Map-Making with a Four-Legged Mobile

Robot

Exploring Robotics and Robotic Map-making at the Undergraduate Level

Ben Willard, Kurt Krebsbach

Lawrence University

• Main Goal: – Develop software for a Sony AIBO™ robot that will create a map

of a previously unknown indoor hallway environment. This map should:

• Be recognizable by humans as a map of the given environment

• Be interpretable by the robot so that it can use the map to perform more complicated tasks in the future

• Secondary Goal:– Learn about the AIBO™ and build a base of AIBO related

information for use by other interested students

Project Overview and Goals

• Simultaneous localization and mapping a difficult task for any robot• SLAM with an AIBO is particularly tricky (and silly) due to

– Bad odometry• Legs produce noisy and inaccurate odometry compared to

wheels (which are also noisy and inaccurate, to be sure)– Range sensors that are not made for mapping

• IR Sensor has short range and low accuracy• It’s necessary to pan the head constantly in order to get IR

Sensor data viewing places other than the robot’s immediate front.

SLAM with the AIBO™

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