Edge Detection and Alignment Control Method for Mobile Robots based on multi-Lidar Fusion

Currently, there is a growing demand for intelligent maintenance of large-scale infrastructure, prompting a shift from manual to semi-automatic solutions in the control schemes of inspection robots. Mobile inspection robots play a crucial role in tasks such as flip-over inspection, fall prevention warning, defect identification, all of which necessitate edge detection and alignment processes. Laser alignment, with its high precision and low computational complexity, offers significant advantages over manual observation and visual alignment methods. This paper addresses practical engineering requirements by proposing a lidar-based structural edge detection algorithm and an automatic alignment controller. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, edge detection and alignment control experiments were conducted in a simulated environment. The results show that the edge detection algorithm reduces the direction detection error to 2.7°. The developed alignment controller exhibits a convergence time approximately 40% shorter than the standard PID controller. The proposed scheme effectively meets the accuracy and real-time requirements for edge detection and automatic alignment functions in mobile inspection robots and holds significant application potential for the infrastructure project's intelligent maintenance.