Predicting Terrain Traversability from Thermal Diffusivity
Conference Paper, Proceedings of 9th International Conference on Field and Service Robotics (FSR '13), pp. 61 - 74, December, 2013
Abstract
This paper presents a method to predict soil traversability by estimating the thermal diffusivity of terrain using a moving, continuous-wave laser. This method differentiates between different densities of the same material, which vision-based methods alone cannot achieve. The bulk density of a granular material has a significant effect on both its mechanical behavior and its thermal properties. This approach fits the thermal response as effected by a laser to an analytical model that is dependent on thermal diffusivity. Experimental soil strength measurements validate that thermal diffusivity is a predictor of traversability for a given material.
BibTeX
@conference{Cunningham-2013-120743,author = {Christopher Cunningham and Uland Wong and Kevin Peterson and William Whittaker},
title = {Predicting Terrain Traversability from Thermal Diffusivity},
booktitle = {Proceedings of 9th International Conference on Field and Service Robotics (FSR '13)},
year = {2013},
month = {December},
pages = {61 - 74},
}
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