Self-Localization, Mapping and Coverage with Resource-Limited Mobile Robots

by Marius Hofmeister

In this thesis, three fundamental issues of mobile robotics are addressed: self-localization, mapping, and area coverage. Self-localization denotes the robot's task to determine its position with respect to a given map. Mapping is the procedure to create such a map of the environment. In area coverage, one or multiple robots have to pass over the entire free space of a target area. The strategies presented in this work aim at deploying robots with limited resources. We define this lack of resources in terms of limited processing power, restricted sensor quality and accuracy, as well as inaccurate robot movements. Concluding, we tailored advanced techniques of robotics to restricted platforms in order to find a trade-off between maximum performance and minimal resources. Therefore, the suggested strategies contribute to the future use of resource-limited mobile robots in various applications.