Abstract

The computational load associated with computer vision is often prohibitive, and limits the capacity for on-board image analysis in compact mobile robots. Replicating the kind of feature detection and neural processing that animals excel at remains a challenge in most biomimetic aquatic robots. Event-driven sensors use a biologically inspired sensing strategy to eliminate the need for complete frame capture. Systems employing event-driven cameras enjoy reduced latencies, power consumption, bandwidth, and benefit from a large dynamic range. However, to the best of our knowledge, no work has been done to evaluate the performance of these devices in underwater robotics. This work proposes a robotic lamprey design capable of supporting computer vision, and uses this system to validate a computational neuron model for driving anguilliform swimming. The robot is equipped with two different types of cameras: frame-based and event-based cameras. These were used to stimulate the neural network, yielding goal-oriented swimming. Finally, a study is conducted comparing the performance of the computational model when driven by the two different types of camera. It was observed that event-based cameras improved the accuracy of swimming trajectories and led to significant improvements in the rate at which visual inputs were processed by the network.

Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call