Two-dimensional radial laser scanning for circular marker detection and external mobile robot tracking.

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Computer Vision
• Sensor Fusion

Background:

• Accurate localization is crucial for autonomous mobile robot navigation.
• External sensing systems offer an alternative to onboard localization methods.
• Detecting targets in noisy sensor data presents a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a method for detecting cylindrical targets using a 2D laser scanner for mobile robot localization.
• To quantify the location and tracking errors of the proposed system.
• To generate error maps for estimating localization uncertainty.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a fixed two-dimensional laser scanner to detect cylindrical targets.
• Applying outlier avoidance algorithms and least-squares circular fitting to raw scanner data.
• Conducting empirical validation experiments with varying cylindrical targets and a mobile robot.

Main Results:

• Achieved location and tracking errors generally below 20 mm within the sensor's coverage area.
• Mobile robot trajectory estimation with an average location error under 15 mm.
• Developed error maps that accurately predict localization uncertainty.

Conclusions:

• The proposed laser scanning method provides accurate and reliable localization for mobile robots.
• The system's performance is validated, demonstrating its practical applicability.
• Error maps enhance the trustworthiness of computed locations, crucial for safe navigation.