An open experiment of mobile robot autonomous navigation at the pedestrian streets in the city — Tsukuba Challenge

Abstract

We have been organizing the “Tsukuba Challenge, ” every year since 2007 in Tsukuba, Japan. The “Tsukuba Challenge” is a Real World Robot Challenge which aims at intelligent robot technology for realizing a practical autonomous robot that works in the real environment of daily life. As the objective task of the Tsukuba Challenge, the robots were required to make their way, safely and autonomously, over 1 km down a pedestrian street and through a park in Tsukuba. In 2010, more than 60 autonomous mobile robots participated in this challenge, and seven robots completed the autonomous navigation of the designated course at the center area in Tsukuba City.