Ghost: getting invisibly from position A to position B

The Ghost GR Vision 60 V5 robot is a walking robot from Ghost Robotics, which has extensive sensor and autonomy capabilities. The autonomy functions are provided by Fraunhofer IOSB’s Algorithm Toolbox (ATB) and enable the robot to perform localization, obstacle mapping, path planning, and path control. While Ghost autonomously moves from position A to position B, the environment is captured by laser scanners. Normally, the shortest path between the two points is taken. But what happens if this path can be seen by enemy observers and the walking robot is disturbed or, in the worst case, destroyed? At Fraunhofer IOSB, a fusion of the sensed environment based on laser scanners, existing height models and a coverage map was implemented on the walking robot’s system. This enables the robot to navigate tactically: It will - whenever possible - actively and autonomously seek cover in the shelter of houses and other objects on its way to the given target point.