VISUAL NAVIGATION FOR MOBILE DEVICES OPERABLE IN DIFFERING ENVIRONMENTAL LIGHTING CONDITIONS

摘要

A visual positioning system for mobile devices includes at least one infrared camera, at least one infrared illumination source, and a processor that coordinates operation of the at least one camera and illumination sources. A flood IR infrared illumination source illuminates environmental objects for localization of the mobile device during a first camera exposure window, and a structured IR illumination source illuminate environmental objects for detection and mapping of obstacles during a second camera exposure window. A visual SLAM map is constructed with images obtained from a first camera, with a single map being useable for positioning and navigation across a variety of environmental lighting conditions. A method for training a robot includes receiving operator input signals configured to start and stop recording of defined routes during the guiding of the mobile robot along paths between different pairs of desired robot destinations, such that routes for subsequent use by the robot are generated for paths imaged while recording is active.