Moving Object Detection in Indoor Environments Using Laser Range Data

Identification of moving objects in the vicinity of a mobile robot is important for safe navigation. This paper presents a robust technique for detecting moving objects using a laser ranger mounted on a mobile robot. The proposed method uses two consecutive laser range scans to detect the moving objects in the environment. After the initial alignment of the two laser scans, each laser reading is segmented and classified according to object type, stationary, non-stationary or indeterminate. Laser reading segments are then analyzed using an algorithm to maximally recover the moving objects. The proposed algorithm has the ability to recover all possible laser readings that belong to moving objects. The developed algorithm is verified using experimental results