移动机器人地图创建中的不确定传感信息处理

该文研究移动机器人自主创建地图中的不确定传感信息处理问题,基于灰色系统理论 提出了一种新的对传感信息进行解释和融合的方法用于声纳信息的处理,并以此建立环境的栅 格地图.声纳的传感信息存在较大的不确定性,这里引入灰数的概念来表示和处理这种不确定 性,对于机器人在不同位置的测量结果,根据灰色系统理论对信息的理解方式设计融合方法,得 到一个对环境的整体表示.通过仿真环境和真实机器人平台上进行的创建地图实验,表明这种 方法具有良好的鲁棒性和准确度.     

基于混合DSm模型的移动机器人动态环境地图构建

针对移动机器人探测动态未知环境的问题,引入了一种由贝叶斯理论和Dempster-Shafer证据理论（DST）扩展而来的新的信息融合方法——Dezert-Smarandache理论（DSmT）．采用栅格地图,并根据声纳的物理特性,在DSmT框架下建立了声纳的数学模型．运用DSmT中的高级模型,即混合DSm模型,构造了一组基本信度赋值函数（gbbaf）,用以处理动态环境下声纳获取的不确定和不精确信息,甚至于高冲突信息．借助Pioneer2-Dxe移动机器人分别进行了混合DSm模型和DST两种算法的地图构建实验,并绘制了相应的二维基本信度赋值地图．将由混合DSm模型与DST构建出的环境地图进行了比较,充分验证了混合DSm模型在未知动态环境下的有效性,为处理动态高冲突信息提供了有力的理论依据．     

基于DSmT的移动机器人地图构建及传感器管理

针对智能移动机器人探测未知环境的问题,引入了一种新的信息融合方法DSmT(Dezert-Smarandache Theo-ry),采用栅格地图,并根据声纳在DSmT框架下的数学模型,利用经典DSm模型构造了一组能自动调节误差范围的声纳基本信度赋值函数(gbbaf),以处理未知环境下声纳获取的不确定和不精确信息,甚至于高冲突信息。提出了简单有效的传感器管理方法,完全消除了复杂环境下声波的多次反射和串扰现象。最后,用Pioneer 2-DX机器人分别进行了DSmT和DST(Dempster-Shafer Theory)两种算法的地图构建实验,并绘制了相应的二维基本信度赋值地图。将DSmT与DST构建出的环境地图做比较,充分验证了DSmT及提出的传感器管理方法在未知环境下的有效性,为处理动态高冲突信息提供了有力的理论依据。     

基于D-S信息融合的水下机器人地图构建

针对未知动态环境中自治水下机器人(Autonomous Underwater Vehicle,AUV)的路径规划问题,给出一种基 于D-S (Shafer-Dempster)信息融合的水下栅格地图构建算法.首先通过建立一个声纳传感器模型,将声纳数据转换成栅格的信度函数分配值;接着应用D-S证据理论信息融合算法更新地图数据,从而构建出水下动态栅格地图;最后通过真实地图与融合构建地图比较,说明D-S融合算法在地图构建中的可行性.     

一种基于声纳信息的地图创建方法

地图创建是实现机器人在未知环境中自主导航的关键。该文对移动机器人在地图创建中所收集的不确定传感信息进行研究,分析声纳传感器的散射和镜面反射特性,提出一种改进的概率栅格的地图创建方法。该方法将距离信任因子引入到声纳传感器模型。利用该模型,实现移动机器人的自主地图创建,并有效地减少由于声纳传感器所引起的不确定性。通过机器人平台上进行的实验表明该方法的有 效性。     

Segment-Based Map Building Using Enhanced Adaptive Fuzzy Clustering Algorithm for Mobile Robot Applications

In this paper, we present a technique for on-line segment-based map building in an unknown indoor environment from sonar sensor observations. The world model is represented with two-dimensional line segments. The information obtained by the ultrasonic sensors is updated instantaneously while the mobile robot is moving through the workspace. An Enhanced Adaptive Fuzzy Clustering Algorithm (EAFC) along with Noise Clustering (NC) is proposed to extract and classify the line segments in order to construct a complete map for an unknown environment. Furthermore, to alleviate the problem of extensive computation associated with the process of map building, the workplace of the mobile robot is divided into square cells. A compatible line segment merging technique is then suggested to combine the similar segments after the extraction of the line segment by EAFC along with NC algorithm. The performance of the algorithm is demonstrated by experimental results on a Pioneer II mobile robot.     

Occupancy grids building by sonar and mobile robot

In this paper, a modified method for occupancy grid map building by a moving mobile robot and a scanning ultrasonic range-finder is proposed. The map building process consists of two phases: (1) gleaning of information from environment, and (2) sonar data processing. For sonar data processing the proposed modified method combines: (1) statistical approach for probability sonar model building; and (2) application of fuzzy logic theory for sonar data fusion. It is experimentally shown that, in some applications, the proposed modified method has advantages over other well-known methods.     

General Feature Extraction for Mapping and Localization of a Mobile Robot Using Sparsely Sampled Sonar Data

This study introduces a method of general feature extraction for building a map and localization of a mobile robot using only sparsely sampled sonar data. Sonar data are acquired by using a general fixed-type sensor ring that frequently provides false returns on the locations of objects. We first suggest a data association filter that can classify sets of sonar data that are associated with the same hypothesized feature into one group. A feature extraction method is then introduced to decide the exact geometric parameters of the hypothesized feature in the group. We also show the possibility of extracting a circle feature consistently as well as a line or a point feature by using the proposed filter. These features are then assembled to build a global map and applied to extended Kalman filter-based localization of the robot. We demonstrate the validity of the proposed filter with the results of mapping and localization produced by real experiments.     

Autonomous Exploring System Based on Ultrasonic Sensory Information

An autonomous exploring system for a mobile robot is presented in this article. The system consists of an ultrasonic range sensor (URS) module and a novel method for building a map from exploration of an environment. Instead of random exploration, the proposed approach provides a systematic and efficient strategy to build the map by means of some preferential points. Taking a multitude of observations or measurements by sonar sensors, a mobile robot derives a virtual polygonal map from a set of regressed segments, partial prior known environmental information, and some inference rules for vertices. Additionally, the concept of safe zones is also introduced in the system to keep the mobile robot safe during exploration. Based on the identified virtual map, a searching method is used to select a next best observation to collect the most sufficient information. Several experiments are given to demonstrate the performance of this proposed approach.     

Incorporation of Feature Tracking into Simultaneous Localization and Map Building via Sonar Data

Simultaneous Localization and Map building (SLAM) is referred to as the ability of an Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) to incrementally extract the surrounding features for estimating its pose in an unknown location and unknown environment. In this paper, we propose a new technique for extraction of significant map features from standard Polaroid sonar sensors to address the SLAM problem. The proposed algorithm explicitly initializes and tracks the line (or wall) features from a comparison between two overlapping sensor measurements buffers. The experimental studies on a Pioneer 2DX mobile robot equipped with sonar sensors suggest that SLAM problem can be solved by the proposed algorithm. The estimated trajectory of AMR from the standard model based on Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) localization for the same experiment is also provided for comparison.     

Mobile robot relocation from echolocation constraints

This paper presents a method for relocation of a mobile robot using sonar data. The process of determining the pose of a mobile robot with respect to a global reference frame in situations where no a priori estimate of the robot's location is available is cast as a problem of searching for correspondences between measurements and an a priori map of the environment. A physically-based sonar sensor model is used to characterize the geometric constraints provided by echolocation measurements of different types of objects. Individual range returns are used as data features in a constraint-based search to determine the robot's position. A hypothesize and test technique is employed in which positions of the robot are calculated from all possible combinations of two range returns that satisfy the measurement model. The algorithm determines the positions which provide the best match between the range returns and the environment model. The performance of the approach is demonstrated using data from both a single scanning Polaroid sonar and from a ring of Polaroid sonar sensors     

基于灰色定性理论的移动机器人地图创建

针对移动机器人自主导航地图创建中超声波信息存在不确定性的问题,提出一种新的基于灰色定性理论的超声波信息解释和融合的方法,并用于处理超声波传感器信息和移动机器人创建环境地图．首先,引入概率灰数对超声波信息的不确定性进行描述,以获得栅格单元和传感器的概率灰数模型;然后,设计超声波传感器新旧信息的融合方法,从而得到环境地图的整体表示;最后通过地图创建仿真实验结果表明了这种方法具有良好的鲁棒性和准确度．     

Improved occupancy grid mapping in specular environment

This paper addresses the improved method for sonar sensor modeling which reduces the specular reflection uncertainty in the occupancy grid. Such uncertainty reduction is often required in the occupancy grid mapping where the false sensory information can lead to poor performance. Here, a novel algorithm is proposed which is capable of discarding the unreliable sonar sensor information generated due to specular reflection. Further, the inconsistency estimation in sonar measurement has been evaluated and eliminated by fuzzy rules based model. To achieve the grid map with improved accuracy, the sonar information is further updated by using a Bayesian approach. In this paper the approach is experimented for the office environment and the model is used for grid mapping. The experimental results show 6.6% improvement in the global grid map and it is also found that the proposed approach is consuming nearly 16.5% less computation time as compared to the conventional approach of occupancy grid mapping for the indoor environments.     

Enhanced maximum likelihood grid map with reprocessing incorrect sonar measurements

In this paper, we address the problem of building a grid map as accurately as possible using inexpensive and error-prone sonar sensors. In this research area, incorrect sonar measurements, which fail to detect the nearest obstacle in their beamwidth, generally have been dealt with in the same manner as correct measurements or have been excluded from the mapping. In the former case, the map quality may be severely degraded. In the latter case, the resulting map may have insufficient information after the incorrect measurements are removed because only correct measurements are frequently insufficient to cover the whole environment. We propose an efficient grid-mapping approach that incorporates incorrect measurements in a specialized manner to build a better map; we call this the enhanced maximum likelihood (eML) approach. The eML approach fuses the correct and incorrect measurements into a map based on sub-maps generated from each set of measurements. We also propose the maximal sound pressure (mSP) method to detect incorrect sonar readings using the sound pressure of the waves from sonar sensors. In several indoor experiments, integrating the eML approach with the mSP method achieved the best results in terms of map quality among various mapping approaches. We call this the maximum likelihood based on sub-maps (MLS) approach. The MLS map created using only two sonar sensors exhibited similar accuracy to the reference map, which was an accurate representation of the environment.     

Heterogeneous multisensor fusion for mapping dynamic environments

In this paper, we propose a heterogeneous multisensor fusion algorithm for mapping in dynamic environments. The algorithm synergistically integrates the information obtained from an uncalibrated camera and sonar sensors to facilitate mapping and tracking. The sonar data is mainly used to build a weighted line-based map via the fuzzy clustering technique. The line weight, with confidence corresponding to the moving object, is determined by both sonar and vision data. The motion tracking is primarily accomplished by vision data using particle filtering and the sonar vectors originated from moving objects are used to modulate the sample weighting. A fuzzy system is implemented to fuse the two sensor data features. Additionally, in order to build a consistent global map and maintain reliable tracking of moving objects, the well-known extended Kalman filter is applied to estimate the states of robot pose and map features. Thus, more robust performance in mapping as well as tracking are achieved. The empirical results carried out on the Pioneer 2DX mobile robot demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms the methods a using homogeneous sensor, in mapping as well as tracking behaviors.     

Sonar Map Construction for Autonomous Mobile Robots Using a Data Association Filter

This paper presents a method for building a probability grid map for autonomous mobile robots with ultrasonic sensors using a data association filter (DAF). The method is based on evaluating the possibility that the acquired sonar data are all reflected by the same object. The DAF is able to associate data points with each other. Data affected by specular reflection are not likely to be associated with the same object, so they are excluded from the data cluster by the DAF, thereby improving the reliability of the data used for the probability grid map. Since the corrupted data are not used to update the probability map, it is possible to build a good quality grid map even in a specular environment. The DAF was applied to the Bayesian and the Orientation probability models, which are typical models used to build grid maps, to verify its effectiveness. Experimental results were also obtained using a mobile robot in a real-world environment.     

一种小型矢量阵优化波束方法研究

在小型声纳平台中由于单个矢量水听器所含的振速传感器具有自然指向性,其组成的矢量阵较传统水听器阵有优越性,但单个矢量水听器的自然指向性波束较宽,组成的矢量阵的-3dB束宽和旁瓣级不够理想。该文利用单个矢量传感器的声压、振速信息联合处理形成较好指向性,并用于矢量阵获得良好的阵列效果,同时分析了该方法对线阵和圆阵的影响。仿真结果表明当线阵的阵元间距和圆阵半径都为0．5米时,矢量阵接收低频信号所形成的波束图中-3dB束宽在以25°内,第一旁瓣级低于-60dB,这证明了该文的方法是有效的。     

Workspace mapping based on multisensor information fusion using heterogeneous onboard sensors

In recent years, multiple robot systems that perform team operations have been developed. These robot systems are expected to execute complicated tasks smoothly in a given congested workspace. In this article, we propose a workspace mapping algorithm using ultrasonic stereo sonar and an image sensor in order to operate the mobile robots among obstacles. This workspace mapping algorithm involves two steps: (1) the position detection of obstacles using ultrasonic stereo sonar, and (2) the shape detection of obstacles using an image sensor. While each robot moves around in the given workspace, the two steps of the mapping algorithm are repeated and sensor data are collected. The robot measures the distance and the direction of obstacles using ultrasonic stereo sonar. The shape of obstacles is also captured using an onboard image sensor. A workspace map is created based on the sensor data accumulated from the proposed method, and successful results are also obtained through experiments.     

Effective Maximum Likelihood Grid Map With Conflict Evaluation Filter Using Sonar Sensors

In this paper, we address the problem of building a grid map using cheap sonar sensors, i.e., the problem of using erroneous sensors when seeking to model an environment as accurately as possible. We rely on the inconsistency of information among sonar measurements and the sound pressure of the waves from the sonar sensors to develop a new method of detecting incorrect sonar readings, which is called the conflict evaluation with sound pressure (CEsp). To fuse the correct measurements into a map, we start with the maximum likelihood (ML) approach due to its ability to manage the angular uncertainty of sonar sensors. However, since this approach suffers from heavy computational complexity, we convert it to a light logic problem called the maximum approximated likelihood (MAL) approach. Integrating the MAL approach with the CEsp method results in the conflict evaluated maximum approximated likelihood (CEMAL) approach. The CEMAL approach generates a very accurate map that is close to the map that would be built by accurate laser sensors and does not require adjustment of parameters for various environments.      

Multi-modal sensor fusion using a probabilistic aggregation scheme for people detection and tracking

Efficient and robust techniques for people detection and tracking are basic prerequisites when dealing with Human–Robot Interaction (HRI) in real-world scenarios. In this paper, we introduce a new approach for the integration of several sensor modalities and present a multi-modal, probability-based people detection and tracking system and its application using the different sensory systems of our mobile interaction robot Horos. These include a laser range-finder, a sonar system, and a fisheye-based omni-directional camera. For each of these sensory systems, separate and specific Gaussian probability distributions are generated to model the belief in observing one or several persons. These probability distributions are further merged into a robot-centered map by means of a flexible probabilistic aggregation scheme based on Covariance Intersection (CI). The main advantages of this approach are the simple extensibility by the integration of further sensory channels, even with different update frequencies, and the usability in real-world HRI tasks. Finally, the first promising experimental results achieved for people detection and tracking in a real-world environment (our institute building) are presented.