A THREE-DIMENSIONAL MAPPING AND INSPECTION SYSTEM FOR INSIDE-TANK ROBOTICS APPLICATIONS

MOBILE ROBOT SYSTEM NAVIGATION IS A DIFFICULT PROBLEM UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. OUTSIDE NAVIGATION USING COMPUTER VISION-BASED METHODS REQUIRES RECOGNITION OF VARIABLE TERRAIN FEATURES OR THE USE OF A RADIO LOCATION SYSTEM SUCH AS A GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM. INDOOR NAVIGATION IS TYPICALLY ACCOMPLISHED WITH A COMBINATION OF PROXIMITY SENSORS (USUALLY SONIC) AND ARTIFICIAL GUIDANCE TARGETS IMPLEMENTED INTO THE MACHINE'S ENVIRONMENT (BAR CODES, WIRES, OR RETROREFLECTIVE TARGETS). NAVIGATION INSIDE AN ALREADY MADE, POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS CONTAINMENT CHAMBER CANNOT BE READILY ACCOMPLISHED BY USING THESE APPROACHES. IN THIS PROJECT, THE PHASE I EFFORTS ADDRESS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A THREE-DIMENSIONAL MAPPING AND INSPECTION SUBSYSTEM OPERATIONAL IN SUCH ENVIRONMENTS, AND THE COUPLING OF THE SYSTEM TO AN "INSIDE-TANK" MOBILE ROBOTICS SYSTEM.