Vision-based estimation of slip angle for mobile robots and planetary rovers

For a mobile robot it is critical to detect and compensate for slippage, especially when driving in rough terrain environments. Due to its highly unpredictable nature, drift largely affects the accuracy of localization and control systems, even leading, in extreme cases, to the danger of vehicle entrapment with consequent mission failure. This paper presents a novel method for lateral slip estimation based on visually observing the trace produced by the wheels of the robot, during traverse of soft, deformable terrain, as that expected for lunar and planetary rovers. The proposed algorithm uses a robust Hough transform enhanced by fuzzy reasoning to estimate the angle of inclination of the wheel trace with respect to the vehicle reference frame. Any deviation of the wheel trace from the planned path of the robot suggests occurrence of sideslip that can be detected, and more interestingly, measured. This allows one to estimate the actual heading angle of the robot, usually referred to as the slip angle. The details of the various steps of the visual algorithm are presented and the results of experimental tests performed in the field with an all- terrain rover are shown, proving the method to be effective and robust.