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Roomba SLAM

My proposal for the scholarship:

I will give the Roomba Create the ability to perform SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) within a typical house setting.

There are three parts to this project:
1) By using several IR rangefinders mounted on servos, create a 2D map real-time of the surroundings. This will be done with zero modification to the Create chassis. Very easy.

2) Upload the map by wireless link to a PC for analysis. Intermediate.

3) And the hardest part, continuously update the map accounting for drift over time (SLAM). Difficult but very useful!

And I will give myself one additional challenge - I cannot use more than $100 in parts! The average hobbyist cannot afford much more than this, so to keep my tutorial useful I will stay within this limit.

8 comments
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Jun 28, 2007. 1:51 PMSacTownSue says:
How do you see this being used? Interior decorators?
Jun 4, 2007. 8:47 AMaarone says:
Is your map going to be a robot-height map, or a people height map? In my home at least, the maps would appear very different.
Jun 13, 2007. 3:14 PMaarone says:
The robot wouldn't, but if the map is being made for a person it might be valuable.
Jun 5, 2007. 8:05 AMservant74 says:
I would hope it might have the ability to do both. The math might be a little tricky, but it could generate a 3D map, using a range finder on a turrent, so it could 'scan' vertically as well as horizontally. (think nurf missile launcher with a range finder rather than a missile launcher!) A fairly simple 2 servo mechanism could provide the mechanical platform. The speed of doing a 3D survey would probably not be real time, but could be useful, even if the upper portions were in 8 or 18cm cubes (3 to 6")

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