This thesis is concerned with algorithms for finding natural features that are then used for simultaneous localisation and mapping, commonly known as SLAM in navigation theory. The task involves capturing raw sensory inputs, extracting features from these inputs and using the features for mapping and localising during navigation. The ability to extract natural features allows automatons such as robots to be sent to environments where no human beings have previously explored working in a way that is similar to how human beings understand and remember where they have been. In extracting natural features using images, the way that features are represented and matched is a critical issue in that the computation involved could be wasted if the wrong method is chosen. While there are many techniques capable of matching pre-defined objects correctly, few of them can be used for real-time navigation in an unexplored environment, intelligently deciding on what is a relevant feature in the images. Normally, feature analysis that extracts relevant features from an image is a 2-step process, the steps being firstly to select interest points and then to represent these points based on the local region properties. A novel technique is presented in this thesis for extracting a small enough set of natural features robust enough for navigation purposes. The technique involves a 3-step approach. The first step involves an interest point selection method based on extrema of difference of Gaussians (DOG). The second step applies Textural Feature Analysis (TFA) on the local regions of the interest points. The third step selects the distinctive features using Distinctness Analysis (DA) based mainly on the probability of occurrence of the features extracted. The additional step of DA has shown that a significant improvement on the processing speed is attained over previous methods. Moreover, TFA / DA has been applied in a SLAM configuration that is looking at an underwater environment where texture can be rich in natural features. The results demonstrated that an improvement in loop closure ability is attained compared to traditional SLAM methods. This suggests that real-time navigation in unexplored environments using natural features could now be a more plausible option.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/187202 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Kiang, Kai-Ming, Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW |
| Publisher | Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Copyright Kai-Ming Kiang, http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/copyright |
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