‘GeoPaw’ - research to expand the range of applications of a four-legged robot

The Geodetic Institute is conducting research into autonomous navigation methods for mobile robots as part of the DFG research training group i.c.sens. For this purpose, a four-legged robot for research purposes was purchased in January 2024 using central funds from Leibniz University Hannover and named GeoPaw. GeoPaw is a Unitree B1 four-legged robot and is characterised by high manoeuvrability, agility and the ability to overcome uneven terrain. These properties make it interesting for a wide range of applications, such as infrastructure quality assurance.

The robot is equipped with five cameras, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and interfaces for equipping with various sensors such as LiDARs. Currently, an omnidirectional LiDAR is attached to GeoPaw, which enables comprehensive environmental perception in the form of 3D point clouds. In addition, the robot currently has another high-precision Microstrain IMU and a GNSS unit that provide further data for positioning.

The current key research area within the i.c.sens framework is to enable GeoPaw to explore and navigate its environment autonomously. The robot uses the information it collects about its surroundings to determine its three-dimensional position and orientation in space. On the basis of this information, the mapping of the environment can be continuously improved, so that in the long term not only a precise localisation of the robot itself is created, but also a detailed and reliable map of the environment. While the current focus is on autonomous navigation, the dynamic updating of map data is considered a future research topic.