Real-Time Single-workstation Obstacle Avoidance Using Only Wide-Field Flow Divergence

Published

August 1, 1996

Author(s)

Theodore(Ted) Camus, David Coombs, Martin Herman, Tsai Hong Hong

Abstract

A real-time robot vision system is described which uses only the divergence of the optical flow field for both steering control and collision detection. The robot has wandered about the lab at 20 cm/s for as long as 26 minutes without collision. The entire system is implemented on a single ordinary UNIX workstation without the benefit of real-time operating system support. Dense optical flow data are calculated in real-time across the entire wide-angle image. The divergence of this optical flow field is calculated everywhere and used to control steering and collision behavior. Divergence alone has proven sufficient for steering past objects and detecting imminent collision. The major contribution is the demonstration of a simple, robust, minimal system that uses flow-derived measures to control steering and speed to avoid collision in real time for extended periods. Such a system can be embedded in a general, multi-level perception/control system.

Proceedings Title

Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Pattern Recognition Applications and Robotic Systems

Conference Dates

August 1, 1996

Conference Location

Vienna, AU

Conference Title

Pattern Recognition Applications and Robotic Systems

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

Vision, Robotics & Intelligent Systems, Unmanned Systems, Mobility, active vision, mobile robots, obstacle avoidance, real-time systems, real-time vision

Citation

Camus, T. , Coombs, D. , Herman, M. and , T. (1996), Real-Time Single-workstation Obstacle Avoidance Using Only Wide-Field Flow Divergence, Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Pattern Recognition Applications and Robotic Systems, Vienna, AU, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=820562 (Accessed October 24, 2025)