Image based autolocking without calibration

The calibration requirements for visual servoing can make it difficult to apply in many real-world situations. One approach to image-based visual servoing without calibration is to dynamically estimate the image Jacobian and use it as the basis for control. However, with the normal motion of a robot towards the goal, the estimation of the image Jacobian deteriorates over time. We propose the use of additional `exploratory motion' to considerably improve the estimation of the image Jacobian. We study the role of such exploratory motion in a visual servoing task. Simulations and experiments with a 6-DOF robot are used to verify the practical feasibility of the approach.