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Active exploration using a scheme for autonomous allocation of landmarks†

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 December 2013

Jing Yuan ,
Yalou Huang ,
Fengchi Sun  and
Tong Tao
Jing Yuan*
Affiliation:
Department of Automation, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
Yalou Huang
Affiliation:
Department of Automation, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
Fengchi Sun
Affiliation:
Department of Automation, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
Tong Tao
Affiliation:
Department of Automation, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Summary

In this paper, we focus on the unknown environments without artificial landmarks and features, such as disaster situations and polar regions. An approach to active exploration based on an on-line scheme for autonomous allocation of landmarks is proposed. Specifically, the robot carries along with itself some landmarks which are to be allocated during the exploration according to some heuristic rules. The utility of landmark allocation is analyzed and calculated. Then the active exploration is converted into a problem of multi-objective optimization. The objective function includes three weighted terms: the accuracy of localization and mapping, the coverage rate of the unknown environment and the utility of the allocated landmarks. By solving this optimization problem, control inputs of the robot are computed to guarantee that accurate localization, high-quality mapping and complete exploration can be achieved simultaneously. Moreover, supplementation and redundancy elimination of the allocated landmarks are executed to make a complete and non-redundant coverage for the environment. Finally, some landmarks, together with a device for allocating these landmarks, are developed. Both experiment and simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Keywords

Active explorationLandmark allocationEKFMulti-objective optimization
Type
Articles
Information
Robotica , Volume 32 , Issue 5 , August 2014 , pp. 757 - 782
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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Footnotes

†

This paper was partially presented at the 2009 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Kobe, Japan, May 12–17.

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