Using encoders and robotc to map a line circuit

Question

I am looking for a way to use the encoder information from the motors that drive the wheels of my robot to map a line circuit. The robot navigates around using a single light sensor following a line and on its second lap I want it to recognize where it is in the circuit. I've read a lot about SLAM but not sure I could implement this with robotc and only the encoder information.

Any help and advice on the best way to tackle this would be greatly appreciated.n

Answer 1

You can use an Odometry model to make a prediction on the movement of your robot. Assuming a vehicle with a preferred forward direction on a plane, you would have (x,y,theta) as your state, and then have a state transition depending on your encoder values. What the function looks like really depends on the configuration of your robot. I remember that Introduction to Autonomous Mobile Robots had a good coverage on the subject. You'll find lots of examples on the net, though. Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) would be to use a probabilistic Odometry model, and then perform some correction based on your sensor. At first I thought this wasn't very feasible with your setup, but I actually think it is. Using an Occupancy-Grid based Rao-Blackwellized Particle Filter might give you some good results. I haven't used the CAS Toolbox, but have a look as it seems a good place to start.