A low-cost robotic system for simultaneous localization and mapping

Abstract

AbstractThis paper presents a low-cost system for simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) for unknown indoor environments. The system is based on a low-cost mobile-robot platform. The low-cost mobile robot is designed and fabricated in our control laboratory. The Rao-Blackwellized particle filter algorithm is used for SLAM computations, Xbox 360 Kinect module is utilized for stereo-camera imaging, and a Linux-based microcomputer (Raspberry Pi3) was used as the main onboard processing unit. An Arduino board is used to control the DC motors for mobile robot wheels. Raspberry Pi unit was wirelessly connected to a ground station machine that processes the information sent by the robot to build the environment map and estimate its pose. ROS (Robot Operating System) is used for map visualization, data-handling, and communication between different software nodes. The system has been tested virtually on a simulator and in real indoor environments and has successfully identified objects greater than 30 cm × 30 cm × 30 cm and added it to the map. It also shows promising capability to work autonomous missions independently without aid from any external sensors and with a fraction of the cost of similar systems based on Lidars.