Robust Obstacle Avoidance in Unknown and Cramped Environments

		   W. Feiten, R. Bauer, G. Lawitzky

	    Corporate Research and Development, Siemens AG
	      Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, D-81739 Munich, Germany
		 e-mail: Rudolf.Bauer@zfe.siemens.de


Abstract:

Robust obstacle avoidance is indispensible for autonomous mobile
robots, working in cluttered and unknown environments.  A simple,
robust and efficient method for local obstacle avoidance is presented.
It considers both the geometric and the kinematic properties of the
robot in order to calculate allowed and forbidden steering angles of a
wheeled robot. The main idea of the "steer-angle-field" approach is to
discard all steer angles that, given the nonholonomic kinematics of
the robot, would lead to collisions within a certain (hit-) distance.

The approach has been implemented and tested over a period of more
than one year on our mobile robot ROAMER. Results have shown that the
robot is able to operate robustly in unknown, unprepared and very
cramped in-door environments for hours.


My personal background:

Rudolf Bauer received his Dipl.-Ing. degree in electrical engineering
from the Technical University of Munich, Federal Republic of Germany,
in 1991. His main research interests lie in the field of intelligent
robot control and architecture. Currently, he is a Research Engineer
at Siemens AG, Corporate Research and Development, Munich, Federal
Republic of Germany.