Exploring OpenStreetMap publicly available information for autonomous robot navigation

Abstract

Autonomous outdoor navigation had been a topic researched for years, but there is still a lack of affordable robots that can efficiently navigate in man-made outdoor environments. Therefore, we present a navigation method developed for TAPAS robot, which was designed for outdoor perception, localization and navigation using fusion of data from multiple sensors. The novelty of the presented approach lies in the usage of publicly available OpenStreetMap information. The proposed system was used in Robotour 2014 competition and allowed to achieve ex aequo 4th place out of 13 teams. The article contains also the summary of experience gained during the competition and future enhancements that can be applied to proposed solution.