Robust Navigation and Seamless Localization for Carlike Robots in Indoor-outdoor Environments.

This paper describes a navigation and seamless localization system that permits carlike robots to move safely in heterogeneous scenarios within indoor and outdoor environments. The robot localization integrates different sensor (GPS, odometry, laser rangefinders) information depending on the kind of area (indoors, outdoors, and areas between) or on the sensor uncertainty in such a way that there are no discontinuities in the localization, and a bounded uncertainty is constantly maintained. Transitions through indoor and outdoor environments are thoroughly considered to assure a smooth change in-between. The paper addresses a navigation technique that combines two well-known obstacle avoidance techniques, namely the nearness diagram and the dynamic window approaches, exploiting the advantages and properties of both, and integrating the seamless localization technique. The navigation technique is developed for carlike robots by considering their shape and kinodynamic constraints, and the restrictions imposed by the environment. Forward-backward maneuvers are also integrated in the method, allowing difficult situations in dense scenarios to be managed. The whole system has been tested in simulations and experiments in real large-scale scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]