Simultaneous localization and mapping for a mobile robot operating in outdoor environments

---

Thesis Type: Postgraduate

Institution Of The Thesis: Middle East Technical University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Turkey

Approval Date: 2007

Thesis Language: English

Student: Emre Sezginalp

Supervisor: ERHAN İLHAN KONUKSEVEN

Abstract:

In this thesis, a method to the solution of autonomous navigation problem of a robot working in an outdoor application is sought. The robot will operate in unknown terrain where there is no a priori map present, and the robot must localize itself while simultaneously mapping the environment. This is known as Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) problem in the literature. The SLAM problem is attempted to be solved by using the correlation between range data acquired at different poses of the robot. A robot operating outdoors will traverse unstructured terrain, therefore for localization, pitch, yaw and roll angles must also be taken into account along with the (x,y,z) coordinates of the robot. The Iterative Closest Points (ICP) algorithm is used to find this transformation between different poses of the robot and find its location. In order to collect the range data, a system composing of a laser range finder and an angular positioning system is used. During localization and mapping, odometry data is fused with range data.