Perception for mobile agents

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There are very few intelligent systems that do not exhibit mobility. But how do mobile systems manage to sense their environment while they move? My research program investigates fundamental issues related to how autonomous agents sense their environment as they move through it. This research program addresses this issue from three directions. First, it looks at how autonomous robots operating in a three dimensional world and equipped with passive sensors can build a 3D model of the environment as they move about. Whereas robots operating on the ground plane can use strong kinematic models to predict how sensor readings will change with vehicle motion, robots operating in three dimensions are typically unable to rely on such assumptions. This complicates somewhat the process of estimating robot motion and map construction. Second, this research program looks at how autonomous robots can estimate their motion and their orientation in their environment when they are unable to rely on a ground plane to define the direction of up and to help provide odometry estimates. Finally, this research program looks at how best to represent large scale 3D environmental structures obtained by autonomous systems operating the three dimensions. Solutions to these fundamental issues associated with robots operating in three dimensions in the real world will not only advance our understanding of autonomous systems but will also provide effective tools for a wide range of applications from understanding the decay of coral reefs to the development of effective technologies to support the use of robots in crime scene investigation.