Indoor mapping using SLAM for applications in Flexible Manufacturing Systems

This paper presents a Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) architecture applied to the autonomous navigation of an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) within a Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS). One of the key factors to integrate an AGV into a FMS is related to pick and place tasks, where the AGV is capable to pick and deliver objects within the FSM. To achieve such task, the AGV must first recognize the environment and then navigate throughout the FSM autonomously. Here, we present how a mobile robot can be used for indoor positioning and mapping of an industrial facility. To this purpose, we have developed an open-source software package based on the Robot Operating System (ROS) platform that can be easily integrated into an AGV such as the KUKA youBot. This article describes the ROS-based metapackage called kuka youbot arch and the experiments carried out for assessing the SLAM arquitecture performance in terms of mapping accuracy and proper navigation within de FSM.