Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Blanche: Position Estimation for an Autonomous Robot Vehicle

  • Chapter
Autonomous Robot Vehicles

Abstract

This paper describes the position estimation system for an autonomous robot vehicle called Blanche, which is designed for use in structured office or factory environments. Blanche is intended to be low cost, depending on only two sensors, an optical rangefinder and odometry. Briefly, the position estimation system consists of odometry supplemented with a fast, robust matching algorithm which determines the congruence between the range data and a 2D map of its environment. This is used to correct any errors existing in the odometry estimate. The integration of odometry with fast, robust matching allows for accurate estimates of the robot’s position and accurate estimates of the robot’s position allow for fast, robust matching. That is, the system is self sustaining.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Ayache, N. and Faugeras, O. Building, Registrating, and Fusing Noisy Visual Maps. In Int. Conf. Computer Vision, IEEE, London, UK, 1987, pp. 73–79.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Bar-Shalom, Y. and Fortmann, T.E. Tracking and Data Association. Academic Press, 1988.

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  3. Cox, I.J. Blanche: An Autonomous Robot Vehicle for Structured Environments. In IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation, IEEE, 1988, pp. 978–982.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Cox, I.J. and Kruskal, J.B. On the Congruence of Noisy Images to Line Segment Models. In Int Conf. Computer Vision, IEEE, 1988.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Cox, I.J., Kruskal, J.B., and Wallach, D.A. Predicting and Estimating the Performance of a Subpixel Registration Algorithm. 1988.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Cox, I.J. and Wilfong, G.T., Eds. Autonomous Robot Vehicles. Springer-Verlag, New York, to be published.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Elfes, A. Sonar-Based Real-World Mapping and Navigation. IEEE J. of Robotics and Automation RA-3, 3 (1987), 249–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Elfes, A. and Matthies, L. Sensor Integration for Robot Navigation: Combining Sonar and Stereo Range Data in a Grid-Based Representation. In IEEE Conference on Decision and Control IEEE, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Giralt, G., Chatila, R., and Vaisset, M. An Integrated Navigation and Motion Control System for Autonomous Multisensory Mobile Robots. In 1st Int. Symp. on Robotics Research, Bretton Woods, NH, USA, 1983, pp. 191–214.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Kapilow, D.A. Real-Time Programming in a UNIX Environment. 1985 Symposium on Factory Automation and Robotics (1985), 28–29.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Maybeck, P.S. Stochastic Models, Estimation, and Control. Vol.1. Academic Press, 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Miller, G.L. and Wagner, E.R. An Optical Rangefinder for Autonomous Robot Cart Navigation. In SPIE Mobile Robots II, Vol. 852, SPIE, 1987, pp. 132–144.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Nelson, W.L. and Cox, I.J. Local path Control of an Autonomous Vehicle. In IEEE Int. Conf. Robotics and Automation, IEEE, 1988, pp. 1504–1510.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Preparata, F.P. and Shamos, M.I. Computational Geometry: An Introduction. Springer-Verlag, New York, 1985.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Torrieri, D.J. Statistical Theory of Passive Location Systems. IEEE Trans, on Aerospace and Electronic Systems AES-20, 2 (1984), 183–198.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Tsumura, T. Survey of Automated Guided Vehicle in Japanese Factory. In IEEE Int. Corf, on Robotics and Automation, IEEE, 1986, pp. 1329–1334.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Tsumura, T., Fujiwara, N., and Hashimoto, M. An Experimental System for Self-Contained Position and Heading Measurement of Ground Vehicle. In Int. Conf. Advanced Robotics, 1983, pp. 269–276.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Wang, C.M. Location Estimation and Uncertainty Analysis for Mobile Robots. In IEEE Int. Conf. Robotics and Automation, Vol. 2, IEEE, 1988, pp. 1230–1235.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Wilfong, G.T. Motion Planning For An Autonomous Vehicle. In IEEE Conf. Robotics and Automation, IEEE, 1988, pp. 529–533.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey, 07974, USA

    Ingemar J. Cox

Authors
  1. Ingemar J. Cox
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. NEC Research Institute, 08540, Princeton, NJ, USA

    Ingemar J. Cox

  2. AT&T Bell Laboratories, 07974, Murray Hill, NJ, USA

    Gordon T. Wilfong

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1990 AT&T

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Cox, I.J. (1990). Blanche: Position Estimation for an Autonomous Robot Vehicle. In: Cox, I.J., Wilfong, G.T. (eds) Autonomous Robot Vehicles. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-8997-2_17

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-8997-2_17

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-8999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-8997-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation