Integration of an omnidirectional visual system with the control architecture of Psikharpax

Abstract

This article describes the robotic integration of a robust omnidirectional visual system with a control architecture inspired by neural structures in a rat's brain. The visual system relies on an optimal recursive sampling of images into subimages that remains stable under translation and makes self-localization and object recognition possible. The control architecture affords navigation and action selection capacities. The operationality of both systems is demonstrated through a series of experiments assessing their capacity to maintain the energy level of a robot within the limits of a given viability zone. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.