The paper considers two classes of point location problems found in visual navigation of a mobile robot. The problems we consider are finding the location of a robot using a map of the room where the robot moves and an image taken by a camera carried by the robot. In the first class of problems, vertical edges in the image are given, and a possible location for the robot is investigated by establishing a correspondence between the edges in the images and vertical poles given in the map. In the second class of problems, the possible region for the robot is investigated under the assumption that vertical edges are distinguishable from each other, but only the order in which the edges are found when the image is swept from left to right is given. These problems and their variations are considered from a computational geometry point of view, and efficient algorithms for solving them are given.

Some location problems for robot navigation using a single camera

An onboard location system for a self-navigating vehicle using signposts with bar codes placed along the routes is described. The system has two independent measuring subsystems. The first is a machine vision system composed of an onboard camera, an onboard image processing unit, and signposts. This subsystem measures location and direction of the vehicle by triangulation when the signposts are detected. The second is a dead-reckoning subsystem based on rotation counts for the right and left wheels. Data from these two subsystems are systematically combined by an extended Kalman filter. The experimental results show that an accurate and smooth estimation of the location and direction of the vehicle is obtained. >

Onboard locating system using real-time image processing for a self-navigating vehicle

A fiber-optic sensor for distance and velocity measurements is described which is based on dynamic properties of speckles formed by two illuminating laser beams. This sensor is composed of two optical-fiber laser guides and an optical-fiber-array spatial filter consisting of linearly arrayed endfaces of optical fibers. The measurable ranges of distance and velocity and their accuracies are expressed in terms of the sensor's configuration parameters. The configuration for accurate sensing over a wide range is discussed. The usefulness of this sensor is confirmed by experiments.

Fiber-optic sensor for distance and velocity measurements using speckle dynamics.

This paper presents a new onboard locating system of an autonomous vehicle using signposts put along routes. The locating system estimates location and direction of the vehicle on the basis of the observa- tion of signposts and revolution counts of main wheels. The Kalman filter is employed to estimate the loca- tion and direction of the vehicle on real time base, and smooth and accurate estimation is realized. The ex- perimental result shows that the accurate location and direction of the vehicle is obtained through the system.

Onboard Locating System Of Autonomous Vehicle

The fundamental ideas underlying various methods for measuring the positions of three-dimensional target points from multiple images are classified into three principles. The most popular principle is triangulation, which is available when the following two conditions are fulfilled: the relative positions among the view points are known and the directions from the view points to the targets are known. Sometimes, even if one of these two conditions is not satisfied, the target positions can still be measured. Thus we have two more principles: one works when the first condition is fulfilled, and the other works when the second condition is fulfilled. All three principles together with their variations are investigated.

Three principles in stereo vision

Estimation of a Robot Vehicle Position by Kalman Filtering

Matching Method of Vertical Edge Patterns for Locating a Mobile Robot

An Industrial Robot Control System for Holding Interval Constant from Arm Tip to Object

The problem of slip detection has to be explored so that an industrial robot can grasp objects with the minimum grasping force. The method of non-tactile slip detection is described in this paper. ...

Minoru Ueda

Papers

Estimation of a Robot Vehicle Position by Kalman Filtering

Matching Method of Vertical Edge Patterns for Locating a Mobile Robot

An Industrial Robot Control System for Holding Interval Constant from Arm Tip to Object

Non-tactile slip sensor using the method of autocorrelation with signals of reflected light

A Device for Automatic Measurement of Thermal Diffusivity by Pulse Method