An investigation into the influence of robot kinematics and of the LIDAR positioning on the Mapping performance of Cartographer SLAM algorithm

N'Chot, Denis ORCID: 0009-0005-8641-5462, Sandall, Ian and Lakany, Heba (2026) An investigation into the influence of robot kinematics and of the LIDAR positioning on the Mapping performance of Cartographer SLAM algorithm 3 March 2026, Online.

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Description

Mobile robots require reliable navigation systems to carry out tasks in domains such as exploration, warehouse logistics and farming. Navigation relies on localisation, which in turn depends on an accurate representation of the robot’s surroundings; Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) provides this capability by enabling a robot to build a map of its environment and estimate its pose within that map while moving. This paper investigates how the robot’s starting position, mapping speed and LIDAR sensor location affect the quality of maps created with the Cartographer SLAM algorithm. These three factors are systematically varied in a design of experiments of 90 runs. This study addresses the critical lack of standardised evaluation by introducing a robust, multi-metric cost function that synthesises five distinct performance dimensions into a single, objective quality score. By unifying ground-truth-based metrics (pose error, map overlap) with map-internal measures (enclosed areas, occupancy, corner count), this work provides a comprehensive framework for SLAM performance benchmarking. This novel single-score approach empowers practitioners to move beyond subjective visual inspection toward a rigorous, quantifiable assessment of map definition and structural integrity.

Item Type:	Presentation Material
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Map Quality Assessment, SLAM Algorithm, LIDAR Positioning, Multi-Metric Operator, Multi-Objective Problem.
Divisions:	Faculty of Science & Engineering Faculty of Science & Engineering > School of Engineering Faculty of Science & Engineering > School of Engineering > Electrical Engineering and Electronics
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	17 Jul 2026 13:39
Last Modified:	17 Jul 2026 13:39
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3199445
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