Path tracing on polar depth maps for robot navigation

Abstract

In this paper a Cellular Automata-based (CA) path estimation algorithm suitable for safe robot navigation is presented. The proposed method combines well established 3D vision techniques with CA operations and traces a collision free route from the foot of the robot to the horizon of a scene. Firstly, the depth map of the scene is obtained and, then, a polar transformation is applied. A v-disparity image calculation processing step is applied to the initial depth map separating the ground plane from the obstacles. In the next step, a CA floor field is formed representing all the distances from the robot to the traversable regions in the scene. The target point that the robot should move towards to, is tracked down and an additional CA routine is applied to the floor field revealing a traversable route that the robot should follow to reach its target location. © 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.