Autonomous Robots


In fall of 2020, I took a computer science course called Autonomous Robots. It focuses on algorithms for mobile robots to enable self-driving capabilities, as well as complementary functions like localization and mapping. We were given a 1/10th scale racecar as our testing platform.

Small fleet of robot cars

Each car was equipped with a 2D LiDAR, a sensor that can return the distance to objects relative to the car. With this input, we implemented obstacle avoidance and a greedy local planner, basically programming the car to go forwards without crashing for as long as possible. Then we added a particle filter for localization, which uses the best guess of the car's pose from the wheel rotations along with how well the LiDAR scans match a known map to estimate its actual pose:

Particle filter localization

The next task was to add Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM), a hot topic in all self-driving applications. After this, we programmed a global planner which creates a path from point A to B and follows it using the local planner with a dynamic goal. My team chose to also add human social awareness in the end, resulting in paths that are safe and trustworthy around people. (Reference paper)

Social planner scenarios

Overall, this class was a great step outside of my comfort zone, focusing on mobile robots rather than manipulators. All of our C++ code can be found on this forked repository.