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1 – 10 of over 1000Qihua Ma, Qilin Li, Wenchao Wang and Meng Zhu
This study aims to achieve superior localization and mapping performance in point cloud degradation scenarios through the effective removal of dynamic obstacles. With the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to achieve superior localization and mapping performance in point cloud degradation scenarios through the effective removal of dynamic obstacles. With the continuous development of various technologies for autonomous vehicles, the LIDAR-based Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) system is becoming increasingly important. However, in SLAM systems, effectively addressing the challenges of point cloud degradation scenarios is essential for accurate localization and mapping, with dynamic obstacle removal being a key component.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper proposes a method that combines adaptive feature extraction and loop closure detection algorithms to address this challenge. In the SLAM system, the ground point cloud and non-ground point cloud are separated to reduce the impact of noise. And based on the cylindrical projection image of the point cloud, the intensity features are adaptively extracted, the degradation direction is determined by the degradation factor and the intensity features are matched with the map to correct the degraded pose. Moreover, through the difference in raster distribution of the point clouds before and after two frames in the loop process, the dynamic point clouds are identified and removed, and the map is updated.
Findings
Experimental results show that the method has good performance. The absolute displacement accuracy of the laser odometer is improved by 27.1%, the relative displacement accuracy is improved by 33.5% and the relative angle accuracy is improved by 23.8% after using the adaptive intensity feature extraction method. The position error is reduced by 30% after removing the dynamic target.
Originality/value
Compared with LiDAR odometry and mapping algorithm, the method has greater robustness and accuracy in mapping and localization.
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Keywords
Mohamed Marzouk and Mohamed Zaher
Facility management gained profound importance due to the increasing complexity of different systems and the cost of operation and maintenance. However, due to the increasing…
Abstract
Purpose
Facility management gained profound importance due to the increasing complexity of different systems and the cost of operation and maintenance. However, due to the increasing complexity of different systems, facility managers may suffer from a lack of information. The purpose of this paper is to propose a new facility management approach that links segmented assets to the vital data required for managing facilities.
Design/methodology/approach
Automatic point cloud segmentation is one of the most crucial processes required for modelling building facilities. In this research, laser scanning is used for point cloud acquisition. The research utilises region growing algorithm, colour-based region-growing algorithm and Euclidean cluster algorithm.
Findings
A case study is worked out to test the accuracy of the considered point cloud segmentation algorithms utilising metrics precision, recall and F-score. The results indicate that Euclidean cluster extraction and region growing algorithm revealed high accuracy for segmentation.
Originality/value
The research presents a comparative approach for selecting the most appropriate segmentation approach required for accurate modelling. As such, the segmented assets can be linked easily with the data required for facility management.
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Zhao Xu, Yangze Liang, Hongyu Lu, Wenshuo Kong and Gang Wu
Construction schedule delays and quality problems caused by construction errors are common in the field of prefabricated buildings. The effective monitoring of the construction…
Abstract
Purpose
Construction schedule delays and quality problems caused by construction errors are common in the field of prefabricated buildings. The effective monitoring of the construction project process is one of the key factors for the success of a project. How to effectively monitor the construction process of prefabricated building construction projects is an urgent problem to be solved. Aiming at the problems existing in the monitoring of the construction process of prefabricated buildings, this paper proposes a monitoring method based on the feature extraction of point cloud model.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses Trimble X7 3D laser scanner to complete field data collection experiments. The point cloud data are preprocessed, and the prefabricated component segmentation and geometric feature measurement are completed based on the PCL platform. Aiming at the problem of noisy points and large amount of data in the original point cloud data, the preprocessing is completed through the steps of constructing topological relations, thinning, and denoising. According to the spatial position relationship and geometric characteristics of prefabricated frame structure, the segmentation algorithm flow is designed in this paper. By processing the point cloud data of single column and beam members, the quality of precast column and beam members is measured. The as-built model and as-designed model are compared to realize the visual monitoring of construction progress.
Findings
The experimental results show that the dimensional measurement accuracy of beam and column proposed in this paper is more than 95%. This method can effectively detect the quality of prefabricated components. In the aspect of progress monitoring, the visualization of real-time progress monitoring is realized.
Originality/value
This paper proposed a new monitoring method based on feature extraction of the point cloud model, combined with three-dimensional laser scanning technology. This method allows for accurate monitoring of the construction process, rapid detection of construction information, and timely detection of construction quality errors and progress delays. The treatment process based on point cloud data has strong applicability, and the real-time point cloud data transfer treatment can guarantee the timeliness of monitoring.
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This paper aims to present a highly accessible and affordable tracking model for earthmoving operations in an attempt to overcome some of the limitations of current tracking…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a highly accessible and affordable tracking model for earthmoving operations in an attempt to overcome some of the limitations of current tracking models.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed methodology involves four main processes: acquiring onsite terrestrial images, processing the images into 3D scaled cloud data, extracting volumetric measurements and crew productivity estimations from multiple point clouds using Delaunay triangulation and conducting earned value/schedule analysis and forecasting the remaining scope of work based on the estimated performance. For validation, the tracking model was compared with an observation-based tracking approach for a backfilling site. It was also used for tracking a coarse base aggregate inventory for a road construction project.
Findings
The presented model has proved to be a practical and accurate tracking approach that algorithmically estimates and forecasts all performance parameters from the captured data.
Originality/value
The proposed model is unique in extracting accurate volumetric measurements directly from multiple point clouds in a developed code using Delaunay triangulation instead of extracting them from textured models in modelling software which is neither automated nor time-effective. Furthermore, the presented model uses a self-calibration approach aiming to eliminate the pre-calibration procedure required before image capturing for each camera intended to be used. Thus, any worker onsite can directly capture the required images with an easily accessible camera (e.g. handheld camera or a smartphone) and can be sent to any processing device via e-mail, cloud-based storage or any communication application (e.g. WhatsApp).
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Bushi Chen, Xunyu Zhong, Han Xie, Pengfei Peng, Huosheng Hu, Xungao Zhong and Qiang Liu
Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) play a crucial role in industrial and service fields. The paper aims to build a LiDAR-based simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) system…
Abstract
Purpose
Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) play a crucial role in industrial and service fields. The paper aims to build a LiDAR-based simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) system used by AMRs to overcome challenges in dynamic and changing environments.
Design/methodology/approach
This research introduces SLAM-RAMU, a lifelong SLAM system that addresses these challenges by providing precise and consistent relocalization and autonomous map updating (RAMU). During the mapping process, local odometry is obtained using iterative error state Kalman filtering, while back-end loop detection and global pose graph optimization are used for accurate trajectory correction. In addition, a fast point cloud segmentation module is incorporated to robustly distinguish between floor, walls and roof in the environment. The segmented point clouds are then used to generate a 2.5D grid map, with particular emphasis on floor detection to filter the prior map and eliminate dynamic artifacts. In the positioning process, an initial pose alignment method is designed, which combines 2D branch-and-bound search with 3D iterative closest point registration. This method ensures high accuracy even in scenes with similar characteristics. Subsequently, scan-to-map registration is performed using the segmented point cloud on the prior map. The system also includes a map updating module that takes into account historical point cloud segmentation results. It selectively incorporates or excludes new point cloud data to ensure consistent reflection of the real environment in the map.
Findings
The performance of the SLAM-RAMU system was evaluated in real-world environments and compared against state-of-the-art (SOTA) methods. The results demonstrate that SLAM-RAMU achieves higher mapping quality and relocalization accuracy and exhibits robustness against dynamic obstacles and environmental changes.
Originality/value
Compared to other SOTA methods in simulation and real environments, SLAM-RAMU showed higher mapping quality, faster initial aligning speed and higher repeated localization accuracy.
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Ruoxing Wang, Shoukun Wang, Junfeng Xue, Zhihua Chen and Jinge Si
This paper aims to investigate an autonomous obstacle-surmounting method based on a hybrid gait for the problem of crossing low-height obstacles autonomously by a six wheel-legged…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate an autonomous obstacle-surmounting method based on a hybrid gait for the problem of crossing low-height obstacles autonomously by a six wheel-legged robot. The autonomy of obstacle-surmounting is reflected in obstacle recognition based on multi-frame point cloud fusion.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, first, for the problem that the lidar on the robot cannot scan the point cloud of low-height obstacles, the lidar is driven to rotate by a 2D turntable to obtain the point cloud of low-height obstacles under the robot. Tightly-coupled Lidar Inertial Odometry via Smoothing and Mapping algorithm, fast ground segmentation algorithm and Euclidean clustering algorithm are used to recognize the point cloud of low-height obstacles and obtain low-height obstacle in-formation. Then, combined with the structural characteristics of the robot, the obstacle-surmounting action planning is carried out for two types of obstacle scenes. A segmented approach is used for action planning. Gait units are designed to describe each segment of the action. A gait matrix is used to describe the overall action. The paper also analyzes the stability and surmounting capability of the robot’s key pose and determines the robot’s surmounting capability and the value scheme of the surmounting control variables.
Findings
The experimental verification is carried out on the robot laboratory platform (BIT-6NAZA). The obstacle recognition method can accurately detect low-height obstacles. The robot can maintain a smooth posture to cross low-height obstacles, which verifies the feasibility of the adaptive obstacle-surmounting method.
Originality/value
The study can provide the theory and engineering foundation for the environmental perception of the unmanned platform. It provides environmental information to support follow-up work, for example, on the planning of obstacles and obstacles.
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The curve construction on surfaces is becoming more and more important in computer-aided design (CAD), computer graphics (CG) and the other related fields. This problem is often…
Abstract
Purpose
The curve construction on surfaces is becoming more and more important in computer-aided design (CAD), computer graphics (CG) and the other related fields. This problem is often encountered in NC machining, tool path generation, automated fiber placement and so on. However, designing curves on curved surfaces is quite different from constructing a curve in Euclidean space. Therefore, the traditional methods of curve design are not suitable for constructing a continuous curve on surface. The authors need to perform interpolation directly on surface so that the final target curve is embedded into the given surface and also meets the continuous conditions.
Design/methodology/approach
Firstly, adopting a series of Hermite blending functions, the authors design a space curve passing the given knots on the point-cloud surface. Then, the authors construct a class of directrixes that are adopted to determine vector fields for projection. Finally, a complete G2 continuous curve embedded in point-cloud surfaces is constructed by solving the first-order ordinary differential equations (ODEs).
Findings
The authors’ main contribution is to overcome the problem of constructing G1 and G2 continuous curves on point-cloud surfaces and the authors’ schemes are based on the projection moving least square (MLS) surfaces and traditional differential geometric.
Originality/value
Based on the framework of projection MLS surfaces, a novel method to overcome the problem of constructing G2 continuous curves on point-cloud surfaces is proposed.
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Xiaoqing Zhang, Genliang Xiong, Peng Yin, Yanfeng Gao and Yan Feng
To ensure the motion attitude and stable contact force of massage robot working on unknown human tissue environment, this study aims to propose a robotic system for autonomous…
Abstract
Purpose
To ensure the motion attitude and stable contact force of massage robot working on unknown human tissue environment, this study aims to propose a robotic system for autonomous massage path planning and stable interaction control.
Design/methodology/approach
First, back region extraction and acupoint recognition based on deep learning is proposed, which provides a basis for determining the working area and path points of the robot. Second, to realize the standard approach and movement trajectory of the expert massage, 3D reconstruction and path planning of the massage area are performed, and normal vectors are calculated to control the normal orientation of robot-end. Finally, to cope with the soft and hard changes of human tissue state and body movement, an adaptive force tracking control strategy is presented to compensate the uncertainty of environmental position and tissue hardness online.
Findings
Improved network model can accomplish the acupoint recognition task with a large accuracy and integrate the point cloud to generate massage trajectories adapted to the shape of the human body. Experimental results show that the adaptive force tracking control can obtain a relatively smooth force, and the error is basically within ± 0.2 N during the online experiment.
Originality/value
This paper incorporates deep learning, 3D reconstruction and impedance control, the robot can understand the shape features of the massage area and adapt its planning massage path to carry out a stable and safe force tracking control during dynamic robot–human contact.
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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.
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Xinyu Zhang and Liling Ge
A multi-laser sensors-based measurement instrument is proposed for the measurement of geometry errors of a differential body and quality evaluation. This paper aims to discuss the…
Abstract
Purpose
A multi-laser sensors-based measurement instrument is proposed for the measurement of geometry errors of a differential body and quality evaluation. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned idea.
Design/methodology/approach
First, the differential body is set on a rotation platform before measuring. Then one laser sensor called as “primary sensor”, is installed on the intern of the differential body. The spherical surface and four holes on the differential body are sampled by the primary sensor when the rotation platform rotates one revolution. Another sensor called as “secondary sensor”, is installed above to sample the external cylinder surface and the planar surface on the top of the differential body, and the external cylinder surface and the planar surface are high in manufacturing precision, which are used as datum surfaces to compute the errors caused by the motion of the rotation platform. Finally, the sampled points from the primary sensor are compensated to improve the measurement accuracy.
Findings
A multi-laser sensors-based measurement instrument is proposed for the measurement of geometry errors of a differential body. Based on the characteristics of the measurement data, a gradient image-based method is proposed to distinguish different objects from laser measurement data. A case study is presented to validate the measurement principle and data processing approach.
Research limitations/implications
The study investigates the possibility of correction of sensor data by the measurement results of multiple sensors to improving measurement accuracy. The proposed technique enables the error analysis and compensation by the geometric correlation relationship of various features on the measurand.
Originality/value
The proposed error compensation principle by using multiple sensors proved to be useful for the design of new measurement device for special part inspection. The proposed approach to describe the measuring data by image also is proved to be useful to simplify the measurement data processing.
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