A new approach to solve SLAM challenges by relative map filter

In this paper we propose a new approach to solve some challenges in the simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) problem based on the relative map filter (RMF). This method assumes that the relative distances between the landmarks of relative map are estimated fully independently. This considerably reduces the computational complexity to average number of landmarks observed in each scan. To solve the ambiguity that may happen in finding the absolute locations of robot and landmarks, we have proposed two separate methods, the lowest position error (LPE) and minimum variance position estimator (MVPE). Another challenge in RMF is data association problem where we also propose an algorithm which works by using motion sensors without engaging in their cumulative error. To apply these methods, we switch successively between the absolute and relative positions of landmarks. Having a sufficient number of landmarks in the environment, our algorithm estimates the positions of robot and landmarks without using motion sensors and kinematics of robot. Motion sensors are only used for data association. The empirical studies on the proposed RMF-SLAM algorithm with the LPE or MVPE methods show a better accuracy in localization of robot and landmarks in comparison with the absolute map filter SLAM.     

Dynamic Modeling of a Class of Continuum Manipulators in Fixed Orientation

A novel simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) technique based on independent particle filters for landmark mapping and localization for a mobile robot based on a high-frequency (HF)-band radio-frequency identification (RFID) system is proposed in this paper. SLAM is a technique for performing self-localization and map building simultaneously. FastSLAM is a standard landmark-based SLAM method. RFID is a robust identification system with ID tags and readers over wireless communication; further, it is rarely affected by obstacles in the robot area or by lighting conditions. Therefore, RFID is useful for self-localization and mapping for a mobile robot with a reasonable accuracy and sufficient robustness. In this study, multiple HF-band RFID readers are embedded in the bottom of an omnidirectional vehicle, and a large number of tags are installed on the floor. The HF-band RFID tags are used as the landmarks of the environment. We found that FastSLAM is not appropriate for this condition for two reasons. First, the tag detection of the HF-band RFID system does not follow the standard Gaussian distribution, which FastSLAM is supposed to have. Second, FastSLAM does not have a sufficient scalability, which causes its failure to handle a large number of landmarks. Therefore, we propose a novel SLAM method with two independent particle filters to solve these problems. The first particle filter is for self-localization based on Monte Carlo localization. The second particle filter is for landmark mapping. The particle filters are nonparametric so that it can handle the non-Gaussian distribution of the landmark detection. The separation of localization and landmark mapping reduces the computational cost significantly. The proposed method is evaluated in simulated and real environments. The experimental results show that the proposed method has more precise localization and mapping and a lower computational cost than FastSLAM.     

基于全景视觉的移动机器人同步定位与地图创建研究

提出了一种基于全景视觉的移动机器人同步定位与地图创建（Omni-vSLAM）方法．该方法提取 颜色区域作为视觉路标;在分析全景视觉成像原理和定位不确定性的基础上建立起系统的观测模型,定位出 路标位置,进而通过扩展卡尔曼滤波算法（EKF）同步更新机器人位置和地图信息．实验结果证明了该方法在 建立环境地图的同时可以有效地修正由里程计造成的累积定位误差．     

Cross-spectral visual simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) with sensor handover

In this work, we examine the classic problem of robot navigation via visual simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), but introducing the concept of dual optical and thermal (cross-spectral) sensing with the addition of sensor handover from one to the other. In our approach we use a novel combination of two primary sensors: co-registered optical and thermal cameras. Mobile robot navigation is driven by two simultaneous camera images from the environment over which feature points are extracted and matched between successive frames. A bearing-only visual SLAM approach is then implemented using successive feature point observations to identify and track environment landmarks using an extended Kalman filter (EKF). Six-degree-of-freedom mobile robot and environment landmark positions are managed by the EKF approach illustrated using optical, thermal and combined optical/thermal features in addition to handover from one sensor to another. Sensor handover is primarily targeted at a continuous SLAM operation during varying illumination conditions (e.g., changing from night to day). The final methodology is tested in outdoor environments with variation in the light conditions and robot trajectories producing results that illustrate that the additional use of a thermal sensor improves the accuracy of landmark detection and that the sensor handover is viable for solving the SLAM problem using this sensor combination.     

基于扫描匹配的室外环境SLAM 方法

针对室外环境中的机器人“绑架”问题,提出了基于地图匹配的SLAM方法．该方法舍弃了机器人里程计信息, 只利用局部地图和全局地图的图形相关性进行机器人定位．方法的核心是多重估计数据关联,并将奇异值分解应用到机器人位姿计算中．利用Victoria Park数据集将本算法与基于扩展卡尔曼滤波器的方法进行比较,实验结果证明了本文提出的算法的有效性．     

On-line extraction of stable visual landmarks for a mobile robot with stereo vision

This paper proposes a method to extract on-line stable visual landmarks from sensory data obtained by stereo vision so as to adapt to changes of environment. Given a two-dimensional obstacle map, the robot first extracts vertical line segments which are distinct and inside planar surfaces not near boundary edges as they are expected to be observed reliably from various viewpoints. However, the extracted feature information such as position and length include uncertainty due to errors of vision and motion. The robot then reduces the uncertainty by matching the planar surface containing the features to the map. These processes are performed on-line in order to adapt to actual changes of lighting and the scene depending on the robot's view. Experimental results in real scenes show the validity of the proposed method.     

Learning multiple experiences useful visual features for active maps localization in crowded environments

Crowded urban environments are composed of different types of dynamic and static elements. Learning and classification of features is a major task in solving the localization problem in such environments. This work presents a gradual learning methodology to learn the useful features using multiple experiences. The usefulness of an observed element is evaluated by a scoring mechanism which uses two scores – reliability and distinctiveness. The visual features thus learned are used to partition the visual map into smaller regions. The robot is efficiently localized in such a partitioned environment using two-level localization. The concept of active map (AM) is proposed here, which is a map that represents one partition of the environment in which there is a high probability of the robot existing. High-level localization is used to track the mode of the AMs using discrete Bayes filter. Low-level localization uses a bag-of-words model to retrieve images and accurately localize the robot. The pose of the robot is the one retrieved from the AM that has maximum a posteriori. Experiments have been conducted on a unique highly crowded data-set collected from Indian roads. The results support the proposed method due to speed and localization accuracy.     

Appearance-based mapping and localization for mobile robots using a feature stability histogram

The strength of appearance-based mapping models for mobile robots lies in their ability to represent the environment through high-level image features and to provide human-readable information. However, developing a mapping and a localization method using these kinds of models is very challenging, especially if robots must deal with long-term mapping, localization, navigation, occlusions, and dynamic environments. In other words, the mobile robot has to deal with environmental appearance change, which modifies its representation of the environment. This paper proposes an indoor appearance-based mapping and a localization method for mobile robots based on the human memory model, which was used to build a Feature Stability Histogram (FSH) at each node in the robot topological map. This FSH registers local feature stability over time through a voting scheme, and the most stable features were considered for mapping, for Bayesian localization and for incrementally updating the current appearance reference view in the topological map. The experimental results are presented using an omnidirectional images dataset acquired over the long-term and considering: illumination changes (time of day, different seasons), occlusions, random removal of features, and perceptual aliasing. The results include a comparison with the approach proposed by Dayoub and Duckett (2008) [19] and the popular Bag-of-Words (Bazeille and Filliat, 2010) [35] approach. The obtained results confirm the viability of our method and indicate that it can adapt the internal map representation over time to localize the robot both globally and locally.     

A Robust Solution to the Stereo-Vision-Based Simultaneous Localization and Mapping Problem with Steady and Moving Landmarks

The problem of visual simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) is examined in this paper using recently developed ideas and algorithms from modern robust control and estimation theory. A nonlinear model for a stereo-vision-based sensor is derived that leads to nonlinear measurements of the landmark coordinates along with optical flow-based measurements of the relative robot–landmark velocity. Using a novel analytical measurement transformation, the nonlinear SLAM problem is converted into the linear domain and solved using a robust linear filter. Actually, the linear filter is guaranteed stable and the SLAM state estimation error is bounded within an ellipsoidal set. A mathematically rigorous stability proof is given that holds true even when the landmarks move in accordance with an unknown control input. No similar results are available for the commonly employed extended Kalman filter, which is known to exhibit divergence and inconsistency characteristics in practice. A number of illustrative examples are given using both simulated and real vision data that further validate the proposed method.     

基于粒子滤波的未知环境下机器人同时定位、地图构建与目标跟踪

为了解决机器人在未知环境下的目标跟踪问题,提出了一种基于粒子滤波的机器人同时定位、地图构建与目标跟踪方法．该方法采用Rao-Blackwellized粒子滤波器对机器人位姿状态、标志柱分布和目标位置同时进行估计．该方法中,粒子群的总体分布情况表征机器人位姿状态,而每个粒子均包含2类EKF滤波器,其中一类用来完成对标志柱分布的估计,另一类用来完成对目标状态的估计,粒子的权值则由粒子状态相对于标志柱和目标状态2类相似度共同产生．通过仿真和实体机器人实验验证了该方法的有效性．     

基于栈式卷积自编码的视觉SLAM闭环检测

同时定位与构图(SLAM)主要用于解决移动机器人在未知环境中进行地图构建和导航的问题,是移动机器人实现自主移动的基础.闭环检测是视觉SLAM的关键步骤,对构建一致性地图和减少位姿累积误差具有重要作用.当前的闭环检测方法通常采用传统的SIFT、SURF等特征,很容易受到环境影响,为了提高闭环检测的准确性和鲁棒性,提出基于无监督栈式卷积自编码(CAEs)模型的特征提取方法,运用训练好的CAEs卷积神经网络对输入图像进行学习,将输出的特征应用于闭环检测.实验结果表明:与传统的BoW方法及其他基于深度学习模型的方法相比,所提出的算法能够有效降低图像特征的维数并改善特征描述的效果,可以在机器人SLAM闭环检测环节获得更好的精确性和鲁棒性.     

融合语义激光与地标信息的SLAM技术研究

针对移动机器人在SLAM（即时定位与地图构建）过程中出现的定位失真问题,提出一种通过搭建地标数据库和位姿推导模型,修正机器人错误定位的方法。建图过程中,融合视觉信息与激光数据,得到语义激光,赋予地标语义标签并记录其在地图上的位置信息。导航过程中,当产生定位偏差时,结合多种位姿数据和相对位置关系,推算出机器人在地图上的实际位置,完成重定位。通过实验测试可知,该方法克服了现有机器人在实际室内动态环境下,单一地采用激光或视觉进行定位或重定位技术的缺点和不足,能有效解决“机器人位置漂移问题”。将机器人从当前位置劫持到另一位置,也能根据提出的算法迅速重定位,且定位精度高。     

Simultaneous localization and mapping using the Geometric Projection Filter and correspondence graph matching

A common way of localization in robotics is using triangulation on a system composed of a sensor and some landmarks (which can be artificial or natural). First, when no identifying marks are set on the landmarks, their identification by a robust algorithm is a complex problem which may be solved using correspondence graphs. Secondly, when the localization system has no a priori information about its environment, it has to build its own map in parallel with estimating its position, a problem known as simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM). Recent works have proposed to solve this problem based on building a map made of invariant features. This paper describes the algorithms and data structure needed to deal with landmark matching, robot localization and map building in a single efficient process, unifying the previous approaches. Experimental results are presented using an outdoor robot car equipped with a two-dimensional scanning laser sensor.     

基于深度强化学习的室内视觉局部路径规划

传统的机器人局部路径规划方法多为已有先验地图的情况设计,导致其在与视觉(simultaneous localization and mapping, SLAM)结合的导航中效果不佳。为此传统的机器人局部路径规划方法多为已有先验地图的情况设计,导致其在与视觉SLAM结合的导航中效果不佳。为此,本文提出一种基于深度强化学习的视觉局部路径规划策略。首先,基于视觉同时定位与建图(SLAM)技术建立周围环境的栅格地图,并使用A*算法规划全局路径;其次,综合考虑避障、机器人行走效率、位姿跟踪等问题,构建基于深度强化学习的局部路径规划策略,设计以前进、左转、右转为基本元素的离散动作空间,以及基于彩色图、深度图、特征点图等视觉观测的状态空间,利用近端策略优化(proximal policy optimization, PPO)算法学习和探索最佳状态动作映射网络。Habitat仿真平台运行结果表明,所提出的局部路径规划策略能够在实时创建的地图上规划出一条最优或次优路径。相比于传统的局部路径规划算法,平均成功率提高了53.9%,位姿跟踪丢失率减小了66.5%,碰撞率减小了30.1%。     

Visual Navigation in Natural Environments: From Range and Color Data to a Landmark-Based Model

This paper concerns the exploration of a natural environment by a mobile robot equipped with both a video color camera and a stereo-vision system. We focus on the interest of such a multi-sensory system to deal with the navigation of a robot in an a priori unknown environment, including (1) the incremental construction of a landmark-based model, and the use of these landmarks for (2) the 3-D localization of the mobile robot and for (3) a sensor-based navigation mode.For robot localization, a slow process and a fast one are simultaneously executed during the robot motions. In the modeling process (currently 0.1 Hz), the global landmark-based model is incrementally built and the robot situation can be estimated from discriminant landmarks selected amongst the detected objects in the range data. In the tracking process (currently 4 Hz), selected landmarks are tracked in the visual data; the tracking results are used to simplify the matching between landmarks in the modeling process.Finally, a sensor-based visual navigation mode, based on the same landmark selection and tracking, is also presented; in order to navigate during a long robot motion, different landmarks (targets) can be selected as a sequence of sub-goals that the robot must successively reach.     

基于协助校正方法的多机器人主动同时定位与建图

协作策略是多机器人主动同时定位与建图(SLAM)的关键。文中提出一种多机器人相互校正的协作策略, 称为协助校正。 该方法通过优化机器人对陆标的观测来提高定位与建图的精度, 共包括弱协助校正和强协助校正两种模式。 前者是一种间接的协助模式, 可应用于所有机器人自身定位均不准确的情形。 后者是一种直接的协助模式, 由自身定位精度较高的机器人主动校正其它机器人及相应陆标。 文中将这两种协助校正模式利用状态机统一到多机器人主动SLAM应用中。在仿真实验中将协助校正与其它多机器人主动SLAM方法进行对比以验证其精度优势, 并与单机器人主动SLAM对比以验证其导航代价极低的优势。最后在两台Poineer3-DX移动机器人上进行真实环境实验,实验结果证实协助校正方法可在实际应用中有效提高多机器人主动SLAM的探索效率和精度。     

Affine visual servoing for robot relative positioning and landmark-based docking

This paper addresses the problem of positioning a robot camera with respect to a fixed object in space by means of visual information. The ultimate goal of positioning is to achieve and/or to maintain a given spatial configuration (position and orientation) with respect to the objects in the environment so as to execute at best the task at hand. Positioning involves the control of 6 d.o.f. in space, which are conveniently referred to as the parameters of the transformation between a camera-centered frame and an object-centered frame. In this paper, we will address the positioning problem referring to these d.o.f.'s, regardless of the specific robot configuration used to move the camera (e.g. eye-in-hand setup, navigation platform with a robot head mounted on it, etc.). The domain of application ranges from navigation tasks, (e.g. localization, docking, steering by means of natural landmarks), grasping and manipulation tasks, and autonomous/intelligent tasks based on active visual behaviors such as reading a book or reaching and commanding a control panel. The solution proposed in this work is to exploit the changes in shape of contours in order to plan and control the positioning process. In order to simplify and speed up the calculations, an affine camera model is used to describe the changes of shape of the contours in the image plane and an affine visual servoing (AVS) approach is derived. The choice of using two-dimensional (2D) features for control greatly enhances the robustness of the positioning process, in that robot kinematics and camera modeling errors are reduced. Among the possible 2D features, visual contours enable us to achieve robust visual estimates while keeping the dimensionality of the control equations low; the same would not be possible using different features such as points or lines. Finally, a feedforward control strategy complements the feedback loop, thereby enhancing the speed and the overall performance of the algorithm. Although a stability analysis of the control scheme has not been performed yet, good simulation results with stable behavior, provided that proper tuning of control parameters and gains has been done, suggest that the approach might be successfully applied in real world cases.     

Probabilistic relaxation method of matching visual landmarks for controlling the accurate positioning of mobile robots

The navigation problem of controlling the accurate positioning of a mobile robot (MR) with a computer vision system under conditions of uncertainty of information about its position is considered. Visual servo control is used, in which the error signal is calculated as the difference in the coordinates of natural visual landmarks detected by the computer vision system on the current and reference (received in a target position) images. To compute the error signal, a probabilistic relaxation method of correct matching of the landmarks extracted in the image is proposed. The efficiency of the proposed method has been confirmed by numerical experiments for processing real images.     

Autonomous Salient Feature Detection through Salient Cues in an HSV Color Space for Visual Indoor Simultaneous Localization and Mapping

For successful simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), perception of the environment is important. This paper proposes a scheme to autonomously detect visual features that can be used as natural landmarks for indoor SLAM. First, features are roughly selected from the camera image through entropy maps that measure the level of randomness of pixel information. Then, the saliency of each pixel is computed by measuring the level of similarity between the selected features and the given image. In the saliency map, it is possible to distinguish the salient features from the background. The robot estimates its pose by using the detected features and builds a grid map of the unknown environment by using a range sensor. The feature positions are stored in the grid map. Experimental results show that the feature detection method proposed in this paper can autonomously detect features in unknown environments reasonably well.     

Magnetic landmark-based position correction technique for mobile robots with hall sensors

We propose a precise position error compensation and low-cost relative localization method in structured environments using magnetic landmarks and hall sensors. The proposed methodology can solve the problem of fine localization as well as global localization by tacking landmarks or by utilizing various patterns of magnetic landmark arrangement. In this paper, we consider two patterns of implanted permanent magnets on the surface, namely, at each vertex of regular triangles or rectangles on a flat surface. We show that the rectangular configuration of the permanent magnetic bars is better for a robust localization under sensor noise. For the experiments, permanent magnet sets in rectangular configuration are placed on the floor as landmarks at regular intervals, and magnetic hall sensors are installed at the bottom of a mobile robot. In our implementation, the accuracy after the error compensation is less than 1 mm in the position and less than 1° in the orientation. Due to the low cost and accuracy of the proposed methodology, it would be one of the practical solutions to the pose error correction of a mobile robot in structured environments.