Environmental Mapping Automation by Quadruped Robot Using Lidar Technology

Abstract

Navigation as well as mapping using robots is currently widely used in various fields. Automated robot navigation and mapping allows robots to provide information about their surroundings to humans more effectively. LiDAR is one of the latest technologies used to carry out environmental mapping. The implementation of LiDAR technology coupled with legged robots is useful for autonomously mapping environments that have uneven trajectories, such as on the ground, rocky areas, and grass. Quadruped robot is a type of legged robot that is used in research and operations in the industrial world or in observing certain environmental areas. Determining the appropriate gait according to the observed characteristics of the robot and the environment, selecting the algorithm for mapping, and presenting the visualization of the map must be met for the success of the mapping process. This research applies Hector SLAM, crawl gait, trot gait, and the use of LiDAR technology to map the artificial environment which is carried out autonomously by a quadruped robot with the aim of obtaining information in the form of an environmental map which is visualized using RViz. The implementation of crawl gait to move forward is considered the most suitable for the quadruped robot in this research because the load being lifted is quite heavy, namely ±1.5kg, while the implementation of a dynamic trot gait is used to turn left or right. The result of this research is that the quadruped robot is able to walk through a well-defined environment and draw a complete map of the observed artificial environment with an accuracy rate of 97%.