Mobile robot navigation in textureless unknown environment based on plane estimation by using single omni-directional camera

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a method for a mobile robot to navigation in textureless environment using an omni-directional camera. The method makes an environment map consisting of 3D edge points obtained from omni-directional camera images and estimates the locations of planes by analysing these 3D edge points so that the robot can autonomously travel while avoiding walls as obstacles. The method has the advantage that it can generate a 3D map in environments constructed by textureless planes. It is important to improve robustness of obstacle detection in order to realize navigation with a long distance. The proposed method was evaluated in more complex environment such as a long corridor and a corner.