Simulator for omnidirectional robots equipped with 2D and 3D LiDAR sensors

Autonomous mobile robots heavily rely on the information provided by the different algorithms in charge of calculating the position of the robot in a map, detecting and avoiding obstacles while navigating, and to calculate the path leading to the desired destination. Unfortunately, using a real robot for testing different algorithms can be problematic due to the large number of uncontrolled variables that partake in the process. For this, creating a virtual environment or sandbox where every parameter can be tweaked and adjusted at convenience can be remarkably useful, especially when evaluating how algorithms behave under specific conditions and constrains. The main goal of this paper is to create a simulator for omnidirectional robots with the capacity of recreating the behavior of onboard LiDAR sensors. In order to achieve this objective, the simulator must be able to accurately calculate the position of the omnidirectional robot in the map and the information retrieved from multiple laser-ranging sensors. Due to the lack of mobility constrains provided by omnidirectional motion systems, the simulator will use the inverse kinematics model, in combination with a discrete analysis, to periodically update the position of the robot in the map. The inverse kinematics model can be used to calculate the position and orientation evolution of the robot directly from the known rotational velocities of the motors that drive each one of the wheels. Finally, this paper evaluates the accuracy of the implemented simulator at computing the position of the robot and the information obtained from the LiDAR sensors.