Azimuth Angle Detection Method Combining AKAZE Features and Optical Flow for Measuring Movement Accuracy

Abstract

In recent years, autonomous robots have been practically used outdoors for transportation, delivery, and other applications. To ensure safety and reliability, it is necessary to measure and evaluate the accuracy of a robot’s movement from the outside. In this study, we develop a device to externally measure the coordinates and azimuth angle of a robot by combining image processing and distance measurement. In this study, an azimuth angle detection method that combines coarse-angle detection using AKAZE feature detection and small-angle detection using optical flow is proposed. The experimental results show that the azimuth angle can be detected with a standard deviation of σ=0.70° indoors and σ=0.99° outdoors.