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Article
Publication date: 19 June 2017

Ramazan Havangi

Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) is the problem of determining the pose (position and orientation) of an autonomous robot moving through an unknown environment. The…

Abstract

Purpose

Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) is the problem of determining the pose (position and orientation) of an autonomous robot moving through an unknown environment. The classical FastSLAM is a well-known solution to SLAM. In FastSLAM, a particle filter is used for the robot pose estimation, and the Kalman filter (KF) is used for the feature location’s estimation. However, the performance of the conventional FastSLAM is inconsistent. To tackle this problem, this study aims to propose a mutated FastSLAM (MFastSLAM) using soft computing.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed method uses soft computing. In this approach, particle swarm optimization (PSO) estimator is used for the robot’s pose estimation and an adaptive neuro-fuzzy unscented Kalman filter (ANFUKF) is used for the feature location’s estimation. In ANFUKF, a neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) supervises the performance of the unscented Kalman filter (UKF) with the aim of reducing the mismatch between the theoretical and actual covariance of the residual sequences to get better consistency.

Findings

The simulation and experimental results indicate that the consistency and estimated accuracy of the proposed algorithm are superior FastSLAM.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this paper is the introduction of MFastSLAM to solve the problems of FastSLAM.

Details

Industrial Robot: An International Journal, vol. 44 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 June 2017

Chen-Chien Hsu, Cheng-Kai Yang, Yi-Hsing Chien, Yin-Tien Wang, Wei-Yen Wang and Chiang-Heng Chien

FastSLAM is a popular method to solve the problem of simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM). However, when the number of landmarks present in real environments increases…

Abstract

Purpose

FastSLAM is a popular method to solve the problem of simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM). However, when the number of landmarks present in real environments increases, there are excessive comparisons of the measurement with all the existing landmarks in each particle. As a result, the execution speed will be too slow to achieve the objective of real-time navigation. Thus, this paper aims to improve the computational efficiency and estimation accuracy of conventional SLAM algorithms.

Design/methodology/approach

As an attempt to solve this problem, this paper presents a computationally efficient SLAM (CESLAM) algorithm, where odometer information is considered for updating the robot’s pose in particles. When a measurement has a maximum likelihood with the known landmark in the particle, the particle state is updated before updating the landmark estimates.

Findings

Simulation results show that the proposed CESLAM can overcome the problem of heavy computational burden while improving the accuracy of localization and mapping building. To practically evaluate the performance of the proposed method, a Pioneer 3-DX robot with a Kinect sensor is used to develop an RGB-D-based computationally efficient visual SLAM (CEVSLAM) based on Speeded-Up Robust Features (SURF). Experimental results confirm that the proposed CEVSLAM system is capable of successfully estimating the robot pose and building the map with satisfactory accuracy.

Originality/value

The proposed CESLAM algorithm overcomes the problem of the time-consuming process because of unnecessary comparisons in existing FastSLAM algorithms. Simulations show that accuracy of robot pose and landmark estimation is greatly improved by the CESLAM. Combining CESLAM and SURF, the authors establish a CEVSLAM to significantly improve the estimation accuracy and computational efficiency. Practical experiments by using a Kinect visual sensor show that the variance and average error by using the proposed CEVSLAM are smaller than those by using the other visual SLAM algorithms.

Details

Engineering Computations, vol. 34 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-4401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2021

Shuhuan Wen, Xiaohan Lv, Hak Keung Lam, Shaokang Fan, Xiao Yuan and Ming Chen

This paper aims to use the Monodepth method to improve the prediction speed of identifying the obstacles and proposes a Probability Dueling DQN algorithm to optimize the path of…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to use the Monodepth method to improve the prediction speed of identifying the obstacles and proposes a Probability Dueling DQN algorithm to optimize the path of the agent, which can reach the destination more quickly than the Dueling DQN algorithm. Then the path planning algorithm based on Probability Dueling DQN is combined with FastSLAM to accomplish the autonomous navigation and map the environment.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper proposes an active simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) framework for autonomous navigation under an indoor environment with static and dynamic obstacles. It integrates a path planning algorithm with visual SLAM to decrease navigation uncertainty and build an environment map.

Findings

The result shows that the proposed method offers good performance over existing Dueling DQN for navigation uncertainty under the indoor environment with different numbers and shapes of the static and dynamic obstacles in the real world field.

Originality/value

This paper proposes a novel active SLAM framework composed of Probability Dueling DQN that is the improved path planning algorithm based on Dueling DQN and FastSLAM. This framework is used with the Monodepth depth image prediction method with faster prediction speed to realize autonomous navigation in the indoor environment with different numbers and shapes of the static and dynamic obstacles.

Details

Industrial Robot: the international journal of robotics research and application, vol. 48 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 October 2019

Shuhuan Wen, Xueheng Hu, Zhen Li, Hak Keung Lam, Fuchun Sun and Bin Fang

This paper aims to propose a novel active SLAM framework to realize avoid obstacles and finish the autonomous navigation in indoor environment.

293

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to propose a novel active SLAM framework to realize avoid obstacles and finish the autonomous navigation in indoor environment.

Design/methodology/approach

The improved fuzzy optimized Q-Learning (FOQL) algorithm is used to solve the avoidance obstacles problem of the robot in the environment. To reduce the motion deviation of the robot, fractional controller is designed. The localization of the robot is based on FastSLAM algorithm.

Findings

Simulation results of avoiding obstacles using traditional Q-learning algorithm, optimized Q-learning algorithm and FOQL algorithm are compared. The simulation results show that the improved FOQL algorithm has a faster learning speed than other two algorithms. To verify the simulation result, the FOQL algorithm is implemented on a NAO robot and the experimental results demonstrate that the improved fuzzy optimized Q-Learning obstacle avoidance algorithm is feasible and effective.

Originality/value

The improved fuzzy optimized Q-Learning (FOQL) algorithm is used to solve the avoidance obstacles problem of the robot in the environment. To reduce the motion deviation of the robot, fractional controller is designed. To verify the simulation result, the FOQL algorithm is implemented on a NAO robot and the experimental results demonstrate that the improved fuzzy optimized Q-Learning obstacle avoidance algorithm is feasible and effective.

Details

Industrial Robot: the international journal of robotics research and application, vol. 47 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 2019

Haoyao Chen, Hailin Huang, Ye Qin, Yanjie Li and Yunhui Liu

Multi-robot laser-based simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) in large-scale environments is an essential but challenging issue in mobile robotics, especially in situations…

Abstract

Purpose

Multi-robot laser-based simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) in large-scale environments is an essential but challenging issue in mobile robotics, especially in situations wherein no prior knowledge is available between robots. Moreover, the cumulative errors of every individual robot exert a serious negative effect on loop detection and map fusion. To address these problems, this paper aims to propose an efficient approach that combines laser and vision measurements.

Design/methodology/approach

A multi-robot visual laser-SLAM is developed to realize robust and efficient SLAM in large-scale environments; both vision and laser loop detections are integrated to detect robust loops. A method based on oriented brief (ORB) feature detection and bag of words (BoW) is developed, to ensure the robustness and computational effectiveness of the multi-robot SLAM system. A robust and efficient graph fusion algorithm is proposed to merge pose graphs from different robots.

Findings

The proposed method can detect loops more quickly and accurately than the laser-only SLAM, and it can fuse the submaps of each single robot to promote the efficiency, accuracy and robustness of the system.

Originality/value

Compared with the state of art of multi-robot SLAM approaches, the paper proposed a novel and more sophisticated approach. The vision-based and laser-based loops are integrated to realize a robust loop detection. The ORB features and BoW technologies are further utilized to gain real-time performance. Finally, random sample consensus and least-square methodologies are used to remove the outlier loops among robots.

Details

Assembly Automation, vol. 39 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-5154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 May 2014

Tianmiao Wang, Chaolei Wang, Jianhong Liang and Yicheng Zhang

The purpose of this paper is to present a Rao–Blackwellized particle filter (RBPF) approach for the visual simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) of small unmanned aerial…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a Rao–Blackwellized particle filter (RBPF) approach for the visual simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Design/methodology/approach

Measurements from inertial measurement unit, barometric altimeter and monocular camera are fused to estimate the state of the vehicle while building a feature map. In this SLAM framework, an extra factorization method is proposed to partition the vehicle model into subspaces as the internal and external states. The internal state is estimated by an extended Kalman filter (EKF). A particle filter is employed for the external state estimation and parallel EKFs are for the map management.

Findings

Simulation results indicate that the proposed approach is more stable and accurate than other existing marginalized particle filter-based SLAM algorithms. Experiments are also carried out to verify the effectiveness of this SLAM method by comparing with a referential global positioning system/inertial navigation system.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this paper is the theoretical derivation and experimental application of the Rao–Blackwellized visual SLAM algorithm with vehicle model partition for small UAVs.

Details

Industrial Robot: An International Journal, vol. 41 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Industrial Robot: An International Journal, vol. 44 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Article
Publication date: 2 January 2024

Xiangdi Yue, Yihuan Zhang, Jiawei Chen, Junxin Chen, Xuanyi Zhou and Miaolei He

In recent decades, the field of robotic mapping has witnessed widespread research and development in light detection and ranging (LiDAR)-based simultaneous localization and…

Abstract

Purpose

In recent decades, the field of robotic mapping has witnessed widespread research and development in light detection and ranging (LiDAR)-based simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) techniques. This paper aims to provide a significant reference for researchers and engineers in robotic mapping.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper focused on the research state of LiDAR-based SLAM for robotic mapping as well as a literature survey from the perspective of various LiDAR types and configurations.

Findings

This paper conducted a comprehensive literature review of the LiDAR-based SLAM system based on three distinct LiDAR forms and configurations. The authors concluded that multi-robot collaborative mapping and multi-source fusion SLAM systems based on 3D LiDAR with deep learning will be new trends in the future.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first thorough survey of robotic mapping from the perspective of various LiDAR types and configurations. It can serve as a theoretical and practical guide for the advancement of academic and industrial robot mapping.

Details

Industrial Robot: the international journal of robotics research and application, vol. 51 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 November 2018

Guoqing Li, Yunhai Geng and Wenzheng Zhang

This paper aims to introduce an efficient active-simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) approach for rover navigation, future planetary rover exploration mission requires…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to introduce an efficient active-simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) approach for rover navigation, future planetary rover exploration mission requires the rover to automatically localize itself with high accuracy.

Design/methodology/approach

A three-dimensional (3D) feature detection method is first proposed to extract salient features from the observed point cloud, after that, the salient features are employed as the candidate destinations for re-visiting under SLAM structure, followed by a path planning algorithm integrated with SLAM, wherein the path length and map utility are leveraged to reduce the growth rate of state estimation uncertainty.

Findings

The proposed approach is able to extract distinguishable 3D landmarks for feature re-visiting, and can be naturally integrated with any SLAM algorithms in an efficient manner to improve the navigation accuracy.

Originality/value

This paper proposes a novel active-SLAM structure for planetary rover exploration mission, the salient feature extraction method and active revisit patch planning method are validated to improve the accuracy of pose estimation.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 91 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 May 2013

Ling Chen, Sen Wang, Klaus McDonald‐Maier and Huosheng Hu

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate two key elements of localization and mapping of Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), i.e. to overview various sensors and…

2366

Abstract

Purpose

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate two key elements of localization and mapping of Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), i.e. to overview various sensors and algorithms used for underwater localization and mapping, and to make suggestions for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors first review various sensors and algorithms used for AUVs in the terms of basic working principle, characters, their advantages and disadvantages. The statistical analysis is carried out by studying 35 AUV platforms according to the application circumstances of sensors and algorithms.

Findings

As real‐world applications have different requirements and specifications, it is necessary to select the most appropriate one by balancing various factors such as accuracy, cost, size, etc. Although highly accurate localization and mapping in an underwater environment is very difficult, more and more accurate and robust navigation solutions will be achieved with the development of both sensors and algorithms.

Research limitations/implications

This paper provides an overview of the state of art underwater localisation and mapping algorithms and systems. No experiments are conducted for verification.

Practical implications

The paper will give readers a clear guideline to find suitable underwater localisation and mapping algorithms and systems for their practical applications in hand.

Social implications

There is a wide range of audiences who will benefit from reading this comprehensive survey of autonomous localisation and mapping of UAVs.

Originality/value

The paper will provide useful information and suggestions to research students, engineers and scientists who work in the field of autonomous underwater vehicles.

Details

International Journal of Intelligent Unmanned Systems, vol. 1 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-6427

Keywords

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