Development of cliff detection function using 2D Lidar
This is a demonstration video of cliff detection near the stairs using the ROS-equipped robot "Cuboid."
The floor condition 1m away is measured using 2D Lidar, which faces 45 ° downward from the robot's head, and the cliff is recognized as an obstacle on the local cost map for the robot to avoid it.
2D Lidar installed in Cuboid
The "Cuboid" is equipped with a total of five 2D Lidars as a basic configuration, and the three lidars on the front are mainly used for obstacle detection in the direction of travel.
Measure the distance (height) to the floor 1 m away
The lidar for forward and downward detection used for cliff detection is installed with an accuracy of 45 ° downward and measures the distance (height) from the front of the "Cuboid" to the floor surface 1 m away.
* Specifications are those at that time and may change in the future.
How to avoid cliffs
When the height of the floor surface measured by 2D Lidar exceeds an arbitrary threshold value, it avoids cliffs by recognizing an obstacle in the coordinates of the floor surface.