Mobile Robot Simulation with Sonar Sensors and Cameras

The Mobile Robot Simulator (MOBS) provides a physically correct three-dimensional simulation of the commercial mobile robot system "Robuter." Collisions between several independently controlled vehicles or between a vehicle and an obstacle are detected. The simulation system can be used for testing and debugging vehicle programs without even the need for recompilation. Simulated and modeled sensors are the vehicle adometer, bumpers, sonar sensors and the camera. The sonar simulation also handles multiple reflections and cross-talks, while the camera image frames are rendered in real time using a graphics workstation. A three-dimensional environment editor allows the creation of three-dimensional scenes, including walls, doors, furniture, people, and mobile robots. The communication between simulation program, rendering, and robot application program is performed via the Parallel Virtual Machine (PVM) tool.