Development of the Smart Localization Techniques For Low-Power Autonomous Rover For Predetermined Environments

Abstract

Autonomous ground vehicles have become the growing research trend nowadays. One branch of this trend is development of the unmanned robots. The key challenges include sensing of the surrounding environment, position determination and path planning for the global and immediate Conditions. This paper presents the comparison between various localization and tracking technologies for low power design of an autonomous rover platform, the robot is designed with point to point travel in mind. Once the destination coordinates are given the robot travels from point A to point B with no further commands given by the operator. It has capability of determining the most efficient path to travel while avoiding collisions with its surroundings. Environment sensing is done using LIDAR rather than cameras to reduce data generation rate and the processing load. Motor encoders and potentiometers are used to solve the localization problem to achieve low power consumption in comparison with the commonly used GPS techniques and provide capabilities of operation in enclosed environments, like factories and warehouses. Developed system compares reliability and the performance of several techniques to determine the best approach for a mobile autonomous system.