Implementation of Grid Mapping Method for Firefighting Legged Robot

Abstract

The firefighting robot contest is an event to encourage high education
students to explore electronics and robotic skill. The difficulty level of the
contest increases from year to year though the arena layout is relatively
similar. The field of arena consists of maze, detachable doors and distractors
which requires smart idea to enable the robot to be well-performed. The
combination of home position and random fire spot at each round of the
game make each team have to find the most effective method to win the
match. This paper presents an implementation the grid map method on the
Azmi four legged robot using ultrasonic PING sensor, GPYA021 infrared
sensor and GY-955 gyroscope. An ultrasonic sensor is attached on each of
four sides of the robot. The data from each sensor will be interpreted as the
distance of the front, right, left and back of the robot relative to the wall.
Interpretation depends on the robot's current position. Virtual mapping
technique was used by assuming that the arena consists of grids which have
uniform size. Each grid was given a consecutive index numbering i.e a
symbolic number which in practice be manifested in terms of distance unit.
The results showed that the grid map method in this study worked well,
tested on four randomized configurations, the robot successfully carried out
the search task and returned to the home position with an acceptable
execution time.