A modular control architecture for semi-autonomous navigation

Humanitarian demining is still a highly laborintensive and high-risk operation. Advanced sensors and mechanical aids can significantly reduce the demining time. In this context, it is the aim to develop a humanitarian demining mobile robot which is able to scan semi-automatically a minefield. This paper discusses the development of a control scheme for such a semi-autonomous mobile robot for humanitarian demining. This process requires the careful consideration and integration of multiple aspects: sensors and sensor data fusion, design of a control and software architecture, design of a path planning algorithm and robot control.