An algorithm for automatically mapping an arbitrary 2D environment

This paper presents a method for automatically generating a 2D obstacle map of an environment using a robot or team of robots. The algorithm is adaptable to a variety of robotic platforms and presents an iterative solution for determining the map. Its primary contributions to the field of autonomous mapping include the abstraction of specific robot hardware from the mapping algorithm and the integration of obstacle avoidance, path finding, and destination selection. The map is sampled multiple times by each robot to filter anomalous data and to correct for inaccuracies in the operation of the robots. This paper details the algorithm in its purest form and additionally presents variant design and implementation details.