Kinect on ROS

Yeterday I bought a Kinect Stereo Camera and started playing with it. It was very easy to start. I only followed the instructions of this Wiki and it worked out of the box, and only had to modify some instructions but it was very intuitive to do.

The instructions are listed n this URL: http://www.ros.org/wiki/openni_kinect

Just in the section when you launch the program for the Kinect you need to launch the following (You don't need to run a roscore):

Go to:

/opt/ros/diamondback/stacks/openni_kinect/openni_camera/launch

The direction can be different if you installed ROS in other directory

And then roslaunch openni_node.launch

Next the process with the rviz is the same, try to use points and RGB so you can get amazing images in 3D.

The first image I got was from my room:

The next two images were from our robotics laboratory in the ITESM CEM:

Now the next step is to work in the algorithm that will allow us to implement stereo vision in ROS, LabView, Java and many other platforms.

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Starting a new semester

I've been out for a while, but now I have some news about my research. The minoru webcam is still on it's way home (I just ordered last week because of money problems =() so I wasn't able to use it since march, but no problem I managed to but a Microsoft Kinect and the results are awesome.

I'm running all my programs on ROS Diamondback on UBUNTU Lucid, I needed to format my MacBook and partition my hardisk so I could use all the resources of my computer. The process was simple, first i installed the default settings using the MacOSX disc. First I deleted the content of my hard drive (insert the CD, double click it and restart. Use disk utility to delete the hard drive) and then installed MacOSX.  Next download and install ReFit on your Mac and restart twice so you can see the selection OS window each time you restart.

Now go to disk utility and partition your hard drive and select blanc format, now that you have selected the amount of space you want (my hard drive is of 250 Gb so I selected 100 Gb to install Ubuntu), insert the CD of Ubuntu (you can download an ISO file from the Ubuntu WebPage and create an installation CD in disk utilities) and restart. Now you will enter to the Ubuntu installation menu, follow all the process of installation (I prefer to install it in english is far more easy to work with because almost all the tutorials are in this languaje and ROS and ROS Wiki were writen in that languaje.) and then follow these tutorial to set it up for your Mac.

Here are some guided instructions to get it done:

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=5629845718113768813

Make shure that the model of your computer and the version of Ubuntu you are using are the same of the manual, there are many series of instructions for almos any computer.

Now I will post the progress with the Kinect Stereo Camera. Good Luck! ;-)

Let's Go SHOPPING

After deciding to buy my stereowebcam because constructing one is a lot time consuming and it requires a lot of precision and synchronization, and all of that is solved on a pre-constructed stereoweb cam. I found tree possible options to buy:

1.- Minoru stereowebcam

It is a widely known camera to use with different platforms such as Windows, Max and Linux. It is a very good option to use because it allows it's users to access it by low level code or by a special software included with the camera. It allows the user to make it's own software to control it. The problem is that it doesn't seem to have much information or open code to use it that way.

Another special feature is that it can be used with ROS (Robotic Operating System) with it's VSLAM package designed for using Stereovision for localization and mapping.



2.- BumbleBee

It is a more professional Stereocamera, but the problem is that is does not have any USB port, so it would be necessary to use a special interface to conect to the PC. It is intended to be a more industrial kind camera. It would be a special option for further investigations when we requiere more video cuality. But for the moment I think it it not the best option.



3.- Hydra

It is a very simple camera it has also a USB cable to connect to the PC. As the minoru stereowebcam it can also be controled with low level code programmed by the user and has a special software included with the camera. It also has some open code to use with it. The problem is that the producers say it is only designed for Windows SO and that it might not work with Linuk platforms, that's why there are nor drivers in ROS for this stereowebcam.



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So the decition is to buy the minoru webcam so I can use it in windows, and in ROS (and why not, also for my mac =) ).

Shopping Minoru:

I found that the company sell's it's webcam trhough Amazon:

URL: http://www.amazon.com/Trustin-MINORU-Webcam-Red-Chrome/dp/B001NXDGFY

Now it costs 79.95 USD without shipping. It is a lot cheaper that I spected!

I think I will also but some 3D glasses, they are vey cheap too.

Well I´ll wait for my next payment to but the stereowebcam and the glasses, I'll inform here when I recieve them.

First Concepts

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Aquí va el contenido de mi reporte sobre como analizar una imagen estereo.

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Fuzzy Cognitive Maps - Resources

I've foung some resources about Fuzzy Cognitive Maps and related topis.

Dynamic Random Fuzzy Cognitive Maps
José Aguilar
CEMISID, Departamento. de Computación
Facultad de Ingeniería
Universidad de los Andes
Av. Tulio Febres. Mérida,Venezuela
URL: http://www.ejournal.unam.mx/cys/vol07-04/CYS07405.pdf

Important Keywords:

Random Neural Network.
URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_neural_network

Spiking Signals (action potential)
URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_potential

Joint Probability Distribution
URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_probability_distribution

Learning Algorithm (Machine Learning)
URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_learning

Fuzzy Logic
URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuzzy_logic

Many-value Logic
URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many-valued_logic

Fuzzy Set Theory
URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuzzy_set

Set Theory
URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_(mathematics)

Dynamical System
URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamical_system

Disparity Maps - Resources

These are some documents about Map Disparity and some methods to reduce it. (Note: They are all in spanish).

Cálculo de disparidad en imágenes esté,una comparación.
Federico Lecumberry: IIE - Fac. de Ingeniería, Universidad de la República, Uruguay
URL: http://iie.fing.edu.uy/publicaciones/2005/Lec05a/Lec05a.pdf

Evaluación de métodos para la obtención del mapa de disparidad en sistemas de visión estéreo.
Juan Pablo Graffigna, Luis Eduardo Romero y Raúl Romo
Gabinete de Tecnología Médica, Departamento de Electrónica y Automática, U.N.S.J.
URL: http://www.sabi.org.ar/anales/cd_2005/pdf/075PI.pdf

Estimación de disparidad en visión estereoscópica mediante la integración de diversas técnicas combinadas con multirresolución.
Rosana Satorre, Patricia Compañ, Antonio Botía y Ramón Rizo
URL: http://rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/659/1/CAEPIA03_936.pdf

Estimación de la disparidad en visión estereoscópica. Tratamiento del color.
Patricia Compañ Rosique
Departamento de ciencia de la computación e inteligencia artificial.
Universidad de alicante.
URL: http://www.dccia.ua.es/~company/PRINC.pdf

GENERACIÓN DE MAPAS DE DISPARIDAD UTILIZANDO CUDA
AUTOR: ALEJANDRO IVÁN MARTÍN CLEMENTE
UNIVERSIDAD CARLOS III DE MADRID
ESCUELA POLITÉCNICA SUPERIOR
URL: http://e-archivo.uc3m.es/bitstream/10016/8223/2/PFC_Alejandro_Martin_Clemente.pdf

Reconstrucción confiable de superficies usando rango de disparidad adaptiva.
Miguel Attilio Torres Torriti
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
URL: http://web.ing.puc.cl/~mtorrest/files/Tesis_MTT980602.pdf

Percepción de Profundidad: Apareamiento Estereoscópico
Mario Chirinos Colunga, José Ramón Atoche Enseñat.
Instituto Tecnológico de Mérida Av. Tecnológico km. 4.5Mérida Yucatán, México.
URL: http://aurea-dt.com/mchc/ApareamientoEstereoscopicoCAIP.pdf

More Resources

Searching on the internet I looked up for books and research paper about stereoscopic artificial vision. These are some of the most interesting results I found:

Artificial vision for mobile robots: stereo vision and multisensory perception
By Nicholas Ayache
URL: http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=qkWrml_sTrQC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=stereo+vision&ots=KlGF9ppd5J&sig=nM9VDP8zQ-9_BuSiU4qJjh5GK60#v=onepage&q&f=false


Using Real-Time Stereo Vision for Mobile Robot Navigation
Don Murray and James J. Little
URL: http://www.springerlink.com/content/l166855203375872/

Mobile Robot Localization using Soft-reduced Hypotheses Tracking
L. Banjanović-Mehmedović, I. Petrović and E. Ivanjko
URL :http://www.springerlink.com/content/m700357701797643/fulltext.pdf

Towards Optimal Stereo Analysis of Image Sequences
Uwe Franke1, Stefan Gehrig1, Hern´an Badino2, and Clemens Rabe1
URL: http://www.springerlink.com/content/u8246g5n4x828272/fulltext.pdf

Real-Time Stereo Vision: Making More Out of Dynamic Programming
Jan Salmen, Marc Schlipsing, Johann Edelbrunner, Stefan Hegemann and Stefan Lüke
URL: http://www.springerlink.com/content/x82585j027676284/fulltext.pdf

Adaptive occupancy grid mapping with clusters
Byoung-Gi Jang, Tae-Yong Choi and Ju-Jang Lee
URL: https://springerlink3.metapress.com/content/f84981854n184515/resource-secured/?target=fulltext.pdf&sid=3v0y3nrhnok1y1fsdoldyznm&sh=www.springerlink.com

Evaluating maps produced by urban search and rescue robots: lessons learned from RoboCup
Benjamin Balaguer · Stephen
URL: http://www.springerlink.com/content/5723436k87u12448/fulltext.pdf

Hierarchical adaptive stereo matching algorithm for obstacle detection with dynamic programming
Ming bai, Yan Zhuang and Wei Wang
URL: https://springerlink3.metapress.com/content/8634x15146926768/resource-secured/?target=fulltext.pdf&sid=3v0y3nrhnok1y1fsdoldyznm&sh=www.springerlink.com

Stereo vision for planetary rovers: Stochastic modeling to near real-time implementation
Larry Matthies
URL: https://springerlink3.metapress.com/content/g6545712425kg898/resource-secured/?target=fulltext.pdf&sid=3v0y3nrhnok1y1fsdoldyznm&sh=www.springerlink.com

Stereo Vision for Obstacle Detection: A Graph-Based Approach
P. Foggia, Jean-Michel Jolion, A. Limongiello and M. Vento
URL: http://www.springerlink.com/content/x5002x727j3t427x/fulltext.pdf

Near real-time stereo vision system (Patente)
Charles H. Anderson et al
URL: http://www.google.com/patents?hl=en&lr=&vid=USPAT5179441&id=TVseAAAAEBAJ&oi=fnd&dq=stereo+vision+nasa&printsec=abstract#v=onepage&q=stereo%20vision%20nasa&f=false

Stereo vision and navigation in buildings for mobile robots
Kriegman, D.J.; Triendl, E.; Binford, T.O.;
Dept. of Comput. Sci., Stanford Univ., CA
URL: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=88100&tag=1

Stereo vision and rover navigation software for planetary exploration
Goldberg, S.B.; Maimone, M.W.; Matthies, L.;
Indelible Syst., Northridge, CA, USA
URL: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=1035370

Robot hand-eye coordination based on stereo vision
Hager, G.D.; Wen-Chung Chang; Morse, A.S.;
Dept. of Comput. Sci., Yale Univ., New Haven, CT
URL: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=341862

Using stereo vision to pursue moving agents with a mobile robot
Huber, E.; Kortenkamp, D.;
NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
URL: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=525610

An Evolutionary-Based Stereo Matching Method with a Multilevel Searching Strategy
Yassine Ruichek, Hazem Issa and Jack-Gérard Postaire
URL: http://www.springerlink.com/content/f3884901l6v52212/

Fast Adaptive Graph-Cuts Based Stereo Matching
Michel Sarkis, Nikolas D¨orfler, and Klaus Diepold
URL: http://www.springerlink.com/content/73146u2757l1781m/fulltext.pdf

Stereo Matching Using Synchronous Hopfield Neural Network
Te-Hsiu Sun
URL: http://www.springerlink.com/content/twq77mw65u8j21w2/fulltext.pdf

Three-dimensional computer vision: a geometric viewpoint
By Olivier Faugeras
URL: http://books.google.com/books?id=Aa6TTW9dWy0C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Robot vision
By Berthold Horn IMT PRESS
URL: http://books.google.com/books?id=jpX9Lrxn58MC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Visual navigation: from biological systems to unmanned ground vehicles
By John Aloimonos
URL: http://books.google.com/books?id=u-ikIQhS-zUC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

View synthesis using stereo vision
By Daniel Scharstein
http://books.google.com/books?id=i8OsrUmamxcC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Vision algorithms: theory and practice : International Workshop on Vision
By Bill Triggs, Andrew Zisserman, Richard Szeliski
URL: http://books.google.com/books?id=O-mUC89D0cMC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Other Resources:
IEEE Xplore
URL: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/dynhome.jsp

IEEE Control Systems Magazine.
URL: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=37

Mars Exploration Rover Technology Resources.
URL: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/technology/