An autonomous robot navigation system

Abstract

This thesis presents an investigation of the control of autonomous robot navigation systems in unstructured environments. Its main objective is to specify control behaviours that enable a robot to move with a preset objective without the need of any further user intervention. The control behaviours are specified using fuzzy logic, a technique that formalizes imprecise concepts. The following objectives have been attained: 1. The realization of n mobile robot simulation environment. 2. The creation of a real mobile robot. 3. A library of controllers that can be used in both the simulation environment and the real robot. 4. A flexible and scalable robot control framework. In all cases, the techniques that were investigated were tested extensively on the real robot and in the simulation environment. Results have shown that the simulator gives a true representation of the real implementation.