A Localization Method Based on Two Omnidirectional Perception Systems Cooperation

This paper deals with an absolute localization paradigm based on the cooperation of an omnidirectional vision system and a low cost panoramic range finder system. These two perception systems used independently by our laboratory provide some complementary data. This association permits us to build a robust sensorial model which integrates an important number of significant primitives. The obtained sensorial model allows to realize an absolute localization of the mobile robot in particular configurations where it is not possible to determine the position with the use of one of the two sensors. In a first part we present our global perception system. In a second part we deal with our sensorial model building approach, and finally we present an absolute localization method which uses a Dempster-Shafer approach. We analyze the performance of our global absolute localization system on several robot’s elementary moves, in an indoor environment.