Robot In Indoor Environment Research Articles

선택적 Anchors 기반 Indoor GPS 및 EKF를 이용한 이동 로봇 위치 추정

This paper proposes a technique of indoor localization for mobile robot by so called indoor GPS and EKF. Basically the concept of indoor GPS is similar outdoor GPS, and the indoor GPS gets distances between Anchors and Tag by a ranging method of CSS and then estimates the coordinate by distances and known Anchor positions. After we performed performance test of indoor GPS system in ideal and multipath environment, we configured that the indoor GPS has internal error factors and external error factors. This paper handled a multipath problem belonging to external error factors. At first various direct physical method are introduced to fix the multipath problems, and as expected we got errors corrected considerably. And then the method of selective anchors for indoor GPS is applied. With these two level improvement of indoor GPS performance, EKF(Extended Kalman Filter) is applied to mobile robot in indoor environment. The usefulness of the proposed methods are shown by a series of experiments in a environment giving contaminated data by multipath.

A Robust Obstacle Avoidance for Service Robot Using Bayesian Approach

The objective of this paper is to propose a robust obstacle avoidance method for service robot in indoor environment. The method for obstacles avoidance uses information about static obstacles on the landmark using edge detection. Speed and direction of people that walks as moving obstacle obtained by single camera using tracking and recognition system and distance measurement using 3 ultrasonic sensors. A new geometrical model and maneuvering method for moving obstacle avoidance introduced and combined with Bayesian approach for state estimation. The obstacle avoidance problem is formulated using decision theory, prior and posterior distribution and loss function to determine an optimal response based on inaccurate sensor data. Algorithms for moving obstacles avoidance method proposed and experiment results implemented to service robot also presented. Various experiments show that our proposed method very fast, robust and successfully implemented to service robot called Srikandi II that equipped with 4 DOF arm robot developed in our laboratory.

2A1-H10 単眼カメラとレーザレンジファインダ搭載移動ロボットによる人物追跡と自律帰還(ホーム&オフィスロボット)

In recent years, with the development of technology, introduction of autonomous mobile robots to environments close to human life is expected. Examples are shopping cart robots automatically returning to the shopping cart shed after shopping, and guide robots directing the way back to the starting position from the current position in unknown environment. In this paper, we propose a mobile robot system which has functions of autonomous person following and starting position returning. The robot realizes these functions by analyzing information obtained with camera and laser range finder. We verified the validity of the system using a wheel mobile robot in indoor environment.

1P1-E06 マルチ移動ロボットによる屋内環境でのレーザベースト歩行者追跡(3次元計測/センサフュージョン)

1P1-E06 マルチ移動ロボットによる屋内環境でのレーザベースト歩行者追跡(3次元計測/センサフュージョン)

Improved Localization Algorithm for Ultrasonic Satellite System

For the measurement of absolute position of mobile robot in indoor environments, the ultrasonic positioning systems using ultrasound have been researched for several years. Most of these ultrasonic positioning systems to avoid interference between the ultrasound are used for sequential transmitting. However, due to the use of sequential transmitting, the positions of transmitter to receive an ultrasound will change when the mobile robot moves. Therefore the accuracy of positioning is reduced. In this paper, the new position estimation algorithm with weighting factor according to the time of receipt is proposed. By applying the proposed algorithm to existing Ultrasonic Satellite System(USAT), the improved USAT is configured. The positioning performance of the improved USAT with the proposed position estimation algorithm are verified by experiments.

A Light-and-Fast SLAM Algorithm for Robots in Indoor Environments Using Line Segment Map

Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) is an important technique for robotic system navigation. Due to the high complexity of the algorithm, SLAM usually needs long computational time or large amount of memory to achieve accurate results. In this paper, we present a lightweight Rao-Blackwellized particle filter- (RBPF-) based SLAM algorithm for indoor environments, which uses line segments extracted from the laser range finder as the fundamental map structure so as to reduce the memory usage. Since most major structures of indoor environments are usually orthogonal to each other, we can also efficiently increase the accuracy and reduce the complexity of our algorithm by exploiting this orthogonal property of line segments, that is, we treat line segments that are parallel or perpendicular to each other in a special way when calculating the importance weight of each particle. Experimental results shows that our work is capable of drawing maps in complex indoor environments, needing only very low amount of memory and much less computational time as compared to other grid map-based RBPF SLAM algorithms.

외곽선 영상과 Support Vector Machine 기반의 문고리 인식을 이용한 문 탐지

A door can serve as a feature for place classification and localization for navigation of a mobile robot in indoor environments. This paper proposes a door detection method based on the recognition of various door handles using the general Hough transform (GHT) and support vector machine (SVM). The contour and color histogram of a door handle extracted from the database are used in GHT and SVM, respectively. The door recognition scheme consists of four steps. The first step determines the region of interest (ROI) images defined by the color information and the environment around the door handle for stable recognition. In the second step, the door handle is recognized using the GHT method from the ROI image and the image patches are extracted from the position of the recognized door handle. In the third step, the extracted patch is classified whether it is the image patch of a door handle or not using the SVM classifier. The door position is probabilistically determined by the recognized door handle. Experimental results show that the proposed method can recognize various door handles and detect doors in a robust manner.

Sonar-based obstacle avoidance using region partition scheme

This paper addresses an obstacle avoidance problem for a mobile robot in indoor environment. The collision avoidance algorithm utilizes a region partition scheme to analyze the three forward sensory regions of the robot, then to calculate the minimum distances from the center of mass of the robot to the obstacles, respectively, and ultimately to find a navigable region. The supervisor inside the controller receives a series of obstacle avoidance behaviors and makes a decision that allows the robot to successfully navigate in a cluttered environment. In addition, experimental results to illustrate the proposed obstacle avoidance algorithm for the mobile robot in navigation are also presented.

Reliable people tracking approach for mobile robot in indoor environments

There is a great challenge that a mobile robot reliably and continuously tracks a specific person in indoor environments. In this paper, a novel method is presented, which can effectively recognize and reliably track a target person based on mobile robot vision. Gabor wavelet and hidden Markov model (HMM) are firstly employed for identifying the target person. In order to effectively track the specific person and reduce the computational cost in tracking stage, horizontal-projecting probability histogram (HPPH) of upper body color clothes region is proposed for extracting the pattern features, which significantly improves the tracking reliability and, at the same time, unscented particle filter (UPF) is integrated and PID operator is introduced for controlling the robot to follow the person. Experimental results validate the robustness and the reliability of this approach.

기능별로 분류된 프레임워크에 기반한 실내용 이동로봇의 주행시스템

This paper proposes a new integrated navigation system for a mobile robot in indoor environments. This system consists of five frameworks which are classified by function. This architecture can make the navigation system scalable and flexible. The robot can recover from exceptional situations, such as environmental changes, failure of entering the narrow path, and path occupation by moving objects, using the exception recovery framework. The environmental change can be dealt with using the probabilistic approach, and the problems with the narrow path and path occupation are solved using the ray casting algorithm and the Bayesian update rule. The proposed navigation system was successfully applied to several robots and operated in various environments. Experimental results showed good performance in that the exception recovery framework significantly increased the success rate of navigation. The system architecture proposed in this paper can reduce the time for developing robot applications through its reusability and changeability.

Remote navigation of a mobile robot in an RFID-augmented environment

In the current article, we address the problem of constructing radiofrequency identification (RFID)-augmented environments for mobile robots and the issues related to creating user interfaces for efficient remote navigation with a mobile robot in such environments. First, we describe an RFID-based positioning and obstacle identification solution for remotely controlled mobile robots in indoor environments. In the robot system, an architecture specifically developed by the authors for remotely controlled robotic systems was tested in practice. Second, using the developed system, three techniques for displaying information about the position and movements of a remote robot to the user were compared. The experimental visualization techniques displayed the position of the robot on an indoor floor plan augmented with (1) a video view from a camera attached to the robot, (2) display of nearby obstacles (identified using RFID technology) on the floor plan, and (3) both features. In the experiment, test subjects controlled the mobile robot through predetermined routes as quickly as possible avoiding collisions. The results suggest that the developed RFID-based environment and the remote control system can be used for efficient control of mobile robots. The results from the comparison of the visualization techniques showed that the technique without a camera view (2) was the fastest, and the number of steering motions made was smallest using this technique, but it also had the highest need for physical human interventions. The technique with both additional features (3) was subjectively preferred by the users. The similarities and differences between the current results and those found in the literature are discussed.

VecSLAM: An Efficient Vector-Based SLAM Algorithm for Indoor Environments

In this paper, we present an efficient SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) algorithm named VecSLAM, which localizes and builds a vector map for mobile robots in indoor environments. Compared to grid-mapping approaches, vector-based mapping algorithms require a relatively small amount of memory. Two essential operations for successful vector mapping are vector merging and loop closing. Merging methods used by traditional line segment-based mapping algorithms do not consider the sensor characteristics, which causes additional mapping error and makes it harder to close loops after navigation over a long distance. In addition, few line segment-based SLAM approaches contain loop closing methodology. We present a novel vector merging scheme based on a recursive least square estimation for robust mapping. An efficient loop closing method is also proposed, which effectively distributes the resultant mapping error throughout the loop to guarantee global map consistency. Simulation studies and experimental results show that VecSLAM is an efficient and robust online localization and mapping algorithm.

Direction Sensing RFID Reader for Mobile Robot Navigation

A self-contained direction sensing radio frequency identification (RFID) reader is developed employing a dual-directional antenna for automated target acquisition and docking of a mobile robot in indoor environments. The dual-directional antenna estimates the direction of arrival (DOA) of signals from a transponder by using the ratio of the received signal strengths between two adjacent antennas. This enables the robot to continuously monitor the changes in transponder directions and ensures reliable docking guidance to the target transponder. One of the technical challenges associated with this RFID direction finding is to sustain the accuracy of the estimated DOA that varies according to environmental conditions. It is often the case that the robot loses its way to the target in a cluttered environment. To cope with this problem, the direction correction algorithm is proposed to triangulate the location of the transponder with the most recent three DOA estimates. Theoretical simulation results verify the reliability of the proposed algorithm that quantifies the potential error in the DOA estimation. Using the algorithm, we validate mobile robot docking to an RFID transponder in an office environment occupied by obstacles.

On‐line path planning strategy integrated with collision and dead‐lock avoidance schemes for wheeled mobile robot in indoor environments

PurposeThis paper aims to present a hybrid path planning algorithm which is designed for use of autonomous vehicles in indoor environments. The approach mainly contributes the ability of generating a safe and smooth collision avoidance path for attaining a desired position in an unknown and obstructed environment.Design/methodology/approachThe hybrid planner is based on potential field method and Voronoi diagram approach, and it is represented with the ability of concurrent map building and autonomous navigation.FindingsThe possibility of controlling the look‐ahead distance allows the mobile robot to smartly control the velocity for creating a smooth trajectory autonomously. The dead‐lock problem is solved by defining necessary sub‐goals between targets on the constructed map.Originality/valueThe system controller (look‐ahead control) with the potential field method allows the robot to generate a smooth and safe path for an expected position. Only essential exploration of unknown environment is performed since the approach constrains the mobile robot to explore a safe and sub‐optimal route towards a destination.

A variant of navigation of a mobile robot with the help of a camera

The navigation problem for a mobile robot in indoor environment is considered. A camera, rigidly attached to the object and observing markers placed on the ceiling, is the main source of navigation data. Additional data are provided by odometry devices and is processed by an algorithm based on approximate integration of the equations of nonholonomic constraints.

Guidance of a mobile robot using an array of static cameras located in the environment

This paper presents a new proposal for positioning and guiding mobile robots in indoor environments. The proposal is based on the information provided by static cameras located in the movement environment. This proposal falls within the scope of what are known as intelligent environments; in this case, the environment is provided with cameras that, once calibrated, allow the position of the robots to be obtained. Based on this information, control orders for the robots can be generated using a radio frequency link. In order to facilitate identification of the robots, even under extremely adverse ambient lighting conditions, a beacon consisting of four circular elements constructed from infrared diodes is mounted on board the robots. In order to identify the beacon, an edge detection process is carried out. This is followed by a process that, based on the algebraic distance, obtains the estimated ellipses associated with each element of the beacon. Once the beacon has been identified, the coordinates of the centroids for the elements that make up the beacon are obtained on the various image planes. Based on these coordinates, an algorithm is proposed that takes into account the standard deviation of the error produced in the various cameras in ascertaining the coordinates of the beacon's elements. An odometric system is also used in guidance that, in conjunction with a Kalman Filter, allows the position of the robot to be estimated during the time intervals required to process the visual information provided by the cameras.

Model-Free Execution Monitoring in Behavior-Based Robotics

In the near future, autonomous mobile robots are expected to help humans by performing service tasks in many different areas, including personal assistance, transportation, cleaning, mining, or agriculture. In order to manage these tasks in a changing and partially unpredictable environment without the aid of humans, the robot must have the ability to plan its actions and to execute them robustly and safely. The robot must also have the ability to detect when the execution does not proceed as planned and to correctly identify the causes of the failure. An execution monitoring system allows the robot to detect and classify these failures. Most current approaches to execution monitoring in robotics are based on the idea of predicting the outcomes of the robot's actions by using some sort of predictive model and comparing the predicted outcomes with the observed ones. In contrary, this paper explores the use of model-free approaches to execution monitoring, that is, approaches that do not use predictive models. In this paper, we show that pattern recognition techniques can be applied to realize model-free execution monitoring by classifying observed behavioral patterns into normal or faulty execution. We investigate the use of several such techniques and verify their utility in a number of experiments involving the navigation of a mobile robot in indoor environments.

실내 환경에서의 이동로봇 제어를 위한 유비쿼터스 인터페이스 시스템

Recently, there are lots of concerning on ubiquitous environment of robots and URC (Ubiquitous Robotic Companion). In this paper, a practical ubiquitous interface system far controlling mobile robots in indoor environments was proposed. The interface system was designed as a manager-agent model including a PC manager, a mobile manager, and robot agents for being able to be accessed by any network. In the system, the PC manager has a 3D virtual environment and shows real images for a human-friendly interface, and share the computation load of the robot such as path planning and managing geographical information. It also contains Hybrid Format Manager(HFM) working for transforming the image, position, and control data and interchanging them between the robots and the managers. Mobile manager working in the minimized computing condition of handsets has a mobile interface environment displaying the real images and the position of the robot and being able to control the robots by pressing keys. Experimental results showed the proposed system was able to control robots rising wired and wireless LAN and mobile Internet.

DYNAMIC LOCALIZATION OF A MOBILE ROBOT WITH ACTIVE BEACON SENSORS

With the development of service robots and with the emerging concept of ubiquitous world, localization of a mobile robot has become a popular issue. Even though several localization schemes are introduced previously, none of them is free from the economical constraints to be used for commercial robots. To implement a real time commercial localization system, a new absolute position estimation method for a mobile robot in indoor environment is proposed in this paper. Design and implementation of the localization system comes from the usage of active beacon systems each of which is composed of an RFID receiver and an ultra-sonic transmitter. The RFID receiver gets the synchronization signal from the mobile robot and the ultrasonic transmitter sends out a short-term signal to be used for measuring the distance from the beacon to the mobile robot. Position of a mobile robot in a three dimensional space can be calculated basically from the distance information from three beacons which have their own absolute position information. One of the interesting problems comes from the static localization scheme. That is, the collision avoidance against surrounding objects can be planned and controlled efficiently if the velocity of the moving object can be estimated. Main contribution of this paper is developing a dynamic localization scheme to be used for the moving objects, which is a new application field of active beacon sensors. In the dynamic localization scheme, sensor fusion techniques and extended Kalman filter have been used to improve the estimation accuracy. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of this scheme.

RFID 응용 기술을 이용한 이동 로봇의 실내 위치 추정

Recently, with the development of service robots and with the new concept of ubiquitous world, the position estimation of mobile objects has been raised to an important problem. As pre-liminary research results, some of the localization schemes are introduced, which provide the relative location of the moving objects subjected to accumulated errors. To implement a real time localization system, a new absolute position estimation method for a mobile robot in indoor environment is proposed in this paper. Design and implementation of the localization system comes from the usage of active beacon systems (based upon RFID technology). The active beacon system is composed of an RFID receiver and an ultra-sonic transmitter: 1. The RFID receiver gets the synchronization signal from the mobile robot and 2. The ultra-sonic transmitter sends out the traveling signal to be used for measuring the distance. Position of a mobile robot in a three dimensional space can be calculated basically from the distance information from. Three beacons and the absolute position information of the beacons themselves. In some case, the mobile robot can get the ultrasonic signals from only one or two beacons, because of the obstacles located along the moving path. Therefore, in this paper, as one of our dedicated contribution, the position estimation scheme with less than three sensors has been developed. Also, the extended Kalman filter algorithm is applied for the improvement of position estimation accuracy of the mobile robot.