The main topic of my research was the localisation of land mobile robots.

In this field I studied the following subjects and devices:

• Localisation algorithms
• Sensor Characterisation and Data Fusion
• Laser Range Scanners
• Global Positioning Systems
• Odometry
• Computer Vision

The core of my research activities were integrated in the RESOLV project, in which I developed the localisation system based on Laser range data.
 

Localisation in the RESOLV project

The localisation system computes the robot's posture - position and orientation (heading) - on the plane using a Laser Scanner to perform a horizontal circular sweep.

Two localisation algorithms were developed:

1. Frame Localisation uses feature extraction and matching to compute a global position and heading estimate, without entail posture estimates,
2. Approximate Localisation computes a refined posture estimate, based on an initial estimate, obtained from an auxiliary sensor - such as odometry - when available, the first algorithm or other external source.

The maximum error of the localisation system is below 2cm e 0.2º, when operating in indoor environments, such as homes or offices. To know more about the localisation system, please refer to the publication list or the on-line dynamic presentations, associated to each of my publications.
 

The Mobile Robotics Lab

From 1994 to March 2001 I worked at the Mobile Robotics Laboratory (LRM, in portuguese), under the supervision of Prof. Maria Isabel Ribeiro.

The research activities of the Laboratory encompass the following areas:

• design of wheeled mobile robots,
• systems for navigation and control,
• stochastic analysis and fusion of sensor data,
• cooperation among robots of different types
• three-dimensional reconstruction of buildings

If you visit the Mobile Robotics Lab you will find the members of the group, their projects and the LRM's equipment.
 

The Computer Vision Lab

From April to December 2001 I worked at the Vislab-Computer Vision Laboratory, under the supervision of Prof. José Santos-Victor.

The Vislab is dedicated to the research and development of tools based on computer vision with video cameras. Its applications are directed mostly to robotics systems.

Vislab develops active vision solutions, vision based control, motion analysis and segmentation.