Special Issue on Mobile Robots Navigation II

Abstract

Navigation is one of the fundamental abilities that mobile robots must be endowed with, so that they can carry out high-level tasks autonomously in any a priori unknown environment. Traditionally, this problem has been addressed efficiently through a sequence of actions. First, the surroundings of the robot are perceived and interpreted. Second, the robot estimates its position and orientation within the environment. With this information, a trajectory towards the target points is planned, and the vehicle is guided along this trajectory, often including a reactive action that considers obstacles, possible changes, or interactions with the environment or with the users.