Abstract
This research study presents a reactive terrain navigation strategy for a Shape-shifting Tracked Mobile Robot (STMR) in environments consisting of flat surfaces, discrete climbable steps and slopes. The proposed navigation strategy employs the concept of Fuzzy Terrain Traversability Index, where the ease of traversal is evaluated from a combination of geometric properties. A two-layer fuzzy controller is proposed, in which the Terrain Traversability Index is first computed based on slope gradient and step height, the data of which is obtained from a priori information of its surroundings in the form of a 2.5D grid map, before it is combined with sonar sensory data to determine the overall traversability of the region. Using goal-enhancement on fuzzy sets prior to defuzzification, the fuzzy controller outputs a turn recommendation deemed most convenient for the mobile robot. The navigation algorithm has been implemented in a virtual agent and custom-made robot with adequate case studies. These studies have shown encouraging results of the ability of the mobile robot to select its path based on its perceived ease of traversing.
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Yee, W.K., Parasuraman, S., Ganapathy, V. (2013). Fuzzy Terrain-Based Navigation on Urban Terrains. In: Meghanathan, N., Nagamalai, D., Chaki, N. (eds) Advances in Computing and Information Technology. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 178. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31600-5_25
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31600-5_25
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-31599-2
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