A Mobile Robot Solving a Virtual Maze Environment

The aim of this paper is to introduce a new concept in robot-maze solving, that is, the use of virtual maze in examining the performance and efficiency of various types of robots with various onboard algorithms. It is proposed that a mobile robot is to navigate its way in a virtual environment, which exists in a computer-world and is either gradually or fully revealed to the robot via wireless communications. The robot will then use its onboard algorithm to navigate its way through the maze, feeding back its position to the virtual maze. The paper will present a GUI interface that sets up the virtual maze and will explain the virtual maze coordinates system. The robot will use the Modified Wall-Following Navigation algorithm to navigate its way through the virtual maze, according to the revealed surroundings. The paper will then compare Navigation versus simulation, and robot absolute direction and its importance during navigation, as the robot sides vary according to the direction it is facing. The approach adopted here offers a maze-mobile robot real-time merging, with robot performance tracking and rapid (on-the-fly) algorithms development for environments with fixed, variable or random architectures and start-goal points.