Vector-based robot obstacle avoidance using LIDAR and mecanum drive

With their reduction in cost, LIDAR sensors are starting to become ubiquitous on robotic platforms that need to self-navigate. Omni-directional robotic drive systems have matured in performance, including mecanum drive systems. Both technologies are vector based, which makes their pairing a simplifying solution for robot navigation, and specifically obstacle avoidance. This paper steps through the implementation of both systems onto a test platform and how they can be used in a vector-based avoidance algorithm. A robot is programed to follow along a wall (with doors, small columns and other features indenting and protruding from the wall). When the robot encounters an obstacle in its path above a pre-determined size, it takes action to avoid colliding with it. In a multi-step approach, the robot strafes at an angle to clear the object, travels past the object, and then strafes back towards the wall to resume its original path.