Section: Application Domains

Application Domains

The natural applications of our research are obviously in robotics. In fact, researches undertaken in the Lagadic group can apply to all the fields of robotics implying a vision sensor. They are indeed conceived to be independent of the system considered (and the robot and the vision sensor can even be virtual for some applications).

Currently, we are mostly interested in using visual servoing for aerial and space application, micromanipulation, autonomous vehicle navigation in large urban environments or for disabled or elderly people.

We also address the field of medical robotics. The applications we consider turn around new functionalities of assistance to the clinician during a medical examination: visual servoing on echographic images, needle insertion, compensation of organ motions, etc.

Robotics is not the only possible application field to our researches. In the past, we were interested in applying visual servoing in computer animation, either for controlling the motions of virtual humanoids according to their pseudo-perception, or for controlling the point of view of visual restitution of an animation. In both cases, potential applications are in the field of virtual reality, for example for the design of video games, or virtual cinematography.

Applications also exist in computer vision and augmented reality. It is then a question of carrying out a virtual visual servoing for the 3D localization of a tool with respect to the vision sensor, or for the estimation of its 3D motion. This field of application is very promising, because it is in full rise for the realization of special effects in the multi-media field or for the design and the inspection of objects manufactured in the industrial world.