A visual surveillance system for mobile robot using omnidirectional and PTZ cameras

This paper presents a visual surveillance system for mobile robots using omnidirectional and PTZ cameras. By combining the advantages of these two types of cameras, it provides not only the surveillance of the surrounding area of the robot, but also observe every corner of the indoor environment. Furthermore, the system is mounted on a mobile robot platform, which is able to move around the environment under the user's command. The applications of the presented system are the detection and tracking of moving object in the environment. Since the omnidirectional camera can observe the surrounding regions of the robot, the detection and tracking are more stable. When the omnidirectional camera detects the object, the PTZ camera is used to detect the object's face. The mobile robot can then follow the object for navigation.