Autonomous vehicles are often used to explore difficult to reach places (i.e. Search and Rescue, Scientific Exploration) where humans cannot enter or where risk assessment is needed before going in. We aim to solve this problem by building a robot that can autonomously map and navigate such environments.
The product we are developing is a robot that has the capability to autonomously move through an indoor environment with smooth walls and straight paths. It will be programmed to take scans of the area its currently in after every 0.5 inch. It will move through the entire area using optimized path planning. At the end the User can view a complete 2D map of the area on the website UI.
This project aims to create a low cost, educational demonstration of autonomous mapping and navigation by building a vehicle that explores a simulated environment and efficiently maps the entire maze.