Helping robots see with lasers
In order to “see” and respond to its environment as it navigates
around a city, says Spletzer, a robot must possess two things: sensors
that detect and recognize familiar landmarks and a database with maps
that show where those landmarks will be.
Spletzer and his students have taken a cue from Google Street View,
which allows Internet users to take virtual tours of distant cities,
block by block and building by building, by looking at thousands of
stored images. These images are of little use to robots equipped with
lasers, says Spletzer, because robots do not see what humans see. But
the concept is applicable to the robotic wheelchair.
“To create Google Street View, people drive vehicles around cities,
take thousands of images and make maps. We’re making similar maps that
are useful for robots, not people. Our robots respond to different cues
than humans respond to. Whereas people see the real world and all its
details, robots using lasers recognize things like poles and building
corners that reduce to a very exact point and are thus easy to track.”
via Phyorg
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