Map-Making with a Four-Legged Mobile Robot Exploring Robotics and Robotic Map- making at the Undergraduate Level Ben Willard, Kurt Krebsbach Lawrence University

Main Goal: –Develop software for a Sony AIBO™ robot that will create a map of a previously unknown indoor hallway environment. This map should: Be recognizable by humans as a map of the given environment Be interpretable by the robot so that it can use the map to perform more complicated tasks in the future Secondary Goal: –Learn about the AIBO™ and build a base of AIBO related information for use by other interested students Project Overview and Goals

Simultaneous localization and mapping a difficult task for any robot SLAM with an AIBO is particularly tricky (and silly) due to –Bad odometry Legs produce noisy and inaccurate odometry compared to wheels (which are also noisy and inaccurate, to be sure) – Range sensors that are not made for mapping IR Sensor has short range and low accuracy It’s necessary to pan the head constantly in order to get IR Sensor data viewing places other than the robot’s immediate front. SLAM with the AIBO™

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