Flying Drone and Walking Robot Work Together to Navigate a Room
Posted on October 18, 2015
A flying robot and walking robot work together to navigate a room in this project from researchers at the Autonomous Systems Lab (ASL) at ETH Zurich. The walking robot is able to use data provided from the flying robot to find the best path through the room and to navigate obstacles on the ground. This collaboration can make it much easier for a legged robot to navigate an unknown terrain.
The flying robot uses its onboard monocular camera to map the territory and find landmarks and create a high elevation map. The flying robot does the mapping first in an exploration mission before the legged robot begins its journey. The elevation map is continuously updated using a laser range system so the legged robot can avoid any new obstacles that suddenly appear, such as a box placed in front of the robot by researchers.
The walking robot navigates using the data from the flying robot. It uses algorithms to determine the best path to follow to the goal. The video shows the robot successfully making its way around a room through narrow passages and over the scaffolding. Take a look:
The project will be presented at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in 2016.