In this video the ARIADNE robot explores castle Birlinghoven in Sankt Augustin and builds a 3D map of the castle. Further it calculates its next scan position to complete the map. This is using a form of SLAM – simultaneous location and mapping technology that definitely holds promise for mobile LiDAR.
ARIADNE is not a new project. I found this paper from 2003 which details the technology, but I have not been able to quickly find a more recent reference. Can someone help with what appears to be a very interesting mobile robot?
Really amazing
. This is rather old work. Recent work, including the robot Iram3D, and more details can be found at
http://www.faculty.jacobs-university.de/anuechter/
or
http://www.youtube.com/user/AutomationAtJacobs
It’s going to be so interesting when technology like this, with the help of kinect-like cameras, really combines with tasks like mapping buildings for augmented reality, increasing automotive safety, and even scanning existing objects for 3D printing. All of these things are starting to come together and become available on a consumer level in surprising places.