Multiobjective Navigation of a Guide Mobile Robot for the Visually Impaired Based on Intention Inference of Obstacles

Different from ordinary mobile robots used in a well-structured industrial workspace, a guide mobile robot for the visually impaired should be designed in consideration of multiple moving obstacles of various types and with different speeds while it adaptively maintains a certain distance from the user. Here, the moving obstacles mostly refer to pedestrians in intentional motions. Thus, navigation of the guide robot can be facilitated if the intention of each obstacle detected can be known in advance.In the paper, we propose to use a fuzzy grid-type local map in order to infer the intention of a moving obstacle. And, then, we determine the motion control of the robot by adopting a multiobjective decision making method in order to take into consideration various requirements including goal-seeking, multiple obstacle avoidance and maintenance of a certain distance from the user. To show the effectiveness of the proposed method, some experimental results are provided.

[1]  Max Donath,et al.  Autonomous robots and emergent behavior: a set of primitive behaviors for mobile robot control , 1990, EEE International Workshop on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Towards a New Frontier of Applications.

[2]  C I Howarth,et al.  The efficiency and walking speed of visually impaired people. , 1986, Ergonomics.

[3]  Minoru Abe,et al.  Electrocutaneous Communication in a Guide Dog Robot (MELDOG) , 1985, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.

[4]  Kikuo Fujimura Path planning with multiple objectives , 1996, IEEE Robotics Autom. Mag..

[5]  Iwan Ulrich,et al.  The GuideCane-a computerized travel aid for the active guidance of blind pedestrians , 1997, Proceedings of International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[6]  Tomás Lozano-Pérez,et al.  Spatial Planning: A Configuration Space Approach , 1983, IEEE Transactions on Computers.

[7]  Rodney A. Brooks,et al.  A Robust Layered Control Syste For A Mobile Robot , 2022 .

[8]  Hans-Jürgen Zimmermann,et al.  Fuzzy Set Theory - and Its Applications , 1985 .

[9]  Hyung Suck Cho,et al.  A sensor-based navigation for a mobile robot using fuzzy logic and reinforcement learning , 1995, IEEE Trans. Syst. Man Cybern..

[10]  Hans P. Moravec,et al.  High resolution maps from wide angle sonar , 1985, Proceedings. 1985 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[11]  Joseph S. B. Mitchell,et al.  An Algorithmic Approach to Some Problems in Terrain Navigation , 1988, Artif. Intell..

[12]  Iwan Ulrich,et al.  VFH+: reliable obstacle avoidance for fast mobile robots , 1998, Proceedings. 1998 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.98CH36146).

[13]  Masakazu Ejiri,et al.  Towards meaningful robotics for the future: Are we headed in the right direction? , 1996, Robotics Auton. Syst..

[14]  Roman Kuc,et al.  A Physically Based Navigation Strategy for Sonar-Guided Vehicles , 1991, Int. J. Robotics Res..

[15]  Peter Y. K. Cheung,et al.  Modelling and Handling Uncertainties in Mobile Robotics , 1997, J. Intell. Fuzzy Syst..

[16]  T. Ifukube,et al.  A blind mobility aid modeled after echolocation of bats , 1991, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.

[17]  Susumu Tachi,et al.  Quantitative Comparison of Alternative Sensory Displays for Mobility Aids for the Blind , 1983, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.

[18]  Jong-Hwan Kim,et al.  Multicriteria Fuzzy Control , 1994, J. Intell. Fuzzy Syst..

[19]  C I Howarth,et al.  The effect of non-visual preview upon the walking speed of visually impaired people. , 1986, Ergonomics.

[20]  Shraga Shoval,et al.  Auditory guidance with the Navbelt-a computerized travel aid for the blind , 1998, IEEE Trans. Syst. Man Cybern. Part C.

[21]  Dr. Hans Hellendoorn,et al.  An Introduction to Fuzzy Control , 1996, Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

[22]  Takeshi Furuhashi,et al.  A Proposal of Extraction of Intentions in Linguistic Instructions Using Fuzzy Classifier System , 1999 .

[23]  Georges Bastin,et al.  Dynamic feedback linearization of nonholonomic wheeled mobile robots , 1992, Proceedings 1992 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[24]  Marilena Vendittelli,et al.  Real-time map building and navigation for autonomous robots in unknown environments , 1998, IEEE Trans. Syst. Man Cybern. Part B.