People Tracking and Accompanying Algorithm for Mobile Robot Using Kinect Sensor and Extended Kalman Filter

In this paper, we propose a real-time algorithm for estimating the relative position and velocity of a person with respect to a robot using a Kinect sensor and an extended Kalman filter (EKF). Additionally, we propose an algorithm for controlling the robot in the proximity of a person in a variety of modes. The algorithm detects the head and shoulder regions of the person using a histogram of oriented gradients (HOG) and a support vector machine (SVM). The EKF algorithm estimates the relative positions and velocities of the person with respect to the robot using data acquired by a Kinect sensor. We tested the various modes of proximity movement for a human in indoor situations. The accuracy of the algorithm was verified using a motion capture system.