Autonomous Navigation of a Mobile Robot on Robot Operating System Using Graphical User Interface

Abstract

Many applications of mobile robotics necessitate the safe execution of a collision-free motion to a defined place. Real-time obstacle avoidance strategies enable reactive motion in dynamic and unpredictable situations, whereas planning approaches are best suited for achieving a goal position in known static environments. A ROS-based approach is presented to address the challenge of robot SLAM, which has been used in real-time applications to map the environment, localize the robot within the environment, plan paths, and avoid obstacles. It is demonstrated that all navigation modules can coexist and work together to reach the destination without colliding with static and dynamic obstacles. This paper provides a platform for guiding a mobile robot in a real-world environment autonomously for different waypoints while avoiding static and dynamic obstacles using the Graphical User Interface (GUI). The developed GUI-based navigation simplifies the complex ROS navigation system control to an easy user-friendly interface so that anyone can control the mobile robot platform. Our results were validated at Chosun University in South Korea, through the experimental test in an indoor environment.