Covariance... I don't get it... [closed]

asked 2014-01-21 02:28:10 -0500

Hendrik Wiese gravatar image

Hi folks,

as someone who has never had the opportunity to participate in a calculus of probability course I don't have the faintest clue of how covariance works. But it seems that I need to in order to get navigation, SLAM and actual driving to run optimally.

Assuming a differential robot with wheel encoders (decoupled from the driveshafts to avoid slippage) and a laser scanner, why, where, how... covariance... and... well, actually... I basically don't even know where to start asking.

Is there anybody out there who can explain covariance to me like I'm five? I'd be deeply grateful and I apologize for a not that well couched question.

Cheers, Hendrik

edit retag flag offensive reopen merge delete

Closed for the following reason question is off-topic or not relevant. Please see http://wiki.ros.org/Support for more details. by tfoote
close date 2016-08-14 01:56:08.772017

Comments

maybe wikipedia? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covariance_matrix

lanyusea gravatar image lanyusea  ( 2014-01-21 12:36:08 -0500 )edit

Wikipedia is unsuitable to help understanding mathematical problems if you lack even the basics. So, yes, I've tried and I've failed to wrap my head around it.

Hendrik Wiese gravatar image Hendrik Wiese  ( 2014-01-21 20:27:48 -0500 )edit
add a comment