Autonomous Navigation Method Research Articles

Autonomous navigation method for planetary landing based on observability analysis of sequential images

Autonomous navigation method for planetary landing based on observability analysis of sequential images

Star angle modified with relativistic effects/StarNAV integrated navigation method for Mars exploration

The celestial navigation system based on star angle (SA) is a classical autonomous navigation method for the spacecraft, which directly provides the position information of the spacecraft relative to the near celestial body. But due to the relativistic effects, the star direction observed by spacecraft is inconsistent with that acquired from star ephemeris, which reduces navigation accuracy of SA. In addition, SA cannot directly provide the velocity information of the spacecraft. StarNAV is a novel celestial navigation method that utilizes the relativistic effects, which mostly provides the velocity information of the spacecraft. In this paper, the star angle modified with relativistic effects (SAMRE)/StarNAV integrated navigation method is proposed. The measurement model of SAMRE is established by considering relativistic effects in the measurement model of SA. Simulation results indicate that during the Mars approach phase, SAMRE has better navigation accuracy compared with SA, and the navigation accuracy of the SAMRE/StarNAV integrated navigation method is higher than that of SAMRE, StarNAV and SA/StarNAV, respectively. Furthermore, the paper analyses the impact of measurement errors on the navigation accuracy of SAMRE/StarNAV.

Autonomous navigation method based on RGB‐D camera for a crop phenotyping robot

AbstractPhenotyping robots have the potential to obtain crop phenotypic traits on a large scale with high throughput. Autonomous navigation technology for phenotyping robots can significantly improve the efficiency of phenotypic traits collection. This study developed an autonomous navigation method utilizing an RGB‐D camera, specifically designed for phenotyping robots in field environments. The PP‐LiteSeg semantic segmentation model was employed due to its real‐time and accurate segmentation capabilities, enabling the distinction of crop areas in images captured by the RGB‐D camera. Navigation feature points were extracted from these segmented areas, with their three‐dimensional coordinates determined from pixel and depth information, facilitating the computation of angle deviation (α) and lateral deviation (d). Fuzzy controllers were designed with α and d as inputs for real‐time deviation correction during the walking of phenotyping robot. Additionally, the method includes end‐of‐row recognition and row spacing calculation, based on both visible and depth data, enabling automatic turning and row transition. The experimental results showed that the adopted PP‐LiteSeg semantic segmentation model had a testing accuracy of 95.379% and a mean intersection over union of 90.615%. The robot's navigation demonstrated an average walking deviation of 1.33 cm, with a maximum of 3.82 cm. Additionally, the average error in row spacing measurement was 2.71 cm, while the success rate of row transition at the end of the row was 100%. These findings indicate that the proposed method provides effective support for the autonomous operation of phenotyping robots.

A Context-Aware Navigation Framework for Ground Robots in Horticultural Environments.

Environmental mapping and robot navigation are the basis for realizing robot automation in modern agricultural production. This study proposes a new autonomous mapping and navigation method for gardening scene robots. First, a new LiDAR slam-based semantic mapping algorithm is proposed to enable the robots to analyze structural information from point cloud images and generate roadmaps from them. Secondly, a general robot navigation framework is proposed to enable the robot to generate the shortest global path according to the road map, and consider the local terrain information to find the optimal local path to achieve safe and efficient trajectory tracking; this method is equipped in apple orchards. The LiDAR was evaluated on a differential drive robotic platform. Experimental results show that this method can effectively process orchard environmental information. Compared with vnf and pointnet++, the semantic information extraction efficiency and time are greatly improved. The map feature extraction time can be reduced to 0.1681 s, and its MIoU is 0.812. The resulting global path planning achieved a 100% success rate, with an average run time of 4ms. At the same time, the local path planning algorithm can effectively generate safe and smooth trajectories to execute the global path, with an average running time of 36 ms.

Obstacle Avoidance and Path Planning Methods for Autonomous Navigation of Mobile Robot.

Path planning creates the shortest path from the source to the destination based on sensory information obtained from the environment. Within path planning, obstacle avoidance is a crucial task in robotics, as the autonomous operation of robots needs to reach their destination without collisions. Obstacle avoidance algorithms play a key role in robotics and autonomous vehicles. These algorithms enable robots to navigate their environment efficiently, minimizing the risk of collisions and safely avoiding obstacles. This article provides an overview of key obstacle avoidance algorithms, including classic techniques such as the Bug algorithm and Dijkstra's algorithm, and newer developments like genetic algorithms and approaches based on neural networks. It analyzes in detail the advantages, limitations, and application areas of these algorithms and highlights current research directions in obstacle avoidance robotics. This article aims to provide comprehensive insight into the current state and prospects of obstacle avoidance algorithms in robotics applications. It also mentions the use of predictive methods and deep learning strategies.

An Autonomous Navigation Method for Planetary Rover Based on Multi-modal Fusion and Multi-factor Graph Optimization

Planetary surface is a complex unstructured environment with strong light, strong shadows, weak textures and numerous obstacles. There is no GPS signal support and satellite networking support on the planetary surface. The limited computer and sensor capabilities of planetary rover have a significant gap from the ground autonomous driving configuration, which presents a great challenge to the autonomous navigation methods of planetary rover. Extreme lighting conditions will increase the camera mismatching rate, and poor texture will increase the lidar matching error, which will reduce the estimation accuracy. Moreover, camera and lidar produce great motion distortion in the rugged terrain and bumpy environment, which leads to a large increase in the cumulative error of odometer. Camera and lidar are not suitable as the main sensor of SLAM algorithm in unstructured environment because they are sensitive to the change of environment. Therefore, an autonomous navigation method for planetary rover based on multi-modal fusion and multi-factor graph optimization is presented in this paper. The IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) odometer node is added to the lidar odometer and visual odometer thread, and the IMU is taken as the central node to build a multi-factor graph optimization model. A multi-factor graph optimization model and a strong adaptive constraint strategy with reasonable weights are constructed. The pose estimation of other sensors is used to constrain IMU bias, meanwhile historical rut tracking, obstacle contour matching and skyline feature matching are introduced. Finally, motion prediction is achieved in the IMU odometer node. Simulation results and field tests show that this method can effectively cope with the unstructured environment on planetary surface, which achieves adaptive and robust autonomous navigation of planetary rover.

Research on asymmetric spatial heterodyne spectroscopy for velocimetry navigation

The further development of deep space exploration contributes to the exploration of the universe and the origin and evolution of life on Earth, and is a prerequisite and foundation for the development and utilization of space resources. Autonomous navigation of deep space probes, one of the key technologies for deep space exploration, can significantly reduce ground support costs and improve the autonomous operation, management, and on-orbit survivability of deep space probes. Among them, autonomous astronomical navigation methods based on velocity measurements directly measure velocity information, effectively avoiding the impact of using calculus to solve velocity on response time and navigation accuracy in navigation methods based on angle and distance measurements. The passive radial velocity measurement technique of asymmetric spatial heterodyne spectroscopy has the advantages of compact structure, large luminous flux, and multiple spectra detected simultaneously. Taking the Sun as the navigation target source, we carried out the selection of observational spectral lines and the parameter design of the velocimetry navigation system, designed the calculation of phases for the absorption characteristic line under the complex polychromatic strong background, carried out the simulation analysis of velocimetry under the typical relative velocimetry.

Fuzzy Logic-Based Decision-Making Method for Ultra-Large Ship Berthing Using Pilotage Data

As seafarers are involved in Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS), except for those in the fourth level of autonomy, the decision making of autonomous berthing should be carried out and be understood by human beings. This paper proposes a fuzzy logic-based human-like decision-making method for ultra-large ship berthing, which considers locations, ship particulars and the natural environment, and these factors are treated as the input variables. The IF–THEN rules are then established after the fuzzification of the input variables and are used for fuzzy inference to derive the decision of ship handling. It can be implemented in the decision-making system for safe navigation or be included in the process of autonomous berthing. The pilotage data are collected with nautical instruments and a distance measurement system during the berthing process, which are used to validate the proposed model and calculate the speed and turn errors. The overall and individual error of the decision-making model is in a reasonable and small range, which indicates that the model has good accuracy. The results of this research offer theoretical and practical insights into the development of a human-like decision-making method for autonomous navigation in port waters and maritime safety management in the shipping industry. The model can be further applied to develop a more widely applicable decision-making system for autonomous navigation in confined waters.

The integration of GPS and visual navigation for autonomous navigation of an Ackerman steering mobile robot in cotton fields.

Autonomous navigation in agricultural fields presents a unique challenge due to the unpredictable outdoor environment. Various approaches have been explored to tackle this task, each with its own set of challenges. These include GPS guidance, which faces availability issues and struggles to avoid obstacles, and vision guidance techniques, which are sensitive to changes in light, weeds, and crop growth. This study proposes a novel idea that combining GPS and visual navigation offers an optimal solution for autonomous navigation in agricultural fields. Three solutions for autonomous navigation in cotton fields were developed and evaluated. The first solution utilized a path tracking algorithm, Pure Pursuit, to follow GPS coordinates and guide a mobile robot. It achieved an average lateral deviation of 8.3 cm from the pre-recorded path. The second solution employed a deep learning model, specifically a fully convolutional neural network for semantic segmentation, to detect paths between cotton rows. The mobile rover then navigated using the Dynamic Window Approach (DWA) path planning algorithm, achieving an average lateral deviation of 4.8 cm from the desired path. Finally, the two solutions were integrated for a more practical approach. GPS served as a global planner to map the field, while the deep learning model and DWA acted as a local planner for navigation and real-time decision-making. This integrated solution enabled the robot to navigate between cotton rows with an average lateral distance error of 9.5 cm, offering a more practical method for autonomous navigation in cotton fields.

A Comparative Analysis of Computational Intelligence Methods for Autonomous Navigation of Smart Ships

This paper presents the author’s approaches based on computational intelligence methods for application in the Autonomous Navigation System (ANS) of a smart ship. The considered task is collision avoidance, which is one of the vital functions of the ANS. The proposed methods, applying the Ant Colony Optimization and the Firefly Algorithm, were compared with other artificial intelligence approaches introduced in the recent literature, e.g., evolutionary algorithms and machine learning. The advantages and disadvantages of different algorithms are formulated. Results of simulation experiments carried out with the use of the developed algorithms are presented and discussed. Future trends and challenges of presented smart technologies are also stated.

Autonomous navigation method of satellite constellation based on adaptive forgetting factors

To address the problem that model uncertainty and unknown time-varying system noise hinder the filtering accuracy of the autonomous navigation system of satellite constellation, an autonomous navigation method of satellite constellation based on the Unscented Kalman Filter with Adaptive Forgetting Factors (UKF-AFF) is proposed. The process noise covariance matrix is estimated online with the strategy that combines covariance matching and adaptive adjustment of forgetting factors. The adaptive adjustment coefficient based on squared Mahalanobis distance of state residual is employed to achieve online regulation of forgetting factors, equipping this method with more adaptability. The intersatellite direction vector obtained from photographic observations is introduced to determine the constellation satellite orbit together with the distance measurement to avoid rank deficiency issues. Considering that the number of available measurements varies online with intersatellite visibility in practical applications such as time-varying constellation configurations, the smooth covariance matrix of state correction determined by innovation and gain is adopted and constructed recursively. Stability analysis of the proposed method is also conducted. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by the Monte Carlo simulation and comparison experiments. The estimation accuracy of constellation position and velocity of UKF-AFF is improved by 30% and 44% respectively compared to those of the extended Kalman filter, and the method proposed is also better than other several adaptive filtering methods in the presence of significant model uncertainty.

A new method for high-precision starlight refraction indirect horizon-sensing positioning of atmospheric flight vehicles

The starlight refraction indirect horizon-sensing positioning method is a new type of autonomous celestial navigation method with broad application prospects. In view of this method currently being limited to the spacecraft outside the atmosphere, this article derives and establishes a starlight refraction indirect horizon-sensing positioning model between the starlight refraction angle and the flight vehicle’s position inside the atmosphere. Based on this model, a new starlight refraction indirect horizon-sensing positioning method for the flight vehicle inside the atmosphere is proposed. According to the atmospheric refraction law and the spherical atmospheric model, the refracted optical path of starlight entering the atmosphere and reaching the flight vehicle is traced, so as to establish a starlight refraction positioning model that reflects the relationship between the refraction angle and the 3-D position of the flight vehicle inside the atmosphere. Subsequently, by employing star sensors on the flight vehicle to measure the starlight refraction angle, and combining the starlight refraction positioning model that maps the starlight refraction angle and the flight vehicle’s position, a starlight refraction indirect horizon-sensing autonomous celestial positioning method, tailored for the flight within the atmosphere, is proposed. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified through ground semi physical experiments, and an analysis is conducted to explore the factors that affect the positioning accuracy of the starlight refraction indirect horizon-sensing positioning method within the atmosphere.

Dynamic Adaptive Decision-Making Method for Autonomous Navigation of Ships in Coastal Waters

Dynamic Adaptive Decision-Making Method for Autonomous Navigation of Ships in Coastal Waters

Intelligent navigation for the cruise phase of solar system boundary exploration based on Q-learning EKF

With the continuous advancement of deep space exploration missions, the solar system boundary exploration mission is established as one of the China's most important deep space scientific exploration missions. The mission of the solar system boundary exploration has many challenges such as ultra-remote detection distance, ultra-long operation time, and ultra-long communication delay. Therefore, the problem of high-precision autonomous navigation needs to be solved urgently. This paper designs an autonomous intelligent navigation method based on X-ray pulsars in the cruise phase, which estimate the motion state of the probe in real time. The proposed navigation method employs the Q-learning Extended Kalman filter (QLEKF) to improve navigation accuracy during long periods of self-determining running. The QLEKF selects automatically the error covariance matrix parameter of the process noise and the measurement noise by the reward mechanism of reinforcement learning. Compared to the traditional EKF and AEKF, the QLEKF improves the estimation accuracy of position and velocity. Finally, the simulation result demonstrates the effectiveness and the superiority of the intelligent navigation algorithm based on QLEKF, which can satisfy the high-precision navigation requirements in the cruise phase of the solar system boundary exploration.

Spacecraft autonomous navigation using line-of-sight directions of non-cooperative targets by improved Q-learning based extended Kalman filter

Autonomous optical navigation is one of the most promising techniques to estimate the position and velocity of a spacecraft in Earth orbit without the supports of Earth-based tracking stations. To improve the navigation performance, this paper presents a novel autonomous optical navigation method, where a star camera on the spacecraft is utilized to measure the line-of-sight (LOS) directions of a number of non-cooperative space targets, whose position vectors are supposed to be not precisely known in advance, and an improved Q-learning based extended Kalman filter (IQEKF) is developed to obtain the accurate motion state estimate of both the spacecraft and the space targets based on the LOS direction measurements. The main advantage of the presented method is that the LOS directions of the space targets can be acquired with high-accuracy by using the state-of-the-art star camera, such that the superior navigation accuracy is achievable. In addition, the whole motion state of the spacecraft, such as position, velocity, and attitude, can be obtained with the star camera, in the case that the space targets and the stars are observed simultaneously. The high performance of the presented autonomous navigation method is illustrated through a representative simulation of a medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellite. Furthermore, the simulation results indicate that the IQEKF yields more accurate solutions than the traditional navigation filtering algorithms.

Autonomous navigation method of jujube catch-and-shake harvesting robot based on convolutional neural networks

Autonomous navigation of agricultural devices plays an indispensable step for the realization of various field intelligent operation tasks. However, the accurate extraction of navigation path is still a challenging task due to the complex orchard environment with many interference factors. To cope with the challenge, a low-cost vision system based on convolutional neural network and machine learning algorithm is proposed to obtain accurate navigation path for autonomous path detection of catch-and-shake harvesting robot under winter jujube orchard. In the vision system, firstly, an improved light-weight YOLOX-Nano architecture with some tricks including CSP attention block, SPPCSPC-F and ASFF is proposed to detect root points of jujube tree. Results show that the mAP of our model is 84.08 % and model size is only 12.30 MB, which can meet the requirements of embedded deployment. Secondly, a K-means clustering algorithm is applied to divide root points into two classes which belong to left and right tree row. Finally, the navigation line can be determined by geometric relations and least squares. The experimental results showed that the navigation centerline mean pixel errors and average heading angle deviation are 4.49 pixels and 2.55°, respectively. Therefore, this method can provide a new theoretical basis and technical reference for autonomous navigation of winter jujube catch-and-shake harvesting robots.

ALGORİTHMS FOR FİNDİNG NON-İNTERSECTİNG ROADS ON İMAGES

Research relevance The use of GPS for UAVs to determine their current coordinates (navigation) leads to a number of problems. The development and improvement of the autonomous navigation method without the use of GPS is an actual issue, and this issue is considered in the article. The subject of study in the article is the issue of UAVs navigation based on video images. The purpose of work to develop an algorithm for autonomous navigation of UAVs that requires less resources. The following tasks are solved in the article: software modules are developed based on image processing algorithms; suitable model for invariant identification of curves was studied and applied. The following results were obtained: an algorithm was developed for the invariant identification of winding roads (curves) without intersections from different angles; developed software modules have been tested in the Republic of Azerbaijan on the basis of a map of the region called "Agsu Pass". Conclusions: the application of the method proposed in the article will enable rotation-invariant autonomous navigation of UAVs using less resources.

Parameter-Independent Event-Triggered Implicit UKF for the Celestial Navigation Using Time Delay Measurement

Celestial navigation using time delay measurement is an innovative autonomous navigation method. To calculate the equivalent measurement, the numerical method needs to be applied, which is time-consuming. The event-triggered mechanism intermittently and aperiodically processes measurements by judging if the update error has changed drastically. However, its performance is greatly affected by the constant threshold. To solve this problem, a parameter-independent event-triggered implicit unscented Kalman filter (UKF) is proposed and applied to the celestial navigation using time delay measurement. The innovation at the current moment and the updated estimate covariance at the last moment are compared with the previous value instead of the constant threshold. The event is automatically triggered when the accuracy of the state estimate is low. Simulation results indicate that the proposed parameter-independent event-triggered implicit UKF can reduce the running time by reducing unnecessary measurement updates, whose performance will not be affected by any parameter or window size. In a word, the proposed method substitutes the dynamic threshold for the constant threshold, ensuring that its performance will not be affected by any parameter or window size.

Symmetry between Some Methods of Autonomous Spacecraft Navigation and Methods of Determining Their Position from Earth

Symmetry between Some Methods of Autonomous Spacecraft Navigation and Methods of Determining Their Position from Earth

Autonomous flight insurance method of unmanned aerial vehicles Parot Mambo using semantic segmentation data

Autonomous navigation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has become in the past decade an extremely attracting topic, also due to the increasing availability of affordable equipment and open-source control and processing software environments. This demand has also raised a strong interest in developing accessible experimental platforms to train engineering students in the rapidly evolving area of autonomous navigation. In this paper, we describe a platform based on low-cost off-the-shelf hardware that takes advantage of the Matlab/Simulink programming environment to tackle most of the problems related to UAV autonomous navigation. More specifically, the subject of this paper is the autonomous control of the flight of a small UAV, which must explore and patrol an indoor unknown environment. Objectives: to analyse the existing hardware platforms for autonomous flight indoors, choose a flight exploration scenario of unknown premises, to formalize the procedure for obtaining a model of knowledge for semantic classification of premises, to formalize obtaining distance to obstacles using data camera horizontally employment and building on its barrier map. Namely, we use the method of image segmentation based on the brightness threshold, a method of training the semantic segmentation network, and computer algorithms in probabilistic robotics for mobile robots. We consider both the case of navigation guided by structural visual information placed in the environment, e.g., contrast markers for flight (such as path marked by a red tape), and the case of navigation based on unstructured information such as recognizable objects or human gestures. Basing on preliminary tests, the most suitable method for autonomous in-door navigation is by using\ object classification and segmentation, so that the UAV gradually analyses the surrounding objects in the room and makes decisions on path planning. The result of our investigation is a method that is suitable to allow the autonomous flight of a UAV with a frontal video camera. Conclusions. The scientific novelty of the obtained results is as follows: we have improved the method of autonomous flight of small UAVs by using the semantic network model and determining the purpose of flight only at a given altitude to minimize the computational costs of limited autopilot capabilities for low-cost small UAV models. The results of our study can be further extended by means of a campaign of experiments in different environments.