Multi-Map Navigation with Wormholes

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A ROS package that enables seamless navigation across multiple maps using wormholes (predefined transformation points). Ideal for environments split into separate maps (like rooms or floors), this package teleports the robot between maps while maintaining localization.

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🚀 Features

• Action server/client interface for goal navigation.
• move_base based multi map navigation action server.
• Wormhole-based teleportation between maps.
• SQLite database to store wormhole locations.

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🔍 Wormholes: How It Works

Wormholes are defined as shared poses between two maps. The robot uses these as teleportation anchors during navigation between maps.

The server checks for a wormhole connection:

• If current map == target map: navigates directly.
• If different: navigates to wormhole, switches map, teleports to the corresponding wormhole pose in new map, and navigates to final goal.

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Functionality

It includes:

• MultiMapGoalActionServer – A ROS action server that handles navigation goals across maps.
• multi_map_goal_client – A command-line tool to send navigation goals to the server.

MultiMapGoalActionServer

• Listens for goals that include:
  • Target pose (x, y, yaw)
  • Target map name (e.g., "room1", "room2")
• Checks if robot needs to switch maps.
  • If no:
    • Checks if target pose is within bounds of the new map.
    • Then directly sends goal to move_base in the current map.
  • If yes: queries wormhole info from an SQLite DB.
    • Publishes the new map path → triggers map switch.
    • Checks if target pose is within bounds of the new map.
    • Publishes robot's initial pose in new map frame.
• Sends goal to move_base once localization is stable.
• Reports success or failure through action result.

multi_map_goal_client

• A simple CLI-based goal sender.
• Takes four inputs: x, y, yaw, map_name
• Sends an action goal to MultiMapGoalActionServer
• Waits for result and prints status

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📂 Package Structure

multimap_navigation/
├── CMakeLists.txt
├── package.xml
├── README.md              
├── action/
│   └── SendGoal.action   
├── data/
│   ├── wormholes.db     
│   └── wormholes.sql    
├── include/multimap_navigation/
│   └── MultiMapGoalActionServer.hpp
├── src/
│   ├── MultiMapGoalActionClient.cpp
│   └── MultiMapGoalActionServer.cpp

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🌐 Dependencies

• ROS (tested on Noetic)
• move_base
• AMCL
• sqlite3

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⚖️ Installation and Building with Additional Packages

☁️ Cloning

cd ~/catkin_ws/src

# Multi Map Navigation Package
git clone https://github.com/manojm-dev/multimap_navigation.git

# AR100
git clone https://github.com/manojm-dev/AR100.git

📦 Installing Dependencies

cd ~/catkin_ws
sudo apt-get update -y && rosdep update && rosdep install --from-paths src --ignore-src -y

🛠️ Building

cd ~/catkin_ws
catkin_make
source devel/setup.bash

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⚙️ Usage

1. Start the Simulation

roslaunch start_anscer start_anscer.launch

2. Start the Autonomous Navigation Stack

roslaunch anscer_navigation anscer_navigation.launch map_name:=room1

room1 is the spawning location for the robot and don't forget to localize the robot in rviz before proceding with running action server.

3. Start the Action Server

rosrun multimap_navigation multi_map_goal_server

Ensure that parameters such as wormhole_db, maps_path, and others are correctly set via the launch file or the parameter server. If any related files or configurations are modified, update these parameters accordingly to maintain seamless functionality.

2. Send Navigation Goal

rosrun multimap_navigation multi_map_goal_client <x> <y> <yaw> <map_name>

Example:

rosrun multimap_navigation multi_map_goal_client 1.0 2.5 1.57 room2
rosrun multimap_navigation multi_map_goal_client 12 6 0 room2
rosrun multimap_navigation multi_map_goal_client 22 5 0 room3
rosrun multimap_navigation multi_map_goal_client 22 12 0 room4
rosrun multimap_navigation multi_map_goal_client 12 12 0 room5
rosrun multimap_navigation multi_map_goal_client 5 12 0 room6

Note we as of now we can only able to navigate to adjacent maps, i.e., maps connected by a wormhole.

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🚫 Limitations

• No support for dynamic map generation.
• Wormholes must be manually defined.
• Assumes perfect localization post-teleport (relies on AMCL recovery).

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📅 Future Improvements

• Auto-generation of wormhole candidates.
• Dynamic graph-based multi-map planning.
• GUI for wormhole editing and DB management.

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