• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.203-210
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• 2009

The problem of outdoor localization can be practically solved by GPS. However, GPS is not perfect and some areas of outdoor navigation should consider other solutions. This research deals with outdoor localization using an elevation map without GPS. This paper proposes a novel feature, elevation moment of inertia (EMOI), which represents the distribution of elevation as a function of distance from a robot in the elevation map. Each cell of an elevation map has its own EMOI, and outdoor localization can be performed by matching EMOIs obtained from the robot and the pre-given elevation map. The experiments and simulations show that the proposed EMOI can be usefully exploited for outdoor localization with an elevation map and this feature can be easily applied to other probabilistic approaches such as Markov localization method.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.916-921
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• 2011

Mobile robot localization is the task of estimating the robot pose in a given environment. This research deals with outdoor localization based on an elevation map. Since outdoor environments are large and contain many complex objects, it is difficult to robustly estimate the robot pose. This paper proposes a Hausdorff distance-based map matching method. The Hausdorff distance is exploited to measure the similarity between extracted features obtained from the robot and elevation map. The experiments and simulations show that the proposed Hausdorff distance-based map matching is useful for robust outdoor localization using an elevation map. Also, it can be easily applied to other probabilistic approaches such as a Markov localization method.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.19 no.8
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• pp.745-754
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• 2013

An efficient urban outdoor localization and navigation system is proposed for car-like robots. First an accurate outdoor localization method is suggested using line/arc features and 2.5D map matching with LRFs (Laser Range Finders), which can reduce the number of singular cases and increase accuracy. Also, path generation, path tracking, and path modification algorithms are proposed for navigation. All these algorithms are implemented on an electric scooter to construct an autonomous urban outdoor localization and navigation system. Experiments reveal the practicality of the proposed system.

• The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.425-431
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• 2012

In the case of outdoor moving of robot, it is differ to indoor moving case due to it cannot prepare map early for entire outdoor environments, there is nearly no research based on map because most outdoor robots use GPS. In this paper, we implement outdoor robot localization that using precision GPS and then GPS data applying MCL algorithm in outdoor environments of plane of 2 dimensional without incline section. We also perform a simple mission scenario by using applied robot localization in outdoor robot. We applying OpenRTM based on middleware, we can be controlled and grasped situation of the outdoor robot by remote through server by manager.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.995-1005
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• 2011

An efficient outdoor local localization method is suggested using multi-sensor fusion with MU-EKF (Multi-Update Extended Kalman Filter) for car-like mobile robots. In outdoor environments, where mobile robots are used for explorations or military services, accurate localization with multiple sensors is indispensable. In this paper, multi-sensor fusion outdoor local localization algorithm is proposed, which fuses sensor data from LRF (Laser Range Finder), Encoder, and GPS. First, encoder data is used for the prediction stage of MU-EKF. Then the LRF data obtained by scanning the environment is used to extract objects, and estimates the robot position and orientation by mapping with map objects, as the first update stage of MU-EKF. This estimation is finally fused with GPS as the second update stage of MU-EKF. This MU-EKF algorithm can also fuse more than three sensor data efficiently even with different sensor data sampling periods, and ensures high accuracy in localization. The validity of the proposed algorithm is revealed via experiments.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.594-600
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• 2012

Accurate localization is very important to stable navigation of a mobile robot. This paper deals with local localization of a mobile robot especially for outdoor environments. The GPS information is the easiest way to obtain the outdoor position information. However, the GPS accuracy can be severely affected by environmental conditions. To deal with this problem, the GPS and wheel odometry can be combined using an EKF (Extended Kalman Filter). However, this is not enough for safe navigation of a mobile robot in outdoor environments. This paper proposes a novel method using lane features from the road image. The pose data of a mobile robot can be corrected by analyzing the detected lane features. This can improve the accuracy of the localization process substantially.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.18 no.7
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• pp.658-663
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• 2012

An accurate outdoor localization method using line/arc features is suggested for mobile robots with LRFs (Laser Range Finders) and odometry. Localization is a key process for outdoor mobile robots which are used for autonomous navigation, exploration and so on. In this paper, an accurate pose correction algorithm is proposed for mobile robots using LRFs, which use three feature types: line, circle, and arc. Using this method we can reduce the number of singular cases that robots couldn't find their pose. Finally we have got simulation results to validate the proposed algorithm.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.292-300
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• 2011

Global positioning system (GPS) is widely used to measure the position of a vehicle. However, the accuracy of the GPS can be severely affected by surrounding environmental conditions. To deal with this problem, the GPS and odometry data can be combined using an extended Kalman filter. For stable navigation of an outdoor mobile robot using the GPS, this paper proposes two methods to evaluate the reliability of the GPS data. The first method is to calculate the standard deviation of the GPS data and reflect it to deal with the uncertainty of the GPS data. The second method is to match the GPS data to the traversability map which can be obtained by classifying outdoor terrain data. By matching of the GPS data with the traversability map, we can determine whether to use the GPS data or not. The experimental results show that the proposed methods can enhance the performance of the GPS-based outdoor localization.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.674-684
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• 2011

More and more elderly and disabled people are using electric scooters instead of electric wheelchairs because of higher mobility. However, people with high levels of impairment or the elderly still have difficulties in driving the electric scooters safely. Semi-autonomous electric scooter system is one of the solutions for the safety: Either manual driving or autonomous driving can be used selectively. In this paper, we implement a semi-autonomous electric scooter system with functions of localization and path following. In order to recognize the pose of electric scooter in outdoor environments, we design an outdoor localization system based on the extended Kalman filter using DGPS (Differential Global Positioning System) and wheel encoders. We added an accelerometer to make the localization system adaptable to road condition. Also we propose a path following algorithm using two arcs with current pose of the electric scooter and a given path in the map. Simulation results are described to show that the proposed algorithms provide the ability to drive an electric scooter semi-autonomously. Finally, we conduct outdoor experiments to reveal the practicality of the proposed system.

• Journal of Engineering Education Research
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.76-80
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• 2010

In this paper, the Location Compensation Mechanism using equivalent distance rate ($LCM_{edr}$) for localization system based on SDS-TWR (Symmetric Double-Sided Two-Way Ranging) in wireless sensor network is proposed. The performance of the mechanism is experimented in terms of two types of the localization tracking scenarios of indoor and outdoor environments in university campus. From the experimentations, the compensation ratio in the $LCM_{edr}$ is better than that in SDS-TWR about 90% in indoor/outdoor environments in scenario 1 but also is better than that of SDS-TWR about 91.7% in indoor environment and about 100% in outdoor environment in scenario 2 respectively.