A graph-based exploration strategy of indoor environments by an autonomous mobile robot

Abstract

This paper presents a provably complete strategy f o r indoor environment exploration by a n autonomous mobile robot. Without prior knowledge about the environment, the strategy guarantees the construction of a grid-based map of the entire reachable area within a bounded region. Multiple m a p representations are utilized inc6uding a topological grid m a p f o r guiding the exploration process, a modified occupancy grid f o r fusing data f r o m multiple range sensors, and a hierarchy of grids f o r real-time navigation. Experiments using a Nomad 200TM robot have shown accurate map construction while navigating at a steady speed of 0..2m/sec.