Towards Environmentally Adaptive Odor Source Localization: Fuzzy Lévy Taxis Algorithm and Its Validation in Dynamic Odor Plumes

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a bio-inspired Fuzzy Lévy Taxis algorithm to solve the robotic odor source localization problem in dynamic odor plumes. According to the proposed algorithm, the robot is programmed to move for a length with a turning angle at each step until reaching the odor source. The movement length and the turning angle follow two specific probability distribution, of which the parameters are adaptive through a fuzzy logic system. The proposed algorithm was compared with the Adaptive Lévy Taxis algorithm in simulated pseudo-Gaussian plumes. Our proposed algorithm shows a higher success rate and efficiency. The algorithm has also been systematically evaluated in simulated filament-based odor plumes under various environmental conditions. The results revealed that the performance of the proposed algorithm is consistently good in various environmental conditions in terms of success rate, number of steps and distance overhead to find the odor source.