Simulation and Implementation of an Autonomous Mobile Robot for Outdoor Competitions

Abstract

In this paper is presented the design, construction and evaluation of an autonomous mobile robot, designed to outdoor competitions. The category of outdoor competition, in Brazil named Trekking Pro, is based on a mobile robot in an open field, which must pass through preset coordinates. A commercial (at first remote controlled) robot was adapted for autonomous operation. The perception of the robot consists of 9-axis Absolute Orientation Sensor and an encoder. At fist, the system was simulated in a ROS (Robotic Operation System) environment integrated with a scene V-REP (Virtual Robot Experimentation Platform). PID controllers, were used in implementation. Afterwards, a prototype was built, that participated in a competition with success, winning the first place. Both simulation and real-world experimental results of the constructed prototype are shown in detail. The robot described in this paper was the champion of the Winter Challenge 2018 (Robocore - Brazil) in the Trekking Pro category.