Title :
Robot Vision: Obstacle-Avoidance Techniques for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Author :
Carloni, Raffaella ; Lippiello, Vincenzo ; D´Auria, Mario ; Fumagalli, Matteo ; Mersha, Abeje Y. ; Stramigioli, Stefano ; Siciliano, Bruno
Author_Institution :
Fac. of Electr. Eng., Math., & Comput. Sci., Univ. of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands
Abstract :
In this article, a vision-based technique for obstacle avoidance and target identification is combined with haptic feedback to develop a new teleoperated navigation system for underactuated aerial vehicles in unknown environments. A three-dimensional (3-D) map of the surrounding environment is built by matching the keypoints among several images, which are acquired by an onboard camera and stored in a buffer together with the corresponding estimated odometry. Hence, based on the 3-D map, a visual identification algorithm is employed to localize both obstacles and the desired target to build a virtual field accordingly. A bilateral control system has been developed such that an operator can safely navigate in an unknown environment and perceive it by means of a vision-based haptic force-feedback device. Experimental tests in an indoor environment verify the effectiveness of the proposed teleoperated control.
Keywords :
autonomous aerial vehicles; cameras; collision avoidance; distance measurement; force feedback; haptic interfaces; indoor environment; robot vision; telerobotics; 3-D map; bilateral control system; estimated odometry; indoor environment; obstacle avoidance techniques; obstacle localization; onboard camera; robot vision-based technique; target identification; teleoperated control; teleoperated navigation system; three-dimensional map; underactuated aerial vehicles; unmanned aerial vehicles; virtual field; vision-based haptic force feedback device; visual identification algorithm; Buffer storage; Collision avoidance; Estimation; Haptic interfaces; Optical imaging; Robot vision systems; Unmanned aerial vehicles; Visual analytics;
Journal_Title :
Robotics & Automation Magazine, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/MRA.2013.2283632