Robot Environment Modeling and Motion Control Approach for Sustainable Energy Savings in Mobile Robot Landmine Surveillance Mission

The global presence of unexploded landmines remains a significant threat, cause danger to ecosystems and human lives with potential harm. While manual methods exist, mobile robot-based automated landmine detection technique offers enhanced safety and reliability. Effective motion planning and control of mobile robot in uneven terrain is crucial during landmine search missions due to factors like slopes and shallow drifts affecting the robot's power consumption. In this work, a terrain aware mobile robot motion model is developed to select the suitable power required in response to varying terrain conditions, including flat, uphill, and downhill terrains using a fuzzy logic motor control system. A digital elevation map of the environment is extracted using Google Earth Pro software tool for calculating slope of the environment. Further, a simulation environment is created by software tools like Robot Operating System (ROS) and GAZEBO, for analyzing the kinematic constraints of mobile robots and aid the global path planning in landmine search missions. By adjusting the robot's speed based on the characteristics of the terrain, the proposed approach enhances energy efficiency, prolongs operational endurance, and improves overall mission effectiveness. Energy savings of the mobile robot for different payloads and terrain types are highlighted with the simulation results.