Adaptive Terrain-Aware Navigation for Autonomous Mobile Robots in Uneven Outdoor Environments

Track

Navigation — Topic 04

Project description

Autonomous mobile robots operating in outdoor environments must navigate across uneven terrain, including hills, slopes and irregular surfaces. Conventional navigation systems designed primarily for flat environments may incorrectly classify terrain variations as obstacles, limiting the robot’s ability to navigate efficiently.

This project focuses on developing a terrain-aware navigation system capable of analyzing environmental geometry, identifying slopes and elevation changes, and distinguishing traversable terrain from actual obstacles. Particular attention is given to downhill navigation, enabling the robot to recognize descending terrain as a navigable surface rather than automatically treating it as an obstacle.

Objective

Develop an adaptive outdoor navigation system that enables a mobile robot to perceive and understand non-flat environments. By combining 3D perception, terrain analysis and adaptive path planning, the robot should evaluate terrain traversability, identify safe navigation regions and adapt its trajectory according to surface inclination and elevation changes.

Required skills

• Proficiency in Python and C++
• Experience with ROS 2
• Knowledge of autonomous navigation and motion planning
• Understanding of robotics perception and coordinate transformations
• Familiarity with LiDAR, RGB-D cameras and point cloud processing
• Knowledge of terrain mapping, elevation maps and surface analysis
• Experience with Nav2 and 3D perception
• Understanding of sensor fusion and obstacle detection

Recommended skills

Familiarity with Gazebo or other robotics simulation environments.