Range determination for mobile robots using an omnidirectional camera

This master thesis presents a method to determine distances in a scene using only one omnidirectional camera. The algorithm will be integrated with the navigation system for a robotic wheel chair. In contrast to prior work, our method is able to build absolute scale 3D without the need of a known baseline length, traditionally acquired by odometers. Instead we use the ground plane assumption together with the camera system's height to determine the scale factor. Using only one omnidirectional camera our method is proven to be cheaper, more reliable and more compact than the current methods for distance determination. It is cheaper since it only uses one sensor instead of having to rely on laser scanners or other expensive range detectors. It is more reliable since it can determine distances in a 3D space instead of in a plane. The experiments conducted here show promising results. The algorithm is indeed capable determine the distances in meters to features and obstacles and is able to located all major obstacles in the scene.