kc_vision open-source robot masters GPS boustrophedon coverage planning
No hardware needed: simulate GPS-based area coverage with 0.2m sweep spacing on Ubuntu 24.04.
Founded by Kiranchand_Bingi during his M.Tech in Robotics & AI, kc_vision is a fully open-sourced autonomous ground robot project that runs out of the box on Ubuntu 24.04 — no hardware needed. The simulation stack integrates ROS 2 Jazzy, Gazebo Harmonic, Nav2, and SLAM Toolbox/Cartographer for mapping and autonomous navigation. Users can click goals in RViz, follow GPS waypoints, or use the standout boustrophedon coverage planner that requires only four GPS corner points to autonomously sweep an entire area with configurable row spacing (default 0.2 m).
Beyond simulation, the project includes a hardware build in progress featuring a Raspberry Pi 5, STM32 via micro-ROS, YDlidar, BNO086 IMU, and NEO-M8N GPS. The EKF sensor fusion via robot_localization ensures accurate outdoor positioning even without a pre-built map. kc_vision is designed for students, researchers, and hobbyists to experiment with practical robotics — from mapping and path planning to GPS-guided coverage tasks — all without expensive equipment.
- Fully open-source stack runs on Ubuntu 24.04 with no hardware needed, using ROS 2 Jazzy and Gazebo Harmonic.
- Boustrophedon coverage planner sweeps any outdoor area by marking just 4 GPS corners, default spacing 0.2 m.
- Integrates SLAM Toolbox/Cartographer, Nav2, and EKF sensor fusion for accurate outdoor navigation.
Why It Matters
Makes advanced outdoor robotic coverage accessible to students and hobbyists with a free, simulation-first approach.