Person Following by Autonomous Robots: A Categorical Overview
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A wide range of human-robot collaborative applications in industry, search and rescue operations, healthcare, and social interactions require an autonomous robot to follow its human companion. Different operating mediums and applications pose diverse challenges by adding constraints on the choice of sensors, the degree of autonomy, and dynamics of the person following robot. Researchers have addressed these challenges in many ways and contributed to the development of a large body of literature. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the literature by categorizing different aspects of person-following by autonomous robots. Also, the corresponding operational challenges are identified based on various design choices for ground, underwater, and aerial scenarios. In addition, state-of-the-art methods for perception, planning, control, and interaction are elaborately discussed, and their feasibilities are evaluated in terms of standard operational and performance metrics. Furthermore, several prospective application areas are identified, and open problems are highlighted for future research.
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