For the mapping of the obstacles in a region, I was planning on using Sharp IR range finders connected with an Arduino Mega and then trying to plot it in real time on a polar histogram type map using python and matplotlib. I was a bit confused about how to proceed through the interfacing of the Arduino and python over the serial connection.
1 Answer
This might be a good start: Arduino and Python. Summary: use pySerial and read from/write to /dev/tty.usbserial.
See also:
How to send a value from Arduino to Python and then use that value
Receive multiple values via pyserial and display in Python GUI