Patent ID: 8491367

Claim:
A driving apparatus for traveling objects for causing multiple traveling objects to travel on a traveling surface, comprising: a traveling controller adapted for controlling travel of each of the multiple traveling objects, two detected objects provided to each traveling object, the two detected objects spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval on the corresponding traveling object; a position information outputter adapted for outputting position information on each of the multiple detected objects on the traveling surface; and a determiner adapted for identifying two detected objects corresponding to each of the multiple traveling objects on the basis of the position information on each of the multiple detected objects output from the position information outputter, wherein the traveling controller is adapted for supplying a travel start instruction to each of the multiple traveling objects sequentially during a determination period for determining two detected objects corresponding to a traveling object, wherein the determiner is adapted for conducting a comparison process whenever the traveling controller supplies the travel start instruction, in the comparison process, the determiner is adapted for comparing the position information of each detected object output from the position information outputter before supplying the travel start instruction with the position information of each detected object output from the position information outputter after supplying the travel start instruction, and wherein the determiner is adapted for identifying two detected objects of which the position information has changed as the two detected objects corresponding to the traveling object that has moved in response to the travel start instruction.