Publications by Roland Philippsen

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In this talk we present work on sensor-based motion planning in initially unknown dynamic environments. Motion detection and probabilistic motion modeling are combined with a smooth navigation function to perform on-line path planning and replanning in cluttered dynamic environments such as public exhibitions. Human behavior is unforeseeable in most situations that include human-robot interaction, e.g. service robots or robotic companions. This makes motion prediction problematic (they rarely move e.g. with

The goal of creating machines that autonomously perform useful work in a safe, robust and intelligent manner continues to motivate robotics research. Achieving this autonomy requires capabilities for understanding the environment, physically interacting wi ...

After a quarter century of mobile robot research, applications of this fascinating technology appear in real-world settings. Some require operation in environments that are densely cluttered with moving obstacles. Public mass exhibitions or conventions are examples of such challenging environments. This dissertation addresses the navigational challenges that arise in settings where mobile robots move among people and possibly need to directly interact with humans who are not used to dealing with technical d

Motion detection from mobile platforms is a challenging task. It requires precise position information, which is difficult in cluttered dynamic environments. We combine motion detection and position estimation using Expectation Maximization. To reduce the computational time of this iterative approach, we segment the scan into feature elements which are then compared against an a-priori map. The motion detection is tested on real world data from a mass exhibition, showing correct classification. As one appli

This paper presents a navigation framework which enables multiple mobile robots to attain individual goals, coordinate their actions and work safely and reliably in a highly dynamic environment. We give an overview of the framework architecture, its layering and the subsystems reactive obstacle avoidance, local path planning, global path planning, multi-robot planning and localization. The latter receives particular attention as the localization problem is a key issue for navigation in unmodified and diffic

This paper presents the effort that has been undertaken in designing and building both hardware and software for a fully autonomous navigating vehicle aimed for a tour guide application. The challenge for such a project is to combine industrial high quality production for the mobile platforms with techniques for mobile robot navigation and interaction which are currently best available in academic research. For this the experience and technology of the Autonomous Systems Lab at EPFL has been extended with t

The E* algorithm is a path planning method capable of dynamic replanning and user-configurable path cost interpolation, it results in more appropriate paths during gradient descent. The underlying formulation is based on interpreting navigation functions as a sampled continuous crossing-time map that takes into account a risk measure. Replanning means that changes in the environment model can be repaired to avoid the expenses of complete planning. This helps compensating for the increased computational effo

In this paper we address the problem of inter-preting sensory data for human-robot interaction, especially when gathered from several robots at the same time. After describing motion tracking in this context, we introduce a general framework for situation representation, and how it simplifies extraction of information suitable for complex man-machine dialogs. As a concrete implementation thereof, a narrative description of a complex scene in a public exposition is created. We regard issues of interpreting s

This paper presents the genesis of a tour guide robot, which has been built from the scratch based on the experience of the Autonomous Systems Lab. The production of 11 of those machines has been realized by a spin-off of the lab: BlueBotics SA. The goal was to maximize the autonomy and interactivity of the mobile platform while ensuring high robustness, security and performance. The result is an interactive moving machine named RoboX. RoboX can operate in human environments and interacts by seeing humans,

This paper presents work on sensor-based motion planning in initially unknown dynamic environments. Motion detection and probabilistic motion modeling are combined with a smooth navigation function to perform on-line path planning and replanning in cluttered dynamic environments such as public exhibitions. The SLIP algorithm, an extension of Iterative Closest Point, combines motion detection from a mobile platform with position estimation. This information is then processed using probabilistic motion predic

The E-star algorithm is a path planning method capable of dynamic replanning and user-configurable path cost interpolation. It calculates a navigation function as a sampling of an underlying smooth goal distance that takes into account a continuous notion ...

We present the local path planning and obstacle avoidance method used on the autonomous tour-guide robot RoboX. It has proven its value during a 5 month operation of ten such robots in a real-world application, a very crowded exhibition. Three known approaches (DWA, elastic band, NF1) have been integrated into a system that performs smooth motion efficiently, in the sense of computational effort as well as goal-directedness. Apart from modifications to the DWA and the elastic band, we present the formulatio

The interactive mobile system RoboX is presented. Ten such robots will propose tours to visitors of the swiss national exposition during five month, seven days a week, ten hours per day. Algorithms are to find and track dynamic objects through the exposition are presented and evaluated. Thus, RoboX can initiate a conversation and propose tours to visitors, all the while reacting to their movement. [paper in german] ---- Dieser Beitrag beschreibt das interaktive mobile System RoboX. Auf der Schweizer Nationa

Roland Philippsen

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Toward Online Probabilistic Path Replanning

Autonomous construction using scarce resources in unknown environments - Ingredients for an intelligent robotic interaction with the physical world

Motion planning and obstacle avoidance for mobile robots in highly cluttered dynamic environments

Motion Detection and Path Planning in Dynamic Environments

A Navigation Framework for Multiple Mobile Robots and its Application at the Expo.02 Exhibition

Building a Fully Autonomous Tour Guide Robot: Where Academic Research Meets Industry

A Light Formulation of the E* Interpolated Path Replanner

Narrative Situation Assessment for Human-Robot Interaction

Design, Implementation and Exploitation of a New Fully Autonomous Tour Guide Robot

Towards Real-Time Sensor-Based Path Planning in Highly Dynamic Environments

An Interpolated Dynamic Navigation Function

Smooth and Efficient Obstacle Avoidance for a Tour Guide Robot

Mensch-Maschine Interaktion auf der Expo.02

A Navigation Framework for Multiple Mobile Robots and its Application