A novel platform for internet-based mobile robot systems

In this paper, we introduce a software and hardware structure for on-line mobile robotic systems. The hardware mainly consists of a Multi-Sensor Smart Robot connected to the Internet through 3G mobile network. The system employs a client-server software architecture in which the exchanged data between the client and the server is transmitted through different transport protocols. Autonomous mechanisms such as obstacle avoidance and safe-point achievement are implemented to ensure the robot safety. This architecture is put into operation on the real Internet and the preliminary result is promising. By adopting this structure, it will be very easy to construct an experimental platform for the research on diverse tele-operation topics such as remote control algorithms, interface designs, network protocols and applications etc.

Development of a multi-sensor perceptual system for mobile robot and EKF-based localization

This paper presents the design and implementation of a perceptual system for the mobile robot using modern sensors and multi-point communication channels. The data extracted from the perceptual system is processed by a sensor fusion model to obtain meaningful information for the robot localization and control. Due to the uncertainties of acquiring data, an extended Kalman filter was applied to get optimal states of the system. Several experiments have been conducted and the results confirmed the functioning operation of the perceptual system and the efficiency of the Kalman filter approach.

Multi-sensor perceptual system for mobile robot and sensor fusion-based localization

This paper presents an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) approach to localize a mobile robot with two quadrature encoders, a compass sensor, a laser range finder (LRF) and an omni-directional camera. The prediction step is performed by employing the kinematic model of the robot as well as estimating the input noise covariance matrix as being proportional to the wheel's angular speed. At the correction step, the measurements from all sensors including incremental pulses of the encoders, line segments of the LRF, robot orientation of the compass and deflection angular of the omni-directional camera are fused. Experiments in an indoor structured environment were implemented and the good localization results prove the effectiveness and applicability of the algorithm.

Development of an EKF-based localization algorithm using compass sensor and LRF

This paper presents the implementation of a perceptual system for a mobile robot. The system is designed and installed with modern sensors and multi-point communication channels. The goal is to equip the robot with a high level of perception to support a wide range of navigating applications including Internet-based telecontrol, semi-autonomy, and autonomy. Due to uncertainties of acquiring data, a sensor fusion model is developed, in which heterogeneous measured data including odometry, compass heading and laser range is combined to get an optimal estimate in a statistical sense. The combination is carried out by an extended Kalman filter. Experimental results indicate that based on the system, the robot localization is enhanced and sufficient for navigation tasks.