Humanoid navigation: A firefly based approach

Abstract

Humanoid navigation has been the center of attraction among robotic researchers since many years by virtue of their increasing use in industrial automation and smart manufacturing. In the current research, a firefly based computer vision integrated navigational analysis has been performed on humanoid robots for smooth movement by negotiation with obstacles present in complicated terrains. Here, the logic of the firefly algorithm has been used to design the controller by careful consideration of the navigational parameters. A computer vision based method is integrated along with the developed controller to resolve some conflicting situations that may arise by encountering large sized obstacle or detection of an obstacle exactly in front of the robot where the robot becomes confused regarding the direction of turn. The developed navigational model has been tested in simulation environments by considering NAO robot as the humanoid platform. The simulation results are also verified through an experimental platform developed under research laboratory conditions. The data obtained from both the platforms are compared in terms of navigational parameters and are found to be in close proximity to each other.Finally, the developed navigational model is also authenticated against other existing models for validating better efficiency.