Butler, Z, Fitch, R & Rus, D 2002, 'Distributed control for unit-compressible robots: Goal-recognition, locomotion, and splitting', IEEE-ASME TRANSACTIONS ON MECHATRONICS, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 418-430.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
Dev, P, Montgomery, K, Senger, S, Heinrichs, WL, Srivastava, S & Waldron, K 2002, 'Simulated medical learning environments on the Internet', JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL INFORMATICS ASSOCIATION, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 437-447.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
View description>>
Learning anatomy and surgical procedures requires both a conceptual understanding of three-dimensional anatomy and a hands-on manipulation of tools and tissue. Such virtual resources are not available widely, are expensive, and may be culturally disallowed. Simulation technology, using high-performance computers and graphics, permits realistic real-time display of anatomy. Haptics technology supports the ability to probe and feel this virtual anatomy through the use of virtual tools. The Internet permits world-wide access to resources. We have brought together high-performance servers and high-bandwidth communication using the Next Generation Internet and complex bimanual haptics to simulate a tool-based learning environment for wide use. This article presents the technologic basis of this environment and some evaluation of its use in the gross anatomy course at Stanford University.
Dissanayake, G, Williams, SB, Durrant-Whyte, H & Bailey, T 2002, 'Map management for efficient simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM)', Autonomous Robots, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 267-286.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
Dissanayake, G, Williams, SB, Durrant-Whyte, H & Bailey, T 2002, 'Map management for efficient simultanneous localisation and map building (SLAM) problem', Autonomous Robots, vol. 12, no. N/A, pp. 265-286.
Furukawa, T & Dissanayake, G 2002, 'Parameter identification of autonomous vehicles using multi-objective optimization', Engineering Optimization, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 369-395.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
View description>>
In order to properly operate an autonomous vehicle navigation system, it is important that the vehicle and sensor models of the vehicle are defined by an accurate parameter set. This paper presents a technique for identifying parameters of an autonomous vehicle using multi-objective optimization, which enables the identification process without introducing additional parameters. A multi-objective optimization method has been further proposed to solve the optimization problem defined for the identification efficiently and promisingly. Results of numerical examples first show that the proposed optimization method can work well for various multi-objective optimization problems. Then, the proposed identification technique has been applied to the actual parameter identification of the autonomous vehicle developed by the authors, and an appropriate parameter set has been obtained.
Huang, S & Lam, J 2002, 'Saturated linear quadratic regulation of uncertain linear systems: Stability region estimation and controller design', International Journal of Control, vol. 75, no. 2, pp. 97-110.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
View description>>
This paper considers the problems of estimating the stability region (domain of attraction) and controller design for uncertain linear continuous-time systems with input saturation when linear quadratic (LQ) optimal controller is used. By exploiting the structure of the LQ controller and the property of saturation functions, it is established that the estimation of stability region can be obtained by solving linear matrix inequality (LMI) problems. Moreover, an iterative LMI (ILMI) algorithm is presented to design an LQ controller such that the largest estimated stability region can be obtained. Two examples are given to compare our results with existing ones.
Kodagoda, KRS, Wijesoma, WS & Teoh, EK 2002, 'Fuzzy speed and steering control of an AGV', IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 112-120.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
View description>>
he development of techniques for lateral and longitudinal control of vehicles has become an important and active research topic in the face of emerging markets for advanced autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) and mobile robots. In this respect, there has been much literature published, although not so much on the actual performance of such controllers in a practical setting. The primary focus in this paper is on the development and actual implementation of intelligent and stable fuzzy proportional derivative-proportional integral (PD-PI) controllers for steering and speed control of an AGV. The AGV used in this study is an electrically powered golf car, suitably modified for autonomous navigation and control. The use of fuzzy logic for control law synthesis, among other things, facilitates the incorporation of control heuristics, while guaranteeing stability, uncoupling steering control from speed control and providing for easy incorporation of a braking controller. Through experimentation, the designed controllers are demonstrated to be insensitive to parametric uncertainty, load and parameter fluctuations and, most importantly, amenable to real-time implementation. The performance of the proposed uncoupled direct fuzzy PD/PI control schemes for this particular outdoor AGV is also compared against conventional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed fuzzy logic controllers, which are synthesized from a variable structure systems viewpoint, also outperform conventional PID schemes, particularly in tracking accuracy, steady-state error, control chatter and robustness
Li, QS, Liu, DK, Leung, AYT, Zhang, N & Luo, QZ 2002, 'A multilevel genetic algorithm for the optimum design of structural control systems', International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, vol. 55, no. 7, pp. 817-834.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
View description>>
AbstractA multilevel genetic algorithm (MLGA) is proposed in this paper for solving the kind of optimization problems which are multilevel structures in nature and have features of mixed‐discrete design variables, multi‐modal and non‐continuous objective functions, etc. Firstly, the formulation of the mixed‐discrete multilevel optimization problems is presented. Secondly, the architecture and implementation of MLGA are described. Thirdly, the algorithm is applied to two multilevel optimization problems. The first one is a three‐level optimization problem in which the optimization of the number of actuators, the positions of actuators and the control parameters are considered in different levels. An actively controlled tall building subjected to strong wind action is considered to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The second application considers a combinatorial optimization problem in which the number and configuration of actuators are optimized simultaneously, an actively controlled building under earthquake excitations is adopted for this case study. Finally, some results and discussions about the application of the proposed algorithm are presented. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Miro, JV & White, AS 2002, 'Modelling an industrial manipulator a case study', Simulation Practice and Theory, vol. 9, no. 6-8, pp. 293-319.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
View description>>
A practical application of the modelling and validation of an open-chain industrial manipulator is presented in this paper. Both mechanical and electrical equations of motion were used to provide a complete model description. A model was obtained to enable an optimal path-planning controller to be designed. The paper describes how the equations of motion were derived and how the key parameters were obtained. The manipulator was simulated with TELEGRIP software. A validation procedure is illustrated and its' limitations exposed. The overall motion was found to give an agreement with the model predictions to within 86% for the smallest link and better than 96% for the major joints. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Miro, JV & White, AS 2002, 'Quasi-optimal trajectory planning and control of a CRS A251 industrial robot', Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part I: Journal of Systems and Control Engineering, vol. 216, no. 4, pp. 343-356.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
View description>>
A near-optimal solution to the path-unconstrained time-optimal trajectory planning problem is described in this paper. While traditional trajectory planning strategies are entirely based on kinematic considerations, manipulator dynamics are usually neglected altogether. The strategy presented in this work has two distinguishing features. Firstly, the trajectory planning problem is reformulated as an optimal control problem, which is in turn solved using Pontryagin's maximum/minimum principle. This approach merges the traditional division of trajectory planning followed by trajectory tracking into one process. Secondly, the feedback form compensates for the dynamic approximation errors derived from linearization and the fundamental parameter uncertainty of the dynamic equations of motion. This approach can cope with flexible robots as well as rigid links. The terminal phase of the motion is controlled by a feedforward controller to reduce chatter vibrations. Results from simulations and an on-line implementation to a general-purpose open-chain industrial manipulator, the CRS A251, confirm the validity of the approach and show that maximizing the capabilities of the device can lead to an overall improvement in the manipulator time response of up to 24 per cent, while retaining an acceptable overshoot and steady state error regime.
Miro, JV & White, AS 2002, 'Quasi-optimal trajectory planning and control of a CRS A251 industrial robot', PROCEEDINGS OF THE INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS PART I-JOURNAL OF SYSTEMS AND CONTROL ENGINEERING, vol. 216, no. I4, pp. 343-356.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
Tam, CM, Leung, AWT & Liu, DK 2002, 'Nonlinear Models for Predicting Hoisting Times of Tower Cranes', Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 76-81.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
Wang, H, Lam, J, Xu, S & Huang, S 2002, 'Robust H ∞ reliable control for a class of uncertain neutral delay systems', International Journal of Systems Science, vol. 33, no. 7, pp. 611-622.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
View description>>
This paper deals with the problem of robust reliable control for a class of uncertain neutral delay systems. The aim was to design a state feedback controller such that the plant remained stable for all admissible uncertainties as well as actuator faults among a prespecified subset of actuators or sector-type actuator non-linearity, independently of the delay time. A linear matrix inequality approach was developed to solve the problem addressed with an H∞ norm bound constraint on disturbance attenuation.
Wijesoma, WS, Kodagoda, KRS & Teoh, EK 2002, 'Stable Fuzzy State Space Controller for Lateral Control of an AGV', The Journal of VLSI Signal Processing, vol. 32, no. 1/2, pp. 189-201.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
Zhang, N, Liu, DK, Jeyakumaran, JM & Villanueva, L 2002, 'Modelling of dynamic characteristics of an automatic transmission during shift changes', PROCEEDINGS OF THE INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS PART I-JOURNAL OF SYSTEMS AND CONTROL ENGINEERING, vol. 216, no. I4, pp. 331-341.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
Zhang, N, Liu, DK, Jeyakumaran, JM & Villanueva, L 2002, 'Modelling of dynamic characteristics of an automatic transmission during shift changes', Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part I: Journal of Systems and Control Engineering, vol. 216, no. 4, pp. 331-341.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
View description>>
This paper describes modelling of the transient dynamics of an automatic transmission during gear changes. A brief introduction to the automatic transmission system and the dynamic characteristics of the transmission components during the gear changes are presented. Then, detailed mathematical models of a four-speed automatic transmission manufactured by BTR Automotive, Australia, are developed. A mode description method is used to describe the transient shifting process and a modular structure of the transmission system, which consists of a torque converter module, geartrain module, hydraulic system module and modules of clutches and bands, is presented. As an application, the developed simulation system is applied to investigate the transient performance of the automatic transmission during the 1–2 shift process. The output torque profiles predicted by the model simulation correlate very well with the experimental data measured from vehicle tests.
Butler, Z, Fitch, R, Kotay, K & Rus, D 1970, 'Distributed systems of self-reconfiguring robots', ACM SIGGRAPH 2002 conference abstracts and applications, SIGGRAPH02: The 29th International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, ACM, pp. 69-69.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
View description>>
A robot designed for a single purpose can perform a specific task very well, but it may perform poorly on a different task, or in a different environment. This is acceptable if the environment is structured; however, if the task is in an unknown environment, then a robot with the ability to change shape to suit the environment and the required functionality will be more likely to succeed. We wish to create more versatile robots by using self-reconfiguration: hundreds of small modules will autonomously organize and reorganize as geometric structures to best fit the terrain on which the robot has to move, the shape of the object the robot has to manipulate, or the sensing needs for the given task. For example, a robot could synthesize a snake shape to travel through a narrow tunnel, and then morph into a six-legged insect to navigate on rough terrain upon exit. Self-reconfiguring robots are well-suited for tasks in hazardous and remote environments, especially when the environmental model and the task specifications are uncertain. A collection of simple, modular robots endowed with self-reconfiguration capabilities can conform to the shape of the terrain for locomotion by implementing "water-flow" like locomotion gaits which allow the robots to move by conforming to the shape of the terrain. To create autonomous robot systems capable of such applications, our research agenda is focused on two directions of work: (1) new designs for modular robots that can support self-assembly and self-reconfiguration and (2) new distributed planners that support parallelism, are efficient, and correctly direct units to change shape.
Butler, Z, Fitch, R, Rus, D, IEEE & IEEE 1970, 'Experiments in distributed locomotion with a unit-compressible modular robot', 2002 IEEE/RSJ INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INTELLIGENT ROBOTS AND SYSTEMS, VOLS 1-3, PROCEEDINGS, IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2002), IEEE, LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND, pp. 2813-2818.
Butler, Z, Fitch, R, Rus, D, Wang, YH, IEEE, IEEE & IEEE 1970, 'Distributed goal recognition algorithms for modular robots', 2002 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION, VOLS I-IV, PROCEEDINGS, 19th IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), IEEE, WASHINGTON, DC, pp. 110-116.
Crowther, A, Zhang, N, Liu, D & Jeyakumaran, J 1970, 'A FINITE ELEMENT METHOD FOR DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION GEAR SHIFTING', The Proceedings of the International Conference on Motion and Vibration Control, International Conference on Motion and Vibration Control, Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, Saitama, Japan, pp. 514-519.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
Gu Fang & Dissanayake, G 1970, 'Time-optimal feedback control of a non-holonomic vehicle using neural networks', 7th International Conference on Control, Automation, Robotics and Vision, 2002. ICARCV 2002., ICARV 2002: The Seventh International Conference on Control, Automation, Robotics and Vision, Nanyang Technological Univ, pp. 1458-1463.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
View description>>
This paper presents a minimum-time feedback controller for maneuvering a non-holonomic vehicle. A trajectory planning algorithm that generates minimum-time trajectories for moving a vehicle from an arbitrary starting location to the origin is presented. Trajectories generated are used to train a neural network that computes instantaneous velocity and steering commands as a function of the current vehicle state. The proposed strategy is illustrated by developing a neural network based controller for backing up a truck. Computer simulations are presented that demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed technique in the presence of disturbances.
Huang, S & Lam, J 1970, 'Control of uncertain bilinear systems using linear controllers: Stability region estimation and controller design', Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, IEEE, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, pp. 662-667.
View description>>
This paper studies the problem of stability region estimation and controller design for uncertain bilinear systems when linear controllers are used. Iterative linear matrix inequality (ILMI) algorithms are presented to estimate the closed-loop stability region and design the controllers. No tuning of parameters is needed in the design methods. The design aims to optimize between the size of the stability region, damping of the state variables, and the feedback gain.
Huang, S, Lam, J & Chen, B 1970, 'Local reliable control for linear systems with saturating actuators', Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, IEEE, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, pp. 4154-4159.
View description>>
This paper considers the problem of local reliable control for continuous-time linear systems with saturating actuators and disturbances. The local stability and the performance of the designed closed-loop system is guaranteed not only when all control components are operational, but also in case of actuator outages in the preselected subset of actuators. Linear matrix inequality (LMI) method and iterative LMI (ILMI) method are proposed to design state-feedback controllers. The effectiveness of our methods is shown by an example.
James, MR & Huang, S 1970, 'L∞-bounded robust control for nonlinear discrete time systems', Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, pp. 3748-3753.
View description>>
In this paper we solve a measurement feedback disturbance rejection robust control problem for nonlinear systems based on a l∞ criterion. Information state techniques are employed to obtain necessary and sufficient conditions, and a controller synthesis procedure. The results are consistent with the separation structure in Shamma-Tu (1999).
James, MR & Shoudong Huang 1970, 'l/sup ∞/-bounded robust control for nonlinear discrete time systems', Proceedings of the 41st IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, 2002., IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, IEEE, LAS VEGAS, NV, pp. 3748-3753.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
Kim, J 1970, 'Flight test results of GPS/INS navigation loop for an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)', Proceedings of the International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of the Institute of Navigation (ION’02), Portland, OR, USA, September.
Kirpitchenko, I, Zhang, N, Tchernykh, S & Liu, D 1970, 'DYNAMICS AND CONTROL OF GRINDING MACHINES', The Proceedings of the International Conference on Motion and Vibration Control, Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, Saitama, Japan, pp. 1039-1044.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
Kodagoda, KRS, Wijesoma, WS & Balasuriya, AP 1970, 'Road curb and intersection detection using A 2D LMS', IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IEEE, Switzerland, pp. 19-24.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
View description>>
In most urban roads, and similar environments such as in theme parks, campus sites, industrial estates, science parks and the like, the painted lane markings that exist may not be easily discernible by CCD cameras due to poor lighting, bad weather conditions, and inadequate maintenance. An important feature of roads in such environments is the existence of pavements or curbs on either side defining the road boundaries. These curbs, which are mostly parallel to the road, can be hardnessed to extract useful features of the road for implementing autonomous navigation or driver assistance systems. However, extraction of the curb or road edge feature using vision image data is a very formidable task as the curb is not conspicuous in the vision image. To extract the curb using vision data requires extensive image processing, heuristics and very favorable ambient lighting. In our approach, road curbs are extracted speedily using range data provided by a 2D Laser range Measurement System (LMS). Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the viability, and effectiveness, of the proposed methodology and its robustness to different road configurations including road intersections.
Kodagoda, KRS, Wijesoma, WS & Balasuriya, AP 1970, 'Road feature extraction using a 2D LMS', 7th International Conference on Control, Automation, Robotics and Vision, 2002. ICARCV 2002., ICARV 2002: The Seventh International Conference on Control, Automation, Robotics and Vision, Nanyang Technological Univ, Singapore, pp. 453-458.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
View description>>
In most urban roads, and similar environments such as in the theme parks, campus sites, industrial estates, science parks and the like, the painted lane markings that exist may not be easily discernible by CCD cameras due to poor lighting, bad weather conditions and inadequate maintenance. An important feature of roads in such environments is the existence of pavements or curbs on either side defining the road boundaries. These curbs, which are mostly parallel to the road, can be harnessed to extract useful features of the road for implementing autonomous navigation or driver assistance systems. However, extraction of the curb or road edge feature using vision image data is a difficult task as curbs are not conspicuous in the vision image. To extract the curb from a camera image requires extensive image processing, heuristics and very favorable lighting. In our approach, road curbs are extracted speedily using range data provided by a 2D laser measurement system (LMS). Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the viability, and effectiveness, of the proposed methodology and its robustness to different obstacle, weather and lighting conditions.
Leal, J, Scheding, S, Dissanayake, G, IEEE, IEEE & IEEE 1970, 'Stochastic simulation in surface reconstruction and application to 3D mapping', 2002 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION, VOLS I-IV, PROCEEDINGS, IEEE International Conference on Robots and Automation, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Washington DC,USA, pp. 1765-1770.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
View description>>
Three dimensional terrain maps are useful representations of environments for various robotic applications. Unfortunately, sensor data (from which such maps are built) is uncertain and contains errors which are usually not accounted for in existing terrain building algorithms. In real-time applications, it is necessary to quantify these uncertainties to allow map construction decisions to be made online. This paper addresses this issue by providing a representation that explicitly accounts for sensing uncertainty. This is achieved through the use of stochastic simulation techniques. The result is in an algorithm for online 3D multiresolution surface reconstruction of unknown, and unstructured environments. Results of the surface reconstruction algorithm in a real environment are presented.
Liu, D, Zhang, N, Brown, TA & Tam, C 1970, 'A Multilevel Hybrid Genetic Algorithm For Structural Control System Optimization', Proc. of the 6th Int. Conference on Motion and Vibration Control, International Conference on Motion and Vibration Control, JSME, Saitama, Japan, pp. 154-159.
LIU, DK, ZHANG, N, JEYAKUMARAN, JM & VILLANUEVA, L 1970, 'TRANSIENT CHARACTERISTICS OF AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION DURING SHIFT CHANGES', Applied Mechanics, Proceedings of the Third Australasian Congress on Applied Mechanics, WORLD SCIENTIFIC, Sydney, Australia, pp. 683-688.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
Madhavan, R, Durrant-Whyte, H, Dissanayake, G, IEEE, IEEE & IEEE 1970, 'Natural landmark-based autonomous navigation using curvature scale space', 2002 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION, VOLS I-IV, PROCEEDINGS, IEEE International Conference on Robots and Automation, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Washington DC,USA, pp. 3936-3941.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
View description>>
The paper describes a terrain-aided navigation system that employs points of maximum curvature extracted from laser scan data as primary landmarks. A scale space method is used to extract points of maximum curvature from laser range scans of unmodified outdoor environments. This information is then fused with odometric information to provide localization information for an outdoor vehicle. The method described is invariant to the size and orientation of the range images under consideration (with respect to rotation and translation), is robust to noise, and can reliably detect and localize naturally occurring landmarks in the operating environment. The algorithm is demonstrated in the application of a road vehicle in an unmodified operating domain.
Schmiedeler, J, Siston, R & Waldron, K 1970, 'The significance of leg mass in modeling quadrupedal running gaits', ROMANSY 14 - THEORY AND PRACTICE OF ROBOTS AND MANIPULATORS, Springer, Germany, pp. 481-488.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
Schmiedeler, JP & Waldron, KJ 1970, 'Leg stiffness and articulated leg design for dynamic locomotion', ASME 2002 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, IDETC/CIE2002, Montreal, pp. 1105-1112.
View description>>
A number of legged robots capable of dynamic running have been constructed, although, in most cases, very little explanation has been given for how the stiffness of the legs was selected. This paper proposes that a reasonable design value for a robot's leg stiffness is the effective leg stiffness of an animal having the same mass. It further details a simple, kinetostatic analysis of articulated legs that can be used to determine the leg design geometry for a desired stiffness. The technique allows the designer to exploit the non-linearities in the leg mechanism to achieve an advantageous non-linear leg stiffness. An example of the method is given, and preliminary experimental results with the corresponding prototype leg are presented. Copyright © 2002 by ASME.
Waldron, K 1970, 'Near Optimal Coordination of Legged Vehicles Over Large Obstacles', Proceedings of ARK 2002, pp. 501-515.
Wijesoma, WS, Kodagoda, KRS & Balasuriya, AP 1970, 'A laser and a camera for mobile robot navigation', 7th International Conference on Control, Automation, Robotics and Vision, 2002. ICARCV 2002., ICARV 2002: The Seventh International Conference on Control, Automation, Robotics and Vision, Nanyang Technological Univ, Singapore, pp. 740-745.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
View description>>
In most urban roads, and similar environments such as in theme parks, campus sites, industrial estates, science parks and the like, the painted lane markings that exist may not be easily discernible by CCD cameras due to poor lighting, bad weather conditions, and inadequate maintenance. An important feature of roads in such environments is the existence of pavements or curbs on either side defining the road boundaries. These curbs, which are mostly parallel to the road, can be harnessed to extract useful features of the road for implementing autonomous navigation or driver assistance systems. However, extraction of the curb or road edge feature using vision image data is a very formidable task as the curb is not conspicuous in the vision image. To extract the curb using vision data requires extensive image processing, heuristics and very favourable ambient lighting. In our approach, the curb data is extracted speedily using range data provided by a 2D laser range measurement device. This information is then used to extract the mid-line(s) in the vision image using an extended Kalman filtering (EKF) approach. Subsequently midline data is used for the prediction of the road boundaries. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the viability, and effectiveness, of the proposed methodology.
Wijesoma, WS, Kodagoda, KRS & Balasuriya, AP 1970, 'Laser and vision sensing for road detection and reconstruction', Proceedings. The IEEE 5th International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems, IEEE 5th International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems., IEEE, Singapore, pp. 248-253.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
View description>>
In most urban roads, and similar environments such as in theme parks, campus sites, industrial estates, science parks and the like, the painted lane markings that exist may not be easily discernible by CCD cameras due to poor lighting, bad weather conditions, and inadequate maintenance. An important feature of roads in such environments is the existence of pavements or curbs on either side defining the road boundaries. These curbs, which are mostly parallel to the road, can be harnessed to extract useful features of the road for implementing autonomous navigation or driver assistance systems. However, extraction of the curb or road edge feature using vision image data is a very formidable task as the curb is not conspicuous in the vision image. To extract the curb using vision data requires extensive image processing, heuristics and very favorable ambient lighting. In our approach, the curb data is extracted speedily rising range data provided by a 2D laser range measuring device. This information is then used to extract the mid-line(s) in the vision image using an extended Kalman filtering approach. Subsequently, midline data is used for the prediction of the road boundaries. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the viability and effectiveness of the proposed methodology.
Williams, SB, Dissanayake, G, Durrant-Whyte, H, IEEE, IEEE & IEEE 1970, 'An efficient approach to the Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping problem', 2002 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION, VOLS I-IV, PROCEEDINGS, IEEE International Conference on Robots and Automation, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Washington DC,USA, pp. 406-411.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
View description>>
This paper presents a novel approach to the Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) algorithm that exploits the manner in which observations are fused into the global map of the environment to manage the computational complexity of the algorithm and improve the data association process. Rather than incorporating every observation directly into the global map of the environment, the Constrained Local Submap Filter (CLSF) relies on creating an independent, local submap of the features in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle. This local submap is then periodically fused into the global map of the environment using appropriately formulated constraints between the common feature estimates. This approach is shown to be effective in reducing the computational complexity of maintaining the global map estimates as well as improving the data association process.
Williams, SB, Dissanayake, G, Durrant-Whyte, H, IEEE, IEEE & IEEE 1970, 'Towards multi-vehicle simultaneous localisation and mapping', 2002 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION, VOLS I-IV, PROCEEDINGS, IEEE International Conference on Robots and Automation, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Washington DC,USA, pp. 2743-2748.
View/Download from: Publisher's site
View description>>
This paper presents a novel approach to the multi-vehicle simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM) problem that exploits the manner in which observations are fused into the global map of the environment to manage the computational complexity of the algorithm and improve the data association process. Rather than incorporating every observation directly into the global map of the environment, the constrained local submap filter (CLSF) relies on creating an independent, local submap of the features in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle. This local submap is then periodically fused into the global map of the environment. This representation is shown to reduce the computational complexity of maintaining the global map estimates as well as improving the data association process. This paper examines the prospect of applying the CLSF algorithm to the multi-vehicle SLAM problem