Localization of Autonomous Robotic Systems in Indoor Locations

Abstract

<p>Autonomous robotic systems are becoming an integral part of the current and future commercial and military applications. Remote tracking, monitoring and navigation of these autonomous robotic systems in indoor environment are becoming more and more important. Global Positioning System (GPS), satellite based navigation system, plays a vital role in these applications. However, receiving satellite signals in indoor locations is a major problem. This problem can be overcome by using indoor localization systems like Cricket motes. Cricket is an inexpensive wireless sensor mote, which provides indoor localization of a given object. They have good accuracy, easy to configure and deploy. However, to configure these motes to a co-ordinate system requires manual assistance. The objective of this project is to develop a new technique for localization and navigation of robots in indoor locations with little or no manual support. The primary focus of this paper is to present a novel algorithm for the Cricket motes to create a robust local co-ordinate system and then use these self-mapping Cricket motes to track, monitor and navigate multiple autonomous robotic systems. The algorithm uses the Trilateration and Extended Kalman Filtering technique to obtain a robust co-ordinate system.</p><p>This presentation occurred at the Wright State University Campus-Wide Celebration of Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities on April 8, 2011</p>