Map Based Human Motion Prediction for People Tracking

Abstract

Mobile service robots deployed in populated environments like train stations, airports or offices are not only required to move safely, but also in socially acceptable ways. In order to achieve this, robots need to be able to track people within their vicinity. This work presents an approach to tracking people from a mobile robot platform, incorporating a novel approach to human motion prediction. Unfavorable viewing angles, motion blur and ever-changing light conditions are constant issues for sensors on mobile vehicles. Therefore, a system is needed which increases the tracking quality of humans in order to cope with a low detection rate. The scientific contribution of this paper lies in a precise human model for tracking which utilizes historical spatial data of pedestrians from previous detection and from simulation. The model is embedded into a particle-filter based tracking approach designed for the use on a moving platform and is able to incorporate a variety of person detectors. Experiments conducted prove that the proposed method increases tracking quality, especially at a low detection rate.