GIS map based mobile robot navigation in urban environments

Abstract

Mobile robots need information about its spatial environment to solve any task in a robust, reliable and continuous form.This is usually encoded in a so-called map.We propose the use of a standard, human-readable existing GIS map for robot navigation in urban scenarios.A centralized GIS map server architecture is presented to which a robot or team of robots can connect by using a developed communication protocol.The system is scalable to large environments and large groups of robots.Furthermore it demonstrates the possibility for a robot to accurately navigate by using an already existing map which has not been constructed using the robot own sensors.Details of the implemented system architecture as well as a position tracking experiment in a real outdoor environment, a University Campus, are provided.