Editorial:
Special Issue on Field Robotics with Vision Systems
Takanori Fukao, Yuichi Tsumaki, and Keita Kurashiki
Professor, Department of Mechano-Informatics, The University of Tokyo
7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
Professor, Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering, Yamagata University
4-3-16 Jonan, Yonezawa, Yamagata 992-8510, Japan
Associate Professor, Research Organization of Science and Technology, Ritsumeikan University
1-1-1 Noji-higashi, Kusatsu, Shiga 525-8577, Japan
Field robotics has been undergoing rapid progress in recent years. It addresses a wide range of activities performed in outdoor environments, and its applications are being developed in areas where it was previously considered difficult to apply. This rapid progress is largely supported by AI-based improvements in computer vision systems with monocular cameras, stereo cameras, RGB-D cameras, LiDAR systems, and/or other sensors. Field robotics is impelled by an application-driven approach by its nature, and it contributes to the resolution of social problems and the creation of new innovations, including autonomous driving to reduce casualties, autonomous working machines/robots to resolve the problems of labor shortages or dangers, disaster-response robots to aid rescue parties, various kinds of aerial robots to do searches or make deliveries, underwater robots to perform search missions, etc.
In this special issue on “Field Robotics with Vision Systems,” we highlight sixteen interesting papers, including one review paper, fourteen research papers, and one development report. They cover various application areas, ranging from underwater to space environments, and they propose interesting integration methods or element technologies to use in outdoor environments where vision systems and robot systems have great difficulty performing robustly.
We thank all authors and reviewers, and we hope that this special issue contributes to future research and development in area of field robotics, which promises new innovations.
This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationa License.