Real-time determination of a mobile robot's position by linear scanning of a landmark

摘要

SUMMARY For the navigation of a mobile robot, the determination of its absolute location is one of essential tasks. This paper proposes a stripe type landmark which enables us to develop a fast algorithm to calculate the distance and orientation of a camera relative to the landmark. Exact and closed form solution of the camera location is obtained from the geometric relation between the pattern of landmark and its projected image. Since the presented algorithm requires only one row of the mark image, determination of the location can be processed in real-time. In addition, the mark can be identified using the projective invariant of the original mark pattern without any additional patterns. The effect of the error sources on the location determination is analyzed through a series of simulations and experiments. The applicability of the algorithm to mobile robots is discussed using the experimental results.