Mobile robot with tactile arm used for exploration and pushing tasks

This paper presents approaches for solving exploration and pushing tasks of an autonomous mobile robot. To solve these tasks the robot is equipped with a two dimensional, three degree-of-freedom SCARA arm. The arm has tactile sensors on the sides and at the tip. With these sensors it is able to explore the environment inside its workspace. Using the information obtained by exploration, the arm can push obstacles aside, so that a clear passage is created for the mobile robot. This results in a considerable increase in the mobility of an autonomous mobile robot. The proposed algorithms are implemented both in a simulation environment and on a real robot