Automatic Mapping of a Room Using LIDAR-Based Measuring Sensor

The intense growth in the mobile robotics market is leading to a demand for low cost solutions concerning the robotics navigation and mapping. This paper presents a complex system made for mapping closed spaces like rooms. The entire process of developing such a system will be described, starting with the hardware parts, continuing with the algorithms that were used and finally, the actual results that were achieved. The complexity of the project consists in the fact that a large variety of knowledge from different domains was used such as: embedded systems, robotics, principles, techniques and measuring devices, data communication, cloud computing, database principles and so on. The paper will describe the usage of the distance measurement sensor, Scanse Sweep, which is using the LIDAR (light detection and ranging) technique in order to collect data which will be analysed by a software application that is running on a PC. The paper also presents features like the usage of mobile phones, usage of Cloud for data saving and manipulation, algorithms that ensure the autonomy of the robot and algorithms used for achieving a full scan of a room making as fewer moves as possible.