Robot Navigation in Centimeter Range Labyrinths

Abstract

This paper presents a topological-metric approach to navigation for mobile mini robots (MMRs). Motivated by future applications of MMRs like remote inspection tasks in small pipe systems, we investigate narrow, labyrinth-like environments (corridors width of 3 cm). Experiments in navigation tasks like local localization, global localization and map-building are carried out with our autonomous robot Alice (dimensions 2x2x2 cm). The paper describes the robot, its locomotion, sensors, communication and user interface. We further discuss sensor modeling for odometry and mapping, place recognition and finally their typical limitations for MMRs. The experimental results suggest that even with a robot of limited size like Alice, it is possible to successfully navigate in environments never reachable before. This opens up new applications for mobile mini robots and motivates further research.