3D Laser range scanner with hemispherical field of view for robot navigation

For mobile robots to be of value in practical situations a 3D perception and mapping capability will almost always prove essential. In this paper a 2D laser scanner is modified to produce 3D scans with a resolution of one degree updated every 3 seconds. This result is achieved by adding a rotating mirror to the original scanner in an inexpensive and relatively simple modification that is easily made to a standard mobile robot. The modified robot is then able to produces 3D scans at a various frequencies up to 1 Hz and accurate to 0.02 m over an 8 m range.