The fusion of ultrasonic and optical measurement devices for autonomous mapping

Systems for automatic mapping and exploration of unknown spaces are now widely used in many fields of robotics navigation. The most common applications are exploration of unknown spaces, dangerous environments or places worse accessible for humans. A combination of different sensors is suitable for creation of a vector map of unknown space. This article deals about the fusion of the ultrasonic sensors with the optical measurement devices for automatic exploration and mapping of unknown space. The article is mainly focused on distance measurement principles and the system features. For verification of their precision there were performed automatic measurements on mobile platform in building interior. From measurement results there was created the contour map of a room. In the last part of the article are presented achieved results and possibility of practical application.