Obstacle Detection for Navigation of Robot Using Computer Vision and Laser Rangefinder

Autonomous robots are intelligent machines that are able to perform desired tasks by themselves, without any human intervention. Obstacle avoidance is a primary requirement for any autonomous mobile robot. It prevents the mobile robot from collision. The robot acquires information about its surroundings through camera mounted on the robot. The obstacle detection for the mobile robot is carried out by using sensor like camera, touch-sensor, sonar, laser range finder. Computer vision is a field of computer science that has been heavily researched in recent years. One of computer vision important contribute to the navigation of mobile robots is obstacle detection. The focus of the project is to propose one efficient obstacle avoidance algorithm for wheeled mobile robot using image processing and laser rangefinder. The robot has to move in given environment along a straight path where it has to avoid obstacles, which obstructs its continuous motion. The robot acquires information about its surroundings through camera mounted on the robot. Image processing techniques are used to identify the existence of obstacles. By using a laser emitter, the distance to obstacles can be calculated. KeywordsSLAM, workspace, edge detection