Laser Range Finder Mapping of Floating Vehicle

Using laser range finders as a method of navigation is popular with mobile land robots; however, there has been little research using it with water vehicles. Therefore, this thesis explores the usage and data flow of a laser range finder on a water raft. A unique algorithm for localization and mapping for the sensor is developed and tested both in simulation and in real-time with a vehicle. Both the localization of the vehicle and mapping of its environment are able to achieve precise locations, deviating only a few millimeters of their expected values. With this algorithm, a closed-loop control system is also developed and implemented on the vehicle. The vehicle is able to move to a predefined location and be within a very small range of acceptable values. The control loop is further explored with damping, gain variations, and different trajectories