NightOwl: Robotic Platform for Wheeled Service Robot

TL;DR

NightOwl is a modular robotic platform for wheeled service robots that integrates autonomous navigation, LIDAR sensing, and simulation visualization using ROS, enabling flexible development and testing of robotic behaviors.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel modular platform, NightOwl, combining ROS-based components for autonomous navigation, sensor integration, and simulation visualization for wheeled service robots.

Findings

Successful autonomous navigation in simulated environments

Integration of LIDAR sensing with SLAM for environment mapping

Modular design facilitates flexible development and testing

Abstract

NightOwl is a robotic platform designed exclusively for a wheeled service robot. The robot navigates autonomously in omnidirectional fashion movement and equipped with LIDAR to sense the surrounding area. The platform itself was built using the Robot Operating System (ROS) and written in two different programming languages (C++ and Python). NightOwl is composed of several modular programs, namely hardware controller, light detection and ranging (LIDAR), simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), world model, path planning, robot control, communication, and behaviour. The programs run in parallel and communicate reciprocally to share various information. This paper explains the role of modular programs in the term of input, process, and output. In addition, NightOwl provides simulation visualized in both Gazebo and RViz. The robot in its environment is visualized by Gazebo. Sensor data from LIDAR and results from SLAM will be visualized by RViz.