New Paper Accepted in Transactions on Robotics (Jun’24)

We are excited to announce that a new paper titled “Robotic Gas Source Localization with Probabilistic Mapping and Online Dispersion Simulation” by Pepe Ojeda, Javier Monroy, and Javier Gonzalez-Jimenez has been accepted for publication in the prestigious journal, Transactions on Robotics. This paper represents a significant advancement in the field of intelligent robotics, particularly in the area of gas source localization (GSL).

Abstract: Gas source localization (GSL) with an autonomous robot is a problem with many prospective applications, from finding pipe leaks to emergency-response scenarios. In this work, we present a new method to perform GSL in realistic indoor environments, featuring obstacles and turbulent flow. Given the highly complex relationship between the source position and the measurements available to the robot (the single-point gas concentration, and the wind vector) we propose an observation model that derives from contrasting the online, real-time simulation of the gas dispersion from any candidate source localization against a gas concentration map built from sensor readings. To account for a convenient and grounded integration of both into a probabilistic estimation framework, we introduce the concept of probabilistic gas-hit maps, which provide a higher level of abstraction to model the time-dependent nature of gas dispersion. Results from both simulated and real experiments show the capabilities of our current proposal to deal with source localization in complex indoor environments.