A Novel Multi-Sensor Tactile Detachable Bumper Design for Obstacle Avoidance, Collision Detection, and Recovery in Autonomous Mobile Robots

A tactile bumper is the most dependable sensor for an autonomous mobile robot to perceive its surroundings when all the high-end sensors like infrared (IR), ultrasonics, cameras or lidars fail to operate. Typically, these bump sensors mounted on the lower half of the robot barely manage the plight of sensor failures however do not fully protect the robot. This paper presents a novel bumper design that can be easily attached onto any mobile robot. The bumper plate covers the entire front of the robot without exposing anything to the environment. It does not just sense the direction of the collision but also gives the point of the impact. It also protects the bumper plate from getting stuck in places. The bumper plate has a vent through which the range sensors mounted at the front of any mobile robot can glance without any modifications. An IR cliff sensor mounted at the bottom of the bumper protects it from falling from high surfaces. It also allows the robot to navigate the environment with the help of a line drawn on the floor. An in-house developed mobile robot running on subsumption architecture successfully demonstrates the effectiveness of the bumper in an unknown environment with static and dynamic obstacles.