Active target search for high dimensional robotic systems

When a robotic visual servoing/tracking system loses sight of the target, the servo fails due to loss of input. To resolve this problem a search method, namely a lost target search (LTS) which will generate efficient actions to bring the target back into the camera field of view (FoV) as soon as possible, is required. For high dimensional platforms, like a camera-mounted manipulator or an eye-in-hand system, such a search must address the difficult challenge of generating efficient actions in an online manner while avoiding kinematic constraints. In this work, we utilize the latest available information from the target just prior to leaving the FoV to initiate an optimal online search. We explain various features of our overall LTS algorithm and provide simulation comparisons with common methods existing in the literature. Finally, we implement and demonstrate the capabilities of our general algorithm on a laboratory scale 7 degree of freedom (DoF) eye-in-hand system tracking a fast moving target.