A visual servoing algorithm based on epipolar geometry

Abstract

A visual servoing algorithm for mobile robots is proposed. The main feature of the algorithm is that it exploits object profiles rather than solving correspondence problems using object features or texture. This property is crucial for mobile robot navigation in unstructured environments where the 3D scene exhibits only surfaces whose main features are their apparent contours. The framework is based on the epipolar geometry, which is recovered from object profiles and epipolar tangencies. Special symmetry conditions of epipoles are used to generate the mobile robot control law. For the sake of simplicity, mobile robot kinematics is assumed to be holonomic and the camera intrinsic parameters are assumed partially known. Such assumption can be relaxed to extend the application field of the approach.