Proposal of a low cost mobile robot prototype with on-board laser scanner: robot@factory competition case study

This paper presents the proposal of a Low cost Mobile Robot prototype with On-Board Laser Scanner, prototyped to compete at the Robot@Factory Mobile Robot competition. The robot is equipped with a hacked Neato XV-11 Laser Scanner, being a very low cost alternative, when compared with the current available laser scanners. It is presented the description of its sensors and actuators, providing valuable information that can be used to develop better designs of controllers and localization systems. The robot is equipped with the 37Dx52L, which is a low cost 12v motor equipped with encoders and a 29:1 reduction gearbox, being a very popular actuator in the mobile robotics domain. The robot is also equipped with an USB camera applied to acquire image, that will be processed, in order to provide information concerning the part material status.This work is financed by the ERDF European Regional Development Fund through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation – COMPETE 2020 Programme, and by National Funds through the FCT Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) within project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006961.