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Robust Autonomous Robot Localization Using Interval Analysis

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Reliable Computing

Abstract

This paper deals with the determination of the position and orientation of a mobile robot from distance measurements provided by a belt of onboard ultrasonic sensors. The environment is assumed to be two-dimensional, and a map of its landmarks is available to the robot. In this context, classical localization methods have three main limitations. First, each data point provided by a sensor must be associated with a given landmark. This data-association step turns out to be extremely complex and time-consuming, and its results can usually not be guaranteed. The second limitation is that these methods are based on linearization, which makes them inherently local. The third limitation is their lack of robustness to outliers due, e.g., to sensor malfunctions or outdated maps. By contrast, the method proposed here, based on interval analysis, bypasses the data-association step, handles the problem as nonlinear and in a global way and is (extraordinarily) robust to outliers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire des Signaux et Systèmes, CNRS-Supélec, Plateau de Moulon, 91192, Gif-sur-Yvette, France

    Michel Kieffer

  2. Laboratoire des Signaux et Systèmes, CNRS-Supélec, Plateau de Moulon, 91192, Gif-sur-Yvette, France

    Luc Jaulin

  3. Laboratoire des Signaux et Systèmes, CNRS-Supélec, Plateau de Moulon, 91192, Gif-sur-Yvette, France

    Éric Walter

  4. Beudiasyc, CNRS, Université de Technologie de Compiègne, B.P. 20529, 60205, Compiègne, France

    Dominique Meizel

Authors
  1. Michel Kieffer
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  2. Luc Jaulin
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  3. Éric Walter
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  4. Dominique Meizel
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Luc Jaulin: on leave from Laboratoire d'Ingénierie des Systèmes Automatisés, Université d'Angers, 2 bd Lavoisier, 49045 Angers, France

Luc Jaulin: on leave from Laboratoire d'Ingénierie des Systèmes Automatisés, Université d'Angers, 2 bd Lavoisier, 49045 Angers, France

Luc Jaulin: on leave from Laboratoire d'Ingénierie des Systèmes Automatisés, Université d'Angers, 2 bd Lavoisier, 49045 Angers, France

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Kieffer, M., Jaulin, L., Walter, É. et al. Robust Autonomous Robot Localization Using Interval Analysis. Reliable Computing 6, 337–362 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009990700281

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