7.2.1 Robot setup

A Pioneer 2 AT four-wheel robot from ActivMedia Robotics was used (see figure 7.1, left). It has differential steering and was equipped with a panoramic vision system based on an omni-directional hyperbolic mirror (`middle size, wide view') from Accowle (figure 7.1, right)^7.1. The camera's optical axis was positioned 12 cm in front of the robot's rotational axis. Images were grabbed at a resolution of 640×480 pixels. A circularly shaped cover on top of the mirror prevented light entering directly into the lens without reflexion from the mirror. The illumination of the room was kept constant during training and tests.

Figure 7.1: (Left) Pioneer robot with omni-directional camera surrounded by 15 red obstacles. (Right) Panoramic vision system.