An enhanced visual robot navigation using a laser range sensor

Accurate robot positioning and navigation is an ongoing research problem, especially in environments that are unknown or hostile. Nowadays, there is an increase in the number of applications robots can be deployed in, these applications range from robots providing concierge services in hotels, guiding museum visitors to the desired booth, and assisting firefighters to locate trapped individuals. All of these applications rely on accurate robot positioning to successfully achieve their task. Most robots come mounted with a camera that can perform face/object recognition, and can be used for navigation as well. However, accurate positioning via camera suffers due the typical nature of the unknown environment it is deployed in. To solve this problem, this research investigates augmenting a camera with a laser range sensor to improve the overall accuracy of the positioning algorithm.

Faculty Supervisor:

Edward Park

Student:

Partner:

Recon Instruments Inc

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

Simon Fraser University

Program: