Fuzzy spatial map representation for mobile robot navigation

An aim of intelligent robotics research is to develop mobile robots capable of navigation in ustructured environments. Research is being pursued in industry and government organizations towards a variety of applications of such vehicles. Examples include planetary rovers, mobile security robots, military surveillance vehicles, and robotic vehicles for use in factories, hazardous environments, and on smart highways. The practicality of such vehicles is a function of their ability to utilize spatial representations of the physical environment for goal-directed navigation throughout. In many of these applications the ultimate goal is autonomous navigation in environments that are uncertain, unpredictable, and possibly unstructured and dynamic. As such, robots deployed in these environments must be capable of handling unexpected events and complex situations. Autonomous navigation in such real world environments requires access to information about locations of obstructions and/or landmarks. This spatial information is typically represented in the form of a map. The particular form of map representation employed by mobile robot control systems is an important issue as i t directly affects real-time map-based navigation.