Optimum Camera Angle for Optic Flow-Based Centering Response

We present analytical and empirical investigations into the optimum camera angle to use for the optic flow-based centering response. This technique is commonly used to guide both ground-based and aerial robots between obstacles. A variety of camera angles have been implemented by researchers in the past, but surprisingly little mention is made of the motivation for these camera angle choices, nor has an investigation into the optimum camera angle been conducted. Our investigation shows that camera angle plays a key role in the performance of control strategies for the centering response, and both empirical and analytical investigations show the optimum camera angle to be 45 degrees when traveling between parallel obstacles