Observability Grid-Based Autonomous Environment Search

The novel technology described in this disclosure includes an example method comprising initializing an observability grid with an observation likelihood distribution for an environment being navigated by a mobile detection system, such as but not limited to a robot; searching the environment using the observability grid for an observation point; navigating, using a propulsion system, the robot to the observation point; and observing a target object from the observation point. The observability grid may include two or more spatial dimensions and an angular dimension. In some cases, the method may include sampling the environment with the robot based on the observation likelihood distribution of the observability grid.