Attention-based navigation in mobile robots using a reconfigurable sensor

✍ Scribed by Marinus Maris

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2001
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 322 KB
• Volume: 34
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0921-8890
• DOI: 10.1016/s0921-8890(00)00099-3

✦ Synopsis

In this paper, a method for visual attentional selection in mobile robots is proposed, based on amplification of the selected stimulus. Attention processing is performed on the vision sensor, which is integrated on a silicon chip and consists of a contrast sensitive retina with the ability to change the local inhibitory strength between adjacent pixel elements. As a result, the sensitivity to visual contrast at a particular region of the retina can be adjusted. As the local inhibitory strength can be regulated from outside of the chip, a reconfigurable sensor is realized. This "attention-retina" was tested on an autonomous robot (MorphoII) which was given the task of selecting a line to follow while there were two alternatives. The robot develops directional preference by associating its visual stimulus with an electrical energy providing stimulus, in this case a solar cell.