Localization of a mobile robot using the image of a moving object

This paper proposes a new approach for determining the location of a mobile robot using the image of a moving object. This scheme combines data from the observed position, using dead-reckoning sensors, and the estimated position, using images of moving objects captured by a fixed camera to determine the location of a mobile robot. Using the a priori known path of a moving object and a perspective camera model, the geometric constraint equations that represent the relation between image frame coordinates for a moving object and the estimated robot's position are derived. Since the equations are based on estimated position, measurement error may exist. However, the proposed method utilizes the error between the observed and estimated image coordinates to localize the mobile robot, and the Kalman filtering scheme is used for the estimation of the mobile robot location. The proposed approach is applied for a moving object on the wall to show the reduction of uncertainty in the determining of mobile robot location.