Human Following Robotics

Abstract: The development of human-following robots is a critical area within human-robot interaction, with applications in assistive healthcare, industrial logistics, and social companionship (Eirale et al., 2025; Islam et al., 2019). This paper presents the design of an autonomous mobile robot capable of real-time target tracking and following. The proposed system utilizes a multi-sensor approach—integrating RGB-D cameras for person detection and ultrasonic sensors for precise distance estimation (Fung et al., 2025; Rashid et al., 2012). The methodology leverages the Robot Operating System framework to coordinate perception and control (Pavlova & Bahrami, 2025; Priyandoko et al., 2018). Experimental results indicate that the robot can maintain a consistent following distance of approximately 1.3 meters and adapt to walking speeds of up to 0.7 m/s (Amaya et al., 2024; Gockley et al., 2007). This research addresses key challenges in perception and navigation, providing a foundation for reliable service robots in human-centric environments (Eirale et al., 2025).

Keywords: Human-following robot, Human-robot interaction, Autonomous navigation, Robot Operating System, Person tracking, Sensor fusion, Fuzzy logic control, Obstacle avoidance.