Intelligent Range-Only Mapping and Navigation for Mobile Robots

Addressing the navigation (localization and motion control) problem of a mobile robot, coupled with its mapping problem, remains a significant challenge to date. The well-known simultaneous localization and mapping problem of mobile robots has been addressed in the literature without specifically taking into account the robot's motion control tasks. Moreover, its implementation can cost more than the robot itself. Robot motion control strategies developed in the literature either 1) rely on sophisticated hardware platforms, 2) assume noise-free environment, or 3) are based on abstract theories, which are validated using computer simulations only. The current work solves the navigation and mapping problems of mobile robots using open-source hardware and range-only measurements from a network of radio sources. The hardware platform used in this work is customized such that it is cost-effective and easy-to-implement, addressing the aforementioned issues in developing motion control strategies. The current strategy permits the robot to estimate its position and orientation and builds a map of its operating environment using radio frequency signals received from radio sources. It then navigates through a path defined by a set of two-dimensional points on the ground using a motion control strategy in cooperation with a computational intelligence tool. The proposed robot navigation and mapping scheme was tested in an indoor laboratory environment and its performance was compared with the simulation counterpart using a commercial robot simulator.