Guiding Autonomous Exploration With Signal Temporal Logic

• Published in: IEEE robotics and automation letters 2019-10, Vol.4 (4), p.3332-3339
• Main Authors: Barbosa, Fernando S., Duberg, Daniel, Jensfelt, Patric, Tumova, Jana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algorithms; Computer simulation; Exploration; formal methods in robotics and automation; Mapping; motion and path planning; Motion planning; Planning; Robots; Robustness; Safety; search and rescue robots; Semantics; Temporal logic; Three-dimensional displays; Trajectory
• ISSN: 2377-3766; 2377-3766
• DOI: 10.1109/LRA.2019.2926669

Algorithms for autonomous robotic exploration usually focus on optimizing time and coverage, often in a greedy fashion. However, obstacle inflation is conservative and might limit mapping capabilities and even prevent the robot from moving through narrow, important places. This letter proposes a method to influence the manner the robot moves in the environment by taking into consideration a user-defined spatial preference formulated in a fragment of signal temporal logic (STL). We propose to guide the motion planning toward minimizing the violation of such preference through a cost function that integrates the quantitative semantics, i.e., robustness of STL. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, we integrate it into the autonomous exploration planner (AEP). Results from simulations and real-world experiments are presented, highlighting the benefits of our approach.