2D mapping using omni-directional mobile robot equipped with LiDAR

Abstract

A room map in a robot environment is needed because it can facilitate localization, automatic navigation, and also object searching. In addition, when a room is difficult to reach, maps can provide information that is helpful to humans. In this study, an omni-directional mobile robot equipped with a LiDAR sensor has been developed for 2D mapping a room. The YDLiDAR X4 sensor is used as an indoor scanner. Raspberry Pi 3 B single board computer (SBC) is used to access LiDAR data and then send it to a computer wirelessly for processing into a map. This computer and SBC are integrated in robot operating system (ROS). The movement of the robot can use manual control or automatic navigation to explore the room. The Hector SLAM algorithm determines the position of the robot based on scan matching of the LiDAR data. The LiDAR data will be used to determine the obstacles encountered by the robot. These obstacles will be represented in occupancy grid mapping. The experimental results show that the robot is able to follow the wall using PID control. The robot can move automatically to construct maps of the actual room with an error rate of 4.59%.