Continuous Self-Calibration for Lifelong Autonomy

在任何多传感器机器人系统中的一个基本要求是精确校准。为了确保最佳性能，传感器需要在内部和彼此之间进行适当的校准。不正确的校准会导致错误的数据融合，在最糟糕的情况下，可能会导致潜在的危险操作或导航故障。今天，机器人操作和导航技术通常依赖于离线校准程序，通常由人类操作员执行。校准过程通常是繁琐和耗时的，每当重新定位传感器或施加大量机械应力时，都必须重复这一过程。这种对校准的需求严重限制了我们制造能够长时间独立工作的“开机即走”机器人的能力。

A fundamental requirement in any multisensor robotic system is precision calibration. To ensure optimal performance, the sensors need to be properly calibrated, both internally and relative to one another. Incorrect calibration results in erroneous data fusion and, in the worst case, may lead to potentially dangerous manipulation or navigation failures. Today, robotic manipulation and navigation techniques usually depend on offline calibration procedures, typically carried out by a human operator. The calibration process, which is often tedious and time consuming, must be repeated whenever sensors are repositioned or substantial mechanical stresses are applied. This need for calibration severely limits our ability to build 'power-on-and-go' robots that are able to function independently for long durations.