Design of the 3D perceptive system based on laser scanner for a mobile robot

Abstract

Summary It is necessary for autonomous navigation of mobile robot to have the ability of terrain mapping and analysis for 3D environment. This paper designs a 3D perceptive system for a mobile robot based on a 2D laser scanner LMS291 mounting on a high precision rotating table with horizontal and pitch rotation. Based on the measurement principle of LMS291, its ranging accuracy in different condition is tested and analyzed. A terrain mapping method is proposed and an elevation map is built for the purpose of terrain analysis. By analyzing the cause of system error and sensor noise, a dynamic adaptive filter is presented to realize the real-time and dynamic filter. In addition, the smoothing filter based on the Gaussian distribution is introduced to reduce the scanning gap. In order to classify the free area and obstacle area, terrain flatness analysis by the elevation map is implemented. Experiment results demonstrate that the system for 3D perception is effective and it can provide the support for mobile robot navigation.