Localization and Mapping of Unknown Locations with Unmanned Ground Vehicles

Developing a commercial off-the shelf (COTS) software platform to enable UGVs to navigate and survive in complex environments.

Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi

The main goals of this research are to enhance a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software platform to support unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) exploring the complex environment of tunnels, to test the platform within a simulation environment, and to validate the architecture through field-testing.

In this research, software was designed and tested for a UGV in order to give it the capability to localize and map an unknown area while navigating. The UGV was equipped with a camera, acoustic sensor, and a laser range finder that provides the UGV with readings to determine its pose and landmarks within the unknown area to create a map of the unknown research.