Visitor Detection and Following Algorithm using Environmental Map

Abstract

We have been developing a guidance robot “EM-Ro” that works in ECO35 muffler museum. EM-Ro has already succeeded in taking visitors in ECO35 muffler museum autonomously and describing display items by voice sound. In this paper, visitor detection and autonomous following algorithm using an environmental map, as an optional function, was developed successfully. This visitors-following algorithm was used only by 2D LIDAR and didn’t need to change drastically an autonomous traveling system that we have developed. The experimental results showed that EM-Ro could follow visitors smoothly, and re-detect visitors even when entering in its blind spot.