A method is presented for the autonomous visual navigation of a vehicle by using a white guide for path recognition. The vehicle moves over a white guide line on the flat ground or floor, which is contrasted with its background. The vehicle uses a forward-looking TV camera for sensing. The white-line recognition algorithm presented uses a state transition algorithm. A field pattern monitoring method is also presented for vehicle guidance using a state transition scheme. When the vehicle comes to branches, it selects a suitable direction according to a path planner output. The vehicle can also avoid collisions with obstacles in front of it by monitoring the field patterns and their changes. An experimental moving vehicle system was constructed. Tests conforming the effectiveness of these approaches are described.
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