One of the major problems in exploring unknown terrain on other planets is the speed of exploration.
Signals between Earth and Mars can take more than twenty minutes, which makes real-time control impossible.
Consequently, this means that robots move very slowly, which limits their efficiency.
This master’s thesis deals with the development of a complete system for autonomous mapping of unknown terrain with multiple autonomous and cooperative mobile robots.
We used the open-source robot platform Leo Rover, upgraded with the Nvidia Jetson Orin Nano computer and Intel RealSense D456 camera.
Each robot autonomously moves through unknown terrain and, with the help of
a three-dimensional camera and image processing algorithms, constructs a map of the terrain.
While operating, robots exchange data about their position and information about the explored terrain.
The thesis aimed to program the robots to efficiently and independently explore unknown terrain and construct a map
without human intervention.
The first part of the work presents the hardware and software we used in the development of the system.
In the second part, we present the implementation of algorithms for accurate terrain mapping.
In the continuation, we describe the algorithm for terrain navigation, which uses the terrain map for safe robot guidance.
We also give a description of algorithm development for autonomous mapping.
Finally, we analyze the results of testing the system and individual
algorithms that are important for the system to operate.
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