Affordable Robotic Mobile Mapping System Based on Lidar with Additional Rotating Planar Reflector.

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• 3D Mapping
• Sensor Technology

Background:

• High-cost lidar systems dominate robotic mobile 3D mapping.
• Existing systems often lack a wide, non-repetitive field of view.
• Nuclear facility mapping requires accurate and comprehensive 3D data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an affordable robotic mobile 3D mapping system.
• To extend the field of view of solid-state lidar sensors.
• To demonstrate the system's capability in mapping a nuclear facility.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a Livox Mid-40 lidar with a custom rotating planar reflector.
• Compared the custom sensor's performance against a Velodyne VLP 16 lidar.
• Developed calibration, mechanical design, and synchronization methods for system replication.

Main Results:

• The proposed system achieved satisfactory accuracy and range, comparable to more expensive lidars.
• The system preserved metric accuracy and the non-repetitive scanning pattern.
• Achieved a wide field of view (38.4 × 360 degrees) with minimal loss of measurement properties.

Conclusions:

• The affordable 3D mapping system is a viable alternative for detailed environmental mapping.
• The method effectively expands the applicability of solid-state lidars.
• The system successfully generated comparable 3D maps of a nuclear facility.