Vision-based Mobile Robot Localization Research Articles

Model-based kernel sum rule: kernel Bayesian inference with probabilistic models

Kernel Bayesian inference is a principled approach to nonparametric inference in probabilistic graphical models, where probabilistic relationships between variables are learned from data in a nonparametric manner. Various algorithms of kernel Bayesian inference have been developed by combining kernelized basic probabilistic operations such as the kernel sum rule and kernel Bayes’ rule. However, the current framework is fully nonparametric, and it does not allow a user to flexibly combine nonparametric and model-based inferences. This is inefficient when there are good probabilistic models (or simulation models) available for some parts of a graphical model; this is in particular true in scientific fields where “models” are the central topic of study. Our contribution in this paper is to introduce a novel approach, termed the model-based kernel sum rule (Mb-KSR), to combine a probabilistic model and kernel Bayesian inference. By combining the Mb-KSR with the existing kernelized probabilistic rules, one can develop various algorithms for hybrid (i.e., nonparametric and model-based) inferences. As an illustrative example, we consider Bayesian filtering in a state space model, where typically there exists an accurate probabilistic model for the state transition process. We propose a novel filtering method that combines model-based inference for the state transition process and data-driven, nonparametric inference for the observation generating process. We empirically validate our approach with synthetic and real-data experiments, the latter being the problem of vision-based mobile robot localization in robotics, which illustrates the effectiveness of the proposed hybrid approach.

Filtering with State-Observation Examples via Kernel Monte Carlo Filter.

This letter addresses the problem of filtering with a state-space model. Standard approaches for filtering assume that a probabilistic model for observations (i.e., the observation model) is given explicitly or at least parametrically. We consider a setting where this assumption is not satisfied; we assume that the knowledge of the observation model is provided only by examples of state-observation pairs. This setting is important and appears when state variables are defined as quantities that are very different from the observations. We propose kernel Monte Carlo filter, a novel filtering method that is focused on this setting. Our approach is based on the framework of kernel mean embeddings, which enables nonparametric posterior inference using the state-observation examples. The proposed method represents state distributions as weighted samples, propagates these samples by sampling, estimates the state posteriors by kernel Bayes' rule, and resamples by kernel herding. In particular, the sampling and resampling procedures are novel in being expressed using kernel mean embeddings, so we theoretically analyze their behaviors. We reveal the following properties, which are similar to those of corresponding procedures in particle methods: the performance of sampling can degrade if the effective sample size of a weighted sample is small, and resampling improves the sampling performance by increasing the effective sample size. We first demonstrate these theoretical findings by synthetic experiments. Then we show the effectiveness of the proposed filter by artificial and real data experiments, which include vision-based mobile robot localization.

Vision-Based Mobile Robot Localization with Simple Artificial Landmarks

This article presents a vision-based method for mobile robot localization in partially known environments. Simple, unobtrusive artificial landmarks are used as external localization aids. The landmarks are labelled with unique code patterns, what enables unambiguous global localization. The analysis is presented which enables prediction of the uncertainty of the position and orientation of the robot relative to the landmark. Experimental evidence is provided, demonstrating that the proposed method can be reliably used over a wide range of relative positions between the camera and the landmark.

Mobile Robot Localization and Mapping with Uncertainty using Scale-Invariant Visual Landmarks

A key component of a mobile robot system is the ability to localize itself accurately and, simultaneously, to build a map of the environment. Most of the existing algorithms are based on laser range finders, sonar sensors or artificial landmarks. In this paper, we describe a vision-based mobile robot localization and mapping algorithm, which uses scale-invariant image features as natural landmarks in unmodified environments. The invariance of these features to image translation, scaling and rotation makes them suitable landmarks for mobile robot localization and map building. With our Triclops stereo vision system, these landmarks are localized and robot ego-motion is estimated by least-squares minimization of the matched landmarks. Feature viewpoint variation and occlusion are taken into account by maintaining a view direction for each landmark. Experiments show that these visual landmarks are robustly matched, robot pose is estimated and a consistent three-dimensional map is built. As image features are not noise-free, we carry out error analysis for the landmark positions and the robot pose. We use Kalman filters to track these landmarks in a dynamic environment, resulting in a database map with landmark positional uncertainty.