Systematic Use of Deictic Commands for Mobile Robot Navigation
by
Michael Edmund Cleary
Ph.D. Dissertation
College of Computer Science (161CN)
Northeastern University
Boston, MA 02115 USA
Defended September 1997
Deposited in Library October 1998
Abstract
This thesis systematizes the previously ad hoc specification of
targets and motion commands for visual deictic control of mobile robots,
which enables control of mobile robots in the real world without requiring
foreknowledge of the environment. Whereas ad hoc (or generic) visual targets may be scattered densely enough in the world to
support deictically controlled navigation, and whereas
environment-independent motion commands may suffice in open enough spaces,
real environments in which robots would be useful cannot in general be
relied upon to be sufficiently serendipitous. Instead, this thesis
abstracts from the structure of the world a well-defined set of
canonical targets and motion commands relative to those targets
which together support general-purpose navigation. Canonical
targets are a superset of those identified as critical by a visibility
graph analysis. Targets and commands are also defined to position a robot
at its goal location for the performance of whatever task it is navigating
to accomplish. Finally, an algorithm is defined to identify canonical
targets and the motion commands required to control navigation in arbitrary
environments. The algorithm is demonstrated by a training system for
prospective users.
Links
Download the thesis.
This page is maintained by Michael Cleary
last updated 070623.