A mapping mobile robot using RP Lidar scanner

Abstract

The environment mapping in one of the necessary aspects in mobile robotics studies when dealing with localization, positioning, autonomous navigation, as well as search and rescue. Its success depends on the accuracy and reliability of its implementation and may depend on sensors which are used to acquire the environment data. This paper presents work on mapping which uses a low cost laser rangefinder, developed by Robopeak, RP Lidar. This work will be implemented on an autonomous mobile robot for indoor environment applications. Initially, a mobile robot incorporated with the sensor was developed after which a wireless monitoring and control station was established in order to perform data collection of the environments. A research laboratory with tables and equipment is used as a testbed. The collected data were analysed using three methods of pre-processing; i. raw filter, ii. a moving average of smooth filter, and iii. the combination of the raw filter and the moving average. The results show the environment map based on the raw data and the pre-processing performances. The combination of the raw filter and the moving average performs the best result. Besides, the scanning accuracy of the developed system is successful with more than 90% of correctness. As a conclusion, the laser rangefinder and the pre-processing used is capable to map the environment with clear image and hence can be used for a variety of applications.