Development of a mobile platform for service robots

Abstract

The development of a mobile platform is presented in this paper, which consists of system overview, motion control, obstacle avoidance and implementation of the system. The hardware platform is equipped with two driven wheels (differential drive) including shaft encoders for motion tracking. The system also contained several infra-red (IR) sensors for obstacle detection and avoidance. A camera was equipped on the system to record and send the images/video of the environment back to the central control room. The control software of the system is based on a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) and Windows CE platform. The DSP is the main motion control unit for the system. It is responsible for the movement of the system, environmental sensing and decision making. Windows CE is used for the function of wireless networking and communication with the central control room. Finally, several experiments were conducted to verify the current capability of the mobile robot platform. From the results of experiments, the mobile platform shows satisfactory performance in motion control, positioning, patrolling and monitoring the environment.