11,469 research outputs found
Active SLAM for autonomous underwater exploration
Exploration of a complex underwater environment without an a priori map is beyond the state of the art for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). Despite several efforts regarding simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) and view planning, there is no exploration framework, tailored to underwater vehicles, that faces exploration combining mapping, active localization, and view planning in a unified way. We propose an exploration framework, based on an active SLAM strategy, that combines three main elements: a view planner, an iterative closest point algorithm (ICP)-based pose-graph SLAM algorithm, and an action selection mechanism that makes use of the joint map and state entropy reduction. To demonstrate the benefits of the active SLAM strategy, several tests were conducted with the Girona 500 AUV, both in simulation and in the real world. The article shows how the proposed framework makes it possible to plan exploratory trajectories that keep the vehicleâs uncertainty bounded; thus, creating more consistent maps.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
A Robust Localization System for Inspection Robots in Sewer Networks â
Sewers represent a very important infrastructure of cities whose state should be monitored
periodically. However, the length of such infrastructure prevents sensor networks from being
applicable. In this paper, we present a mobile platform (SIAR) designed to inspect the sewer network.
It is capable of sensing gas concentrations and detecting failures in the network such as cracks and
holes in the floor and walls or zones were the water is not flowing. These alarms should be precisely
geo-localized to allow the operators performing the required correcting measures. To this end, this
paper presents a robust localization system for global pose estimation on sewers. It makes use of prior
information of the sewer network, including its topology, the different cross sections traversed and
the position of some elements such as manholes. The system is based on a Monte Carlo Localization
system that fuses wheel and RGB-D odometry for the prediction stage. The update step takes into
account the sewer network topology for discarding wrong hypotheses. Additionally, the localization
is further refined with novel updating steps proposed in this paper which are activated whenever
a discrete element in the sewer network is detected or the relative orientation of the robot over the
sewer gallery could be estimated. Each part of the system has been validated with real data obtained
from the sewers of Barcelona. The whole system is able to obtain median localization errors in the
order of one meter in all cases. Finally, the paper also includes comparisons with state-of-the-art
Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) systems that demonstrate the convenience of the
approach.Unión Europea ECHORD ++ 601116Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades de España RTI2018-100847-B-C2
Marker based Thermal-Inertial Localization for Aerial Robots in Obscurant Filled Environments
For robotic inspection tasks in known environments fiducial markers provide a
reliable and low-cost solution for robot localization. However, detection of
such markers relies on the quality of RGB camera data, which degrades
significantly in the presence of visual obscurants such as fog and smoke. The
ability to navigate known environments in the presence of obscurants can be
critical for inspection tasks especially, in the aftermath of a disaster.
Addressing such a scenario, this work proposes a method for the design of
fiducial markers to be used with thermal cameras for the pose estimation of
aerial robots. Our low cost markers are designed to work in the long wave
infrared spectrum, which is not affected by the presence of obscurants, and can
be affixed to any object that has measurable temperature difference with
respect to its surroundings. Furthermore, the estimated pose from the fiducial
markers is fused with inertial measurements in an extended Kalman filter to
remove high frequency noise and error present in the fiducial pose estimates.
The proposed markers and the pose estimation method are experimentally
evaluated in an obscurant filled environment using an aerial robot carrying a
thermal camera.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, Published in International Symposium on Visual
Computing 201
Monocular navigation for long-term autonomy
We present a reliable and robust monocular navigation system for an autonomous vehicle.
The proposed method is computationally efficient, needs off-the-shelf equipment only and does not require any additional infrastructure like radio beacons or GPS.
Contrary to traditional localization algorithms, which use advanced mathematical methods to determine vehicle position, our method uses a more practical approach.
In our case, an image-feature-based monocular vision technique determines only the heading of the vehicle while the vehicle's odometry is used to estimate the distance traveled.
We present a mathematical proof and experimental evidence indicating that the localization error of a robot guided by this principle is bound.
The experiments demonstrate that the method can cope with variable illumination, lighting deficiency and both short- and long-term environment changes.
This makes the method especially suitable for deployment in scenarios which require long-term autonomous operation
Simultaneous localization and map-building using active vision
An active approach to sensing can provide the focused measurement capability over a wide field of view which allows correctly formulated Simultaneous Localization and Map-Building (SLAM) to be implemented with vision, permitting repeatable long-term localization using only naturally occurring, automatically-detected features. In this paper, we present the first example of a general system for autonomous localization using active vision, enabled here by a high-performance stereo head, addressing such issues as uncertainty-based measurement selection, automatic map-maintenance, and goal-directed steering. We present varied real-time experiments in a complex environment.Published versio
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