Qualitative localization using omnidirectional images and invariant features

Abstract

The present study proposes an innovative approach to qualitative mobile robot's localization using the concept of integral invariant on omnidirectional images. They are invariant depending on the image transformations caused by the movements of the robot. Several methods have been suggested to construct such invariants but they often rely on hypotheses about the transformation group which do not hold any more when dealing with omnidirectional sensors. These sensors benefit from an increasing interest in mobile robotics because of their field of view but they require adaptations of classical methods. This paper presents a method based on group averaging to construct invariant features which could be used to recognize a place with this type of sensors.