expandability of the AGV is improved, and a foundation is laid for creating a unified freight system.

In some embodiments, if the first RCS is a matching RCS for the first AGV, it is indicated that the first AGV may recognize the first control command. Optionally, the relay device may send the first control instruction to the first AGV, so that efficiency of sending the first control instruction by the relay device is improved.

Optionally, the relay device may store, for example, an identifier of an interface of the first AGV for receiving the control command from the first RCS. The relay device may send the first control instruction to the first AGV according to the identifier of the interface.

Accordingly, the first AGV may receive the first control command. Then, the first AGV may identify the first operation information included in the first control instruction and execute the target operation corresponding to the first operation information. It should be appreciated that the present application is not limited to how the first AGV recognizes the first operation information included in the first control command.

Optionally, before step S102, the relay device may determine whether the first RCS is a matching RCS for the first AGV. The following describes in detail how the relay device determines whether the first RCS is a matching RCS for the first AGV:

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining whether a first RCS is a matching RCS for a first AGV according to the present application. As shown in fig. 4, as a possible implementation manner, the method may include the following steps:

s201, acquiring a second identifier of the first AGV according to the first identifier of the first AGV and the first mapping relation between the first identifier and the second identifier.

If the first RCS is the matching RCS of the first AGV, the first identifier and the second identifier of the first AGV may be the same identifier. If the first RCS is not the RCS matched with the first AGV, the first identifier and the second identifier of the first AGV are different identifiers, at this time, the first identifier of the first AGV is the virtual identifier of the first AGV, and the second identifier of the first AGV is the actual identifier of the first AGV.

Optionally, taking an example that the first control instruction includes a first identifier of the first AGV, after receiving the first control instruction, the relay device may analyze the first control instruction by a preset control instruction analysis method, and obtain the first identifier of the first AGV from the first control instruction. The preset control instruction analysis method may be, for example, a method that is pre-stored in the relay device for the user.

For example, the first mapping relationship between the first identifier and the second identifier may be as shown in the following table 1:

TABLE 1

First mark	Second label
		Sign 11	Identification 21
Sign 12	Sign 22
		Sign 13	Identification 23
…	…

Assuming that the first identification of the first AGV is identification 11, taking the first mapping relationship shown in table 1 as an example, the relay device may determine that the second identification of the first AGV is identification 21. That is, the actual identification of the first AGV is identification 21.

S202, acquiring the identifier of the second RCS according to the second identifier of the first AGV and the second mapping relation between the second identifier of the AGV and the identifier of the RCS.

And the identifier of the RCS corresponding to the second identifier of the AGV in the second mapping relationship is the identifier of the RCS matched with the AGV. For example, the second mapping relationship between the second identification of the AGV and the identification of the RCS may be as shown in table 2 below:

TABLE 2

Second identification of AGV	Identification of RCS
		Identification 21	RCS21
Sign 22	RCS22
		Identification 23	RCS23
…	…

Assuming that the second identifier of the first AGV is identifier 21, taking the second mapping relationship shown in table 2 as an example, the relay device may determine that the identifier of the second RCS corresponding to the first AGV is RCS 21.

S203, determining whether the first RCS is the RCS matched with the first AGV or not according to the identification of the first RCS and the identification of the second RCS.

Optionally, taking an example that the first control instruction includes an identifier of the first RCS, after receiving the first control instruction, the relay device may analyze the first control instruction by using the preset control instruction analysis method, and obtain the identifier of the first RCS from the first control instruction.

If the identity of the first RCS is the same as the identity of the second RCS, it indicates that the first AGV may recognize the first control command sent by the first RCS. Optionally, the relay device may determine that the first RCS is the matching RCS for the first AGV.

If the identity of the first RCS is different from the identity of the second RCS, it means that the first AGV cannot recognize the first control command sent by the first RCS. Optionally, the relay device may determine that the first RCS is not the matching RCS for the first AGV.

In this embodiment, based on the first mapping relationship between the first identifier and the second identifier, and the second mapping relationship between the second identifier of the AGV and the identifier of the RCS, it may be determined whether the first RCS is the RCS matched with the first AGV. That is to say, the relay device can acquire the second identifier of the AGV and the identifier of the RCS matched with the AGV by using a table lookup manner without performing complex logic operation, thereby reducing the time delay added in the middle of the relay device, ensuring the transmission timing sequence of the control instruction, and improving the accuracy of the transmission of the control instruction.

In this implementation, how the relay device obtains the first mapping relationship and the second mapping relationship is described in detail below:

as a first possible implementation manner, the first mapping relationship and the second mapping relationship may be stored in the relay device in advance for the user, for example.

As a second possible implementation manner, the relay device may also automatically acquire the first mapping relationship and the second mapping relationship, so as to improve accuracy and efficiency of acquiring the first mapping relationship and the second mapping relationship.

Alternatively, the relay device may receive a first registration request from a first AGV, for example. Wherein the first registration request may include: first device information of a first AGV. The first device information may include: a second identification of the first AGV, and an identification of the second RCS.

The first AGV may or may not be an AGV that matches the first RCS. Illustratively, the relay device may receive a first registration request for the first AGV based on DPI technology.

Then, the relay device may allocate the first identifier to the first AGV according to the second identifier of the first AGV, add the mapping relationship between the first identifier of the first AGV and the second identifier to the first mapping relationship, and add the mapping relationship between the second identifier of the first AGV and the identifier of the second RCS to the second mapping relationship.

In some embodiments, before the relay device assigns the first identifier to the first AGV according to the second identifier of the first AGV, the relay device may further determine whether the identifier of the second RCS is the same as the identifier of the first RCS. If the id of the second RCS is the same as the id of the first RCS, it indicates that the first AGV matches the first RCS, i.e. the first AGV does not need a virtual id. Thus, the relay device may optionally use the second identification of the first AGV as the first identification of the first AGV.

If the identifier of the second RCS is different from the identifier of the first RCS, it indicates that the first AGV is not matched with the first RCS, that is, the first AGV needs to have a virtual identifier, and the first RCS can use the first AGV as the AGV matched with the first RCS. Therefore, the relay device may use the virtual identifier corresponding to the first AGV as the first identifier of the first AGV.

The virtual identifier may be pre-stored in the relay device. In this implementation, the relay device may assign the virtual identifier to the first AGV as the first identifier of the first AGV in an assigning manner such as random. Or, the virtual identifier may also be generated by the relay device through a preset virtual identifier generation algorithm after determining that the identifier of the second RCS is different from the identifier of the first RCS. The preset virtual identifier generation algorithm may generate an identifier of the AGV that matches the first RCS.

In this implementation, the relay device may further generate a second registration request of the first AGV according to the first identifier of the first AGV and the identifier of the first RCS. The relay device may then send the second registration request to the first RCS.

Through the implementation manner, no matter whether the first AGV is the AGV matched with the first RCS or not, the relay device can automatically register the information of the first AGV into the first RCS, so that the first RCS can control the first AGV according to the first identifier of the first AGV included in the second registration request. By the method, when an AGV is newly added, the relay equipment can automatically register the information of the new AGV to the first RCS, and the registration efficiency of the newly added AGV is improved.

The following describes in detail how the relay device converts the first control instruction into a second control instruction recognizable by the first AGV:

as a possible implementation manner, the relay device may obtain the second operation information according to the identifier of the first RCS, the identifier of the second RCS, the first operation information, and the third mapping relationship between the operation information of the RCS. The relay device may then generate the second control command based on the identifier of the second RCS, the second identifier of the first AGV, and the second operation information.

For example, the third mapping relationship between the operation information of the RCSs may be as shown in table 3 below:

TABLE 3

First RCS	RCS21	RCS22	…
				First operation information 11	Operation information 21	Operation information 31	…
First operation information 12	Operation information 22	Operation information 32	…
				First operation information 13	Operation information 23	Operation information 33	…
…	…	…	…

Assuming that the identifier of the second RCS is RCS21 and the first operation information is first operation information 12, the relay device may determine that the second operation information is operation information 22 according to the third mapping relationship shown in table 3.

Optionally, the relay device may further store, for example, a communication protocol required by each second RCS to generate a control instruction for controlling the AGV. The relay device may determine, for example, from the identity of the second RCS, the communication protocol required by the second RCS to generate the control instruction. And then generating a second control instruction according with the communication protocol according to the identifier of the second RCS, the second identifier of the first AGV and the second operation information, so that the first AGV can analyze the second control instruction according to the analysis method corresponding to the communication protocol.

How the relay device obtains the third mapping relationship is described in detail below:

as a first possible implementation manner, the third mapping relationship may be pre-stored in the relay device by the user.

As a second possible implementation, the relay device may receive the third mapping relationship from the control platform. Optionally, the control platform may be, for example, a cloud platform.

For example, when an RCS is newly added, the control platform may receive operation information of the newly added RCS input by a user, and add the operation information of the newly added RCS to the third mapping relationship. The control platform may then push the third mapping to the relay device. By the method, the third mapping relation is updated, so that after the RCS is newly added, the first RCS can control the AGV corresponding to the newly added RCS, and the AGV does not influence the storage quantity.

As a third possible implementation manner, the relay device may further receive each operation information of the newly added RCS from the control platform. Then, the relay device may add the received operation information of the newly added RCS to the third mapping relationship, so as to update the third mapping relationship.

In this embodiment, the second operation information is obtained based on the identifier of the first RCS, the identifier of the second RCS, the first operation information, and the third mapping relationship between the operation information of the RCS. That is, the relay device does not need to perform complex logic operation, and can obtain the operation information corresponding to the second RCS by means of table lookup, thereby generating the second control instruction. Therefore, by the method, the time delay added in the middle of the relay equipment is reduced, the transmission time sequence of the control command is guaranteed, and the accuracy of control command transmission is further improved.

The following describes in detail how the relay device sends the second control instruction to the first AGV:

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for sending a second control command to a first AGV according to the present application. As shown in fig. 5, as a possible implementation manner, the foregoing step S103 may include the following steps:

s301, determining a first port matched with the second RCS according to the identification of the second RCS and the fourth mapping relation between the identification of the RCS and the port.

The first port is used when the second RCS sends a control instruction to the AGV matched with the second RCS.

For example, the fourth mapping relationship between the RCS identifier and the port may be as shown in table 4 below:

TABLE 4

Identification of RCS	Port(s)
		RCS21	Port 21
RCS22	Port 22
		RCS23	Port 23
…	…

Assuming that the second RCS is RCS21, taking the fourth mapping shown in table 4 as an example, the relay device may determine that the first port matching the second RCS is port 21. That is, when the second RCS sends a control command to the "AGV matching the second RCS", the port used is port 21.

S302, according to the second identification of the first AGV and the fifth mapping relation between the second identification of the AGV and the port, determining a second port matched with the first AGV.

The second port is a port used by the first AGV when receiving the control command from the second RCS.

For example, the fifth mapping of the second identifier of the AGV to the port may be as follows in Table 5:

TABLE 5

Second identification of AGV	Port
		Identification 21	Port 1
Sign 22	Port 2
		Identification 23	Port 3
…	…

Assuming that the second identifier of the first AGV is identifier 21, taking the fifth mapping shown in table 5 as an example, the relay device may determine that the second port matching the first AGV is port 1. That is, when the first AGV receives a control command from the second RCS, the port used is Port 1.

S303, sending a second control instruction to a second port of the first AGV by using the first port.

Optionally, a specific implementation manner in which the relay device uses the first port to send the second control instruction to the second port of the first AGV may refer to any one of existing communication methods. For example, the relay device may use an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the first AGV as an IP address of a network layer in communication, and use an identifier of the first AGV as an identifier of an application layer in communication, so as to send the second control instruction to the second port of the first AGV using the first port.

How the relay device obtains the fourth mapping relationship and the fifth mapping relationship is described in detail below:

as a first possible implementation manner, the fourth mapping relationship and the fifth mapping relationship may be pre-stored in the relay device by the user.

As a second possible implementation, the relay device may receive the fourth mapping relationship from the control platform, and/or the fifth mapping relationship. For example, taking the fourth mapping relationship received by the relay device from the control platform as an example, when an RCS is newly added, the control platform may receive a port used by the newly added RCS for sending a control command, which is input by a user, and add the port used by the newly added RCS for sending the control command to the fourth mapping relationship. The control platform may then push the fourth mapping to the relay device. Through the method, the fourth mapping relation is updated, so that after the RCS is newly added, the relay platform can send the control instruction of the first RCS to the AGV corresponding to the newly added RCS.

As a third possible implementation manner, a manner in which the relay device acquires the fourth mapping relationship may also be different from a manner in which the relay device acquires the fifth mapping relationship. For example, the fourth mapping relationship may be pre-stored in the relay device by the user. The relay device may receive a fifth mapping relationship from the control platform.

In this embodiment, based on the fourth mapping relationship between the RCS identifier and the port and the fifth mapping relationship between the AGV second identifier and the port, the AGV may be configured to send the second control instruction to the sending port of the RCS end of the first AGV and the receiving port of the AGV end. By the method, the relay equipment does not need to perform complex logic operation, and performs state transition (namely state machine jump) according to the preset port identification in a table look-up mode. Therefore, the time delay of the relay equipment for sending the second control instruction is reduced, the transmission time sequence of the control instruction is guaranteed, and the accuracy of control instruction transmission is improved.

Optionally, a specific implementation manner of the relay device sending the first control instruction to the first AGV may refer to the method described in the above embodiment of sending the second control instruction to the first AGV, and details are not described here again.

The above embodiment is an example of the first AGV, and describes an implementation manner of how the first RCS sends the control instruction to the first AGV through the relay device. In the following, taking the second AGV as an example, it is described how the AGV reports the running state information of the AGV to the first RCS through the relay device, so that the first RCS can obtain the running states of the AGVs. The second AGV as referred to herein may be any one of M AGVs.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in the present application. As shown in fig. 6, as a possible implementation manner, the method may include the following steps:

s401, receiving first running state information reported by a second AGV.

For example, the second AGV may report the first operation status information according to a preset frequency. Alternatively, the second AGV may report the first operation state information after receiving a control instruction that includes the first operation information and is used to instruct the AGV to report the operation state information.

Optionally, the first operation state information may include, for example: a second identification of a second AGV, an identification of a third RCS, and a first operational status parameter. The second identification of the second AGV is the actual identification of the second AGV, and the identification of the third RCS is the identification of the RCS capable of controlling the second AGV.

It should be understood that the present application is not limited to the type and number of first operating condition parameters described above. That is, the first operating state information may include at least one first operating state parameter. Illustratively, the first operating state parameter may include, for example, at least one of: the current forward direction of the second AGV, the current speed of the second AGV, the current position of the second AGV, and the like.

In some embodiments, the first operational status information may also include, for example, a second identification of the second AGV, and the first operational status parameter, but not the identification of the third RCS. In this implementation, the identifier of the third RCS may be determined, for example, by the relay device according to the second identifier of the second AGV and the mapping relationship between the identifier of the AGV and the identifier of the RCS.

In addition, it should be understood that the content included in the first operation state information is only a part of the content related to the present application, and the present application does not limit whether the first operation state information further includes other content.

Optionally, an implementation manner of the relay device receiving the first operation state information reported by the second AGV may refer to the method in the foregoing embodiment, for example, the relay device may receive the first operation state information reported by the second AGV based on a DPI technology.

S402, when the first RCS is not the RCS matched with the second AGV, converting the first running state information into second running state information which can be identified by the first RCS.

Optionally, the implementation manner of the relay device determining whether the first RCS is the RCS matched with the second AGV may refer to the implementation method for determining whether the first RCS is the RCS matched with the first AGV described in the foregoing embodiments, and details are not repeated here.

And if the first RCS is not the RCS matched with the second AGV, the first RCS cannot identify the first running state information. The relay device may convert the first operation state information into operation state information recognizable by the first RCS.

Optionally, the second operation state information may include: a first identification of a second AGV, an identification of a first RCS, and a second operational status parameter. Wherein the second operating state parameter is an operating state parameter recognizable by the first RCS. The first identification of the second AGV is an identification recognizable by the first RCS.

Optionally, when the first RCS is "an RCS matching with a second AGV", the first identifier of the second AGV may be an actual identifier of the second AGV. When the first RCS is not the "matching RCS with the first AGV", the first id of the second AGV may be the virtual id of the second AGV. Through the virtual identifier, the first RCS can use the second AGV as an AGV matching the first RCS and identify the second operating status parameter of the second AGV. Optionally, the first RCS check may determine that the second operation state information is sent by an AGV matching with the first RCS, through the first identifier of the second AGV. Optionally, the first RCS may check to determine that the second operation status information is sent to the first RCS through the identifier of the first RCS.

In some embodiments, the second operating state information may also include, for example, a first identification of the second AGV, and a second operating state parameter, but not the identification of the first RCS. In this implementation manner, the first RCS may be an RCS that does not need to parse and obtain the second operating state parameter based on the identifier of the first RCS.

It should be understood that the content included in the second operation state information is only a part of the content related to the present application, and the present application does not limit whether the second operation state information further includes other content.

For example, taking one of the operating status parameters of the second AGV as "speed" as an example, assuming that the first operating status parameter indicating speed in the first operating status information is "V" and the first RCS determines that the parameter indicates speed when recognizing that the operating status parameter is "D", the relay device may convert "V" in the first operating status information into "D" to obtain the second operating status parameter. And then, obtaining second operation state information which can be identified by the first RCS according to the second operation state parameter.

And S403, sending second running state information to the first RCS.

Optionally, an implementation manner of sending the second operation state information to the first RCS by the relay device is similar to the implementation manner of sending the second control instruction to the first AGV by the relay device described in the foregoing embodiment, so reference may be made to the method described in the foregoing embodiment, and details are not described here again.

In this embodiment, after receiving the first operation state information reported by the second AGV, the relay device may determine whether the first RCS is the RCS matched with the second AGV. And when the first RCS is not the RCS matched with the second AGV, converting the first running state information into second running state information which can be identified by the first RCS, and sending the second running state information to the first RCS. By the method, when the first AGV is incompatible with the first RCS, the second AGV can also upload the running state information to the first RCS through the relay equipment, and by the relay equipment, the expandability of the AGV is improved, and a foundation is laid for creating a unified freight system.

If the first RCS is the RCS matched with the second AGV, it means that the first RCS can recognize the first operation state information. Optionally, the relay device may send the first operation state information to the first RCS, so that efficiency of sending the first operation state information by the relay device is improved.

Optionally, an implementation manner of the relay device sending the first operation state information to the first RCS is similar to the implementation manner of the relay device sending the first control instruction to the first AGV described in the foregoing embodiment, so that reference may be made to the method described in the foregoing embodiment, and details are not repeated here.

The following describes in detail how the relay device converts the first operation state information into second operation state information recognizable by the first RCS:

as a possible implementation manner, the relay device may obtain the second operation state parameter according to, for example, the identifier of the first RCS, the identifier of the third RCS, the first operation state parameter, and a sixth mapping relationship between the operation state information of the RCS. Then, the relay device may generate the second operation state information according to the identifier of the first RCS, the first identifier of the second AGV, and the second operation state parameter.

For example, the sixth mapping relationship between the operation state information of the RCSs may be as shown in the following table 6:

TABLE 6

First RCS	RCS21	RCS22	…
				First operating state variable 11	Operating state parameter 21	Operating state parameter 31	…
First operating state parameter 12	Operating state parameter 22	Operating state parameter 32	…
				First operating state parameter 13	Operating state parameter 23	Operating state parameter 33	…
…	…	…	…

Assuming that the third RCS is identified as RCS22, and the first operation status parameter is the first operation status parameter 12, according to the sixth mapping relationship shown in table 6, the relay device may determine that the second operation status parameter is the operation status parameter 32.

Optionally, the relay device may further store, for example, a communication protocol required by each second AGV to generate the operation status information. The relay device may determine, for example, a communication protocol required by the second AGV to generate the first operational status information based on the identification of the second AGV. And then generating second running state information according with the communication protocol according to the identifier of the first RCS, the first identifier of the second AGV and the second running state parameter, so that the first RCS can analyze the second running state information according to an analysis method corresponding to the communication protocol.

Optionally, an implementation manner of the relay device obtaining the sixth mapping relationship is similar to the implementation manner of the relay device obtaining the third mapping relationship described in the foregoing embodiment, so that reference may be made to the method described in the foregoing embodiment, and details are not repeated here.

In this embodiment, the second operating state parameter is obtained based on the identifier of the first RCS, the identifier of the third RCS, the first operating state parameter, and the sixth mapping relationship between the operating state information of the respective RCS. That is, the relay device can acquire the operation state parameters recognizable by the first RCS in a table look-up manner without performing complicated logic operation, and further generate the second operation state information. Therefore, by the method, the time delay of the relay equipment for reporting the running state information of the second AGV is reduced, and the efficiency of reporting the running state information of the second AGV is improved.

Taking any AGV of the M AGVs as an example, fig. 7 is a schematic flow chart of another communication method provided by the present application. As shown in fig. 7, the first RCS may transmit a first control instruction to the relay device. The relay device may determine whether the first RCS is the RCS matched with the AGV according to the identifier of the AGV in the first control instruction and a second mapping relationship between the second identifier of the AGV and the identifier of the RCS.

If the first RCS is the RCS that the AGV matches, the relay may directly send the first control instruction to the AGV.

If the first RCS is not the RCS that matches the AGV, the relay device may determine the second operation information according to the identifier of the first RCS, the identifier of the second RCS, the first operation information, and a third mapping relationship between the operation information of the respective RCSs. Then, according to the second operation information, a second control instruction including an identifier of a second RCS, a second identifier of the AGV, and second operation information is generated and sent to the AGV.

As shown in FIG. 7, the AGV may also report first operational status information. After receiving the first operation status information uploaded by the AGV, the relay device may determine whether the first RCS is a matching RCS for the AGV. If so, the first operation state information can be directly sent to the first RCS. If not, the relay device may convert the first operation state information into second operation state information that is recognizable by the first RCS based on the sixth mapping relationship between the operation state information of the foregoing RCS, and send the second operation state information to the first RCS.

It should be understood that, with respect to the communication method described in any of the foregoing embodiments, the application does not limit the communication protocol used for communication between the RCS and the relay device, and between the relay device and the AGV. Illustratively, the communication Protocol may be, for example, Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). The TCP protocol has high communication reliability and low transmission delay, and can improve the accuracy and efficiency of communication between the RCS and the relay equipment and between the relay equipment and the AGV.

In addition, it should be understood that the present application also does not limit the manner in which the flow design of the relay device is adopted. For example, the implementation may be implemented by using embedded C language programming, and may also be implemented by using Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). When the embedded C language programming is used for implementation, the relay equipment can reduce the time delay between the RCS and the AGV to be within 500 milliseconds (ms). When the FPGA is used for programming, the relay equipment can reduce the time delay between the RCS and the AGV to be within 5 ms.

Fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in the present application. The device is applied to the relay equipment. As shown in fig. 8, the apparatus includes: a receiving module 51, a processing module 52, and a transmitting module 53. Wherein,

a receiving module 51, configured to receive a first control instruction from the first RCS. The first control instruction is used for controlling a first AGV to execute target operation; the first AGV is any one of M AGVs.

And the processing module 52 is configured to convert the first control instruction into a second control instruction recognizable by the first AGV when the first RCS is not the RCS matched with the first AGV.

And a sending module 53, configured to send the second control instruction to the first AGV.

Optionally, the processing module 52 is further configured to obtain a second identifier of the first AGV according to the first identifier of the first AGV and a first mapping relationship between the first identifier and the second identifier; acquiring an identifier of a second RCS according to the second identifier of the first AGV and a second mapping relation between the second identifier of the AGV and the identifier of the RCS; and determining whether the first RCS is matched with the first AGV or not according to the identification of the first RCS and the identification of the second RCS.

Optionally, the receiving module 51 is further configured to receive a first registration request of the first AGV. Wherein the first registration request comprises: first device information of the first AGV. The first device information includes: a second identification of the first AGV, an identification of the second RCS.

In this implementation, the processing module 52 is further configured to allocate a first identifier to the first AGV according to the second identifier of the first AGV, and add a mapping relationship between the first identifier and the second identifier of the first AGV to the first mapping relationship; adding a second identifier of the first AGV and a mapping relation of the identifier of the second RCS into the second mapping relation; and generating a second registration request of the first AGV according to the first identification of the first AGV and the identification of the first RCS.

In this implementation, the sending module 53 is further configured to send the second registration request to the first RCS.

Optionally, the processing module 52 is specifically configured to obtain the second operation information according to the identifier of the first RCS, the identifier of the second RCS, the first operation information, and a third mapping relationship between operation information of each RCS; and generating the second control instruction according to the identifier of the second RCS, the second identifier of the first AGV and the second operation information.

Optionally, the receiving module 51 is further configured to receive the third mapping relationship from the control platform.

Optionally, the processing module 52 is specifically configured to determine, according to the identifier of the second RCS and a fourth mapping relationship between the identifier of the RCS and a port, a first port matched with the second RCS; and determining a second port matched with the first AGV according to the second identifier of the first AGV and a fifth mapping relation between the second identifier of the AGV and the port. In this implementation, the sending module 53 is specifically configured to send the second control instruction to the second port of the first AGV by using the first port.

Optionally, the receiving module 51 is further configured to receive the fourth mapping relationship and/or the fifth mapping relationship from a control platform.

Optionally, the sending module 53 is further configured to send the first control instruction to the first AGV when the first RCS is the matching RCS of the first AGV after receiving the first control instruction from the first RCS.

Optionally, the receiving module 51 is further configured to receive a first operation state information processing module 52 reported by a second AGV, and is further configured to convert the first operation state information into second operation state information that can be recognized by the first RCS when the first RCS is not an RCS that is matched with the second AGV. The sending module 53 is further configured to send the second operation state information to the first RCS. Wherein the second AGV is any one of the M AGVs.

the second operating state information includes: a first identifier of the second AGV, an identifier of the first RCS, and a second operating state parameter;

Optionally, the processing module 52 is specifically configured to obtain the second operation state parameter according to the identifier of the first RCS, the identifier of the third RCS, the first operation state parameter, and a sixth mapping relationship between the operation state information of each RCS; and generating the second running state information according to the identifier of the first RCS, the first identifier of the second AGV and the second running state parameter.

Optionally, the sending module 53 is further configured to send the first running state information to the first RCS when the first RCS is the RCS matched with the second AGV after receiving the first running state information reported by the second AGV.

The communication device provided by the present application is configured to execute the foregoing communication method embodiment, and the implementation principle and the technical effect thereof are similar, which are not described again.

Fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a relay device according to the present application. As shown in fig. 9, the relay apparatus 600 may include: at least one processor 601, a memory 602, a receiver 605, and a transmitter 604. Wherein,

both the receiver 605 and the transmitter 604 are coupled to the processor 601. The processor 601 controls the receiving operation of the receiver 605, and the processor 601 controls the transmitting operation of the transmitter 604.

A memory 602 for storing programs. In particular, the program may include program code including computer operating instructions.

The memory 602 may comprise high-speed RAM memory, and may also include non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), such as at least one disk memory.

The processor 601 is used to execute the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 602 to implement the communication method described in the foregoing method embodiments. The processor 601 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or one or more Integrated circuits configured to implement the embodiments of the present Application.

Take above-mentioned repeater as intelligent desk lamp for example, this intelligent desk lamp can also include: an image acquisition device. The image acquisition device may be configured to acquire a first image of a target object. Optionally, the intelligent desk lamp may further include a display screen, a voice broadcast device, and the like.

Optionally, the relay device 600 may further include a communication interface 603. In a specific implementation, if the communication interface 603, the memory 602 and the processor 601 are implemented independently, the communication interface 603, the memory 602 and the processor 601 may be connected to each other through a bus and perform communication with each other. The bus may be an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, an Extended ISA (EISA) bus, or the like. Buses may be classified as address buses, data buses, control buses, etc., but do not represent only one bus or type of bus.

Optionally, in a specific implementation, if the communication interface 603, the memory 602, and the processor 601 are integrated into a chip, the communication interface 603, the memory 602, and the processor 601 may complete communication through an internal interface.

The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which may include: various media capable of storing program codes, such as a usb disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and in particular, the computer-readable storage medium stores program instructions, and the program instructions are used in the method in the foregoing embodiments.

The present application also provides a program product comprising execution instructions stored in a readable storage medium. The at least one processor of the relay device may read the execution instructions from the readable storage medium, and the execution of the execution instructions by the at least one processor causes the relay device to implement the communication method provided by the various embodiments described above.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only used for illustrating the technical solutions of the present application, and not for limiting the same; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some or all of the technical features may be equivalently replaced; and the modifications or the substitutions do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions depart from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method is characterized in that relay equipment is respectively in communication connection with a first robot dispatching system (RCS) and M intelligent warehousing robots (AGV), wherein M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the method is applied to the relay equipment and comprises the following steps:

and sending the second control instruction to the first AGV.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said first control instruction includes an identification of said first RCS, a first identification of said first AGV, and first operation information that controls said first AGV to perform a target operation;

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

receiving a first registration request of the first AGV, the first registration request comprising: first device information of the first AGV, the first device information including: a second identification of the first AGV, an identification of the second RCS;

sending the second registration request to the first RCS.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein said converting said first control command to a second control command recognizable by said first AGV comprises:

6. The method of claim 3 wherein said sending said second control instruction to said first AGV includes:

7. The method of claim 1, wherein after receiving the first control instruction from the first RCS, the method further comprises:

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, further comprising:

and sending the second running state information to the first RCS.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first operational state information comprises: a second identifier of the second AGV, an identifier of a third RCS and a first running state parameter;

10. The method of claim 8 wherein after receiving the first operational status information reported from the second AGV, the method further comprises:

11. The utility model provides a communication device, its characterized in that, relay respectively with first robot scheduling system RCS to and, M intelligent storage robot AGV communication connection, M is the integer that is more than or equal to 1, the device is applied to relay, the device includes:

the AGV comprises a receiving module, a first control module and a second control module, wherein the receiving module is used for receiving a first control instruction from a first RCS, and the first control instruction is used for controlling a first AGV to execute target operation; the first AGV is any one of M AGVs;

12. A relay device, comprising: at least one processor, memory, receiver, transmitter;

the memory stores computer-executable instructions;

the at least one processor executing the computer-executable instructions stored by the memory causes the relay device to perform the method of any of claims 1-10.

13. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a processor, implement the method of any one of claims 1-10.

14. A computer program product comprising a computer program, characterized in that the computer program realizes the method of any of claims 1-10 when executed by a processor.