LADAR based mapping and obstacle detection system for service robots

Dissertação apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores

When travelling in unfamiliar environments, a mobile service robot needs to acquire information about his surroundings in order to detect and avoid obstacles and arrive safely at his destination. This dissertation presents a solution for the problem of mapping and obstacle detection in indoor/outdoor structured3 environments, with particular application on service robots equipped with a LADAR. Since this system was designed for structured environments, offroad terrains are outside the scope of this work. Also, the use of any a priori knowledge about LADAR’s surroundings is discarded, i.e. the developed mapping and obstacle detection system works in unknown environments. In this solution, it is assumed that the robot, which carries the LADAR and the mapping and obstacle detection system, is based on a planar surface which is considered to be the ground plane. The LADAR is positioned in a way suitable for a three dimensional world and an AHRS sensor is used to increase the robustness of the system to variations on robot’s attitude, which, in turn, can cause false positives on obstacle detection. The results from the experimental tests conducted in real environments through the incorporation on a physical robot suggest that the developed solution can be a good option for service robots driving in indoor/outdoor structured environments.