Environmental modeling and obstacle avoidance of mobile robots based on laser radar

Abstract

A method for environment modeling and obstacle avoidance based on range data from laser radar is proposed to improve the safety and reliability of autonomous mobile robots. The merits of several kinds of laser radars are discussed along with each laser radar's operating principle. Then the Laser Measurement System (LMS) made by SICK is introduced. The time varying potential field algorithm is presented, with some improvements to model the environment and avoid obstacles. Experiments show that its performance is improved. Some problems that are specific to this class of sensors are then described. This algorithm has been successfully tested on an outdoor mobile robot the Tsinghua Mobile Robot V.