Active camera guided manipulation

A scheme that uses an active camera to guide object manipulation in an environment that has not been modeled is introduced. By actively moving camera to desired position with proper distance and viewing angle from objects of interest, it is possible to acquire good data for robot visual feedback control when locating objects. The environment is described in an object-centered coordinates system and is measured relatively in consecutive 2-D image spaces. This approach is flexible and efficient in manipulation, since it avoids complicated 3-D modeling and image processing is driven by tasks. It is shown that robot operation and camera motion are guided by visual feedback. The strategies to control this active guidance are studied