A robust human target following system in corridor environment based on wall detection
ISSN: 0143-991x
Article publication date: 14 September 2023
Issue publication date: 26 January 2024
Abstract
Purpose
In corridor environments, human-following robot encounter difficulties when the target turning around at the corridor intersections, as walls may cause complete occlusion. This paper aims to propose a collision-free following system for robot to track humans in corridors without a prior map.
Design/methodology/approach
In addition to following a target and avoiding collisions robustly, the proposed system calculates the positions of walls in the environment in real-time. This allows the system to maintain a stable tracking of the target even if it is obscured after turning. The proposed solution is integrated into a four-wheeled differential drive mobile robot to follow a target in a corridor environment in real-world.
Findings
The experimental results demonstrate that the robot equipped with the proposed system is capable of avoiding obstacles and following a human target robustly in the corridors. Moreover, the robot achieves a 90% success rate in maintaining a stable tracking of the target after the target turns around a corner with high speed.
Originality/value
This paper proposes a human target following system incorporating three novel features: a path planning method based on wall positions is introduced to ensure stable tracking of the target even when it is obscured due to target turns; improvements are made to the random sample consensus (RANSAC) algorithm, enhancing its accuracy in calculating wall positions. The system is integrated into a four-wheeled differential drive mobile robot effectively demonstrates its remarkable robustness and real-time performance.
Keywords
Citation
Li, R. and Wu, W. (2024), "A robust human target following system in corridor environment based on wall detection", Industrial Robot, Vol. 51 No. 1, pp. 34-43. https://doi.org/10.1108/IR-05-2023-0102
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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