Related papers: Bi-Level Image-Guided Ergodic Exploration with App…
One of the fundamental limiting factors in planetary exploration is the autonomous capabilities of planetary exploration rovers. This study proposes a novel methodology for trustworthy autonomous multi-robot teams which incorporates data…
Mobile robots rely on maps to navigate through an environment. In the absence of any map, the robots must build the map online from partial observations as they move in the environment. Traditional methods build a map using only direct…
Robot localization remains a challenging task in GPS denied environments. State estimation approaches based on local sensors, e.g. cameras or IMUs, are drifting-prone for long-range missions as error accumulates. In this study, we aim to…
We address the problem of autonomous exploration and mapping for a mobile robot using visual inputs. Exploration and mapping is a well-known and key problem in robotics, the goal of which is to enable a robot to explore a new environment…
Understanding terrain topology at long-range is crucial for the success of off-road robotic missions, especially when navigating at high-speeds. LiDAR sensors, which are currently heavily relied upon for geometric mapping, provide sparse…
The ability to efficiently and effectively explore planetary surfaces is currently limited by the capability of wheeled rovers to traverse challenging terrains, and by pre-programmed data acquisition plans with limited in-situ flexibility.…
We consider the task of underwater robot navigation for the purpose of collecting scientifically relevant video data for environmental monitoring. The majority of field robots that currently perform monitoring tasks in unstructured natural…
Mars exploration requires precise and reliable terrain models to ensure safe rover navigation across its unpredictable and often hazardous landscapes. Stereoscopic vision serves a critical role in the rover's perception, allowing scene…
This paper presents an active search trajectory synthesis technique for autonomous mobile robots with nonlinear measurements and dynamics. The presented approach uses the ergodicity of a planned trajectory with respect to an expected…
Visual observation of objects is essential for many robotic applications, such as object reconstruction and manipulation, navigation, and scene understanding. Machine learning algorithms constitute the state-of-the-art in many fields but…
Last two decades, the problem of robotic mapping has made a lot of progress in the research community. However, since the data provided by the sensor still contains noise, how to obtain an accurate map is still an open problem. In this…
Robotic Exploration has evolved rapidly in the past two decades as new and more complex techniques have been created to explore unknown regions efficiently. Exciting advancements in exploration, autonomous navigation, and sensor technology…
This paper develops \emph{iterative Covariance Regulation} (iCR), a novel method for active exploration and mapping for a mobile robot equipped with on-board sensors. The problem is posed as optimal control over the $SE(3)$ pose kinematics…
In robotics, ergodic control extends the tracking principle by specifying a probability distribution over an area to cover instead of a trajectory to track. The original problem is formulated as a spectral multiscale coverage problem,…
Although wheeled robots have been predominant for planetary exploration, their geometry limits their capabilities when traveling over steep slopes, through rocky terrains, and in microgravity. Legged robots equipped with grippers are a…
Enabling robots to efficiently search for and identify objects in complex, unstructured environments is critical for diverse applications ranging from household assistance to industrial automation. However, traditional scene representations…
This work tackles scene understanding for outdoor robotic navigation, solely relying on images captured by an on-board camera. Conventional visual scene understanding interprets the environment based on specific descriptive categories.…
Autonomous Science is a field of study which aims to extend the autonomy of exploration robots from low level functionality, such as on-board perception and obstacle avoidance, to science autonomy, which allows scientists to specify…
Accurate localisation in planetary robotics enables the advanced autonomy required to support the increased scale and scope of future missions. The successes of the Ingenuity helicopter and multiple planetary orbiters lay the groundwork for…
The interest in exploring planetary bodies for scientific investigation and in-situ resource utilization is ever-rising. Yet, many sites of interest are inaccessible to state-of-the-art planetary exploration robots because of the robots'…