Autonomous stair-hopping with scout robots

Sascha A. Stoeter, Paul E. Rybski, Maria L Gini, Nikolaos P Papanikolopoulos

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

64 Scopus citations

Abstract

Search and rescue operations in large disaster sites require quick gathering of relevant information. Both the knowledge of the location of victims and the environmental/structural conditions must be available to safely and efficiently guide rescue personnel. A major hurdle for robots in such scenarios is stairs. A system for autonomous surmounting of stairs is proposed in which a Scout robot jumps from step to step. The robot's height is only about a quarter step in size. Control of the Scout is accomplished using visual servoing. An external observer such as another robot is brought into the control loop to provide the Scout with an estimation of its pose with respect to the stairs. This cooperation is necessary as the Scout must refrain from ill-fated motions that may lead it back down to where it started its ascend. Initial experimental results are presented along with a discussion of the issues involved.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationIEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems
Pages721-726
Number of pages6
Volume1
StatePublished - Jan 1 2002
Event2002 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems - Lausanne, Switzerland
Duration: Sep 30 2002Oct 4 2002

Other

Other2002 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems
Country/TerritorySwitzerland
CityLausanne
Period9/30/0210/4/02

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