Research on person following system based on RGB-D features by autonomous robot with multi-Kinect sensor

In this study, we develop a person following system based on RGB-D features by autonomous robot with multi-Kinect sensor. The sensor system is composed of multiple Kinect sensors, we call it “Multi-Kinect”. Since the field of view of a single Kinect sensor is narrow, this sensor makes it wider by using three Kinect sensors. Furthermore, the system selects a person who raises hand or says “Start” as the target of following at the beginning. Then, the system can identify a person from the person location and characteristics of clothes and re-recognizes the target of following when an occlusion occurs. Herewith, a mobile robot with this sensor accomplishes a human detection and follows only the target of following even if more than two people is located around the robot.