Patent attributes
Tracking and following technique embodiments are presented that are generally employed to track and follow a person using a mobile robotic device having a color video camera and a depth video camera. A computer associated with the mobile robotic device is used to perform various actions. Namely, in a tracking mode, a face detection method and the output from the color video camera is used to detect potential persons in an environment. In addition, a motion detection method and the output from the depth video camera is also used to detect potential persons in the environment. Detection results obtained using the face and motion detection methods are then fused and used to determine the location of one or more persons in the environment. Then, in a following mode, a mobile robotic device following method is used to follow a person whose location was determined in the tracking mode.
