A Beacon Color Code Scheduling for the Localization of Multiple Robots

This paper proposes a beacon color code scheduling algorithm for the localization of multiple robots in a multiblock workspace. With the development of intelligent robotics and ubiquitous technology, service robots are applicable for use in wide areas, such as airports and train stations, where multiple indoor GPS systems are required for the localization of the mobile robots. Indoor localization schemes using ultrasonic sensors have been widely studied due to their cheap price and high accuracy. However, ultrasonic sensors have some disadvantages, such as a short transmission range and interference with other ultrasonic signals. In order to concurrently use multiple robots in wide-area workspaces, it is necessary to resolve the interference problem among the multiple robots in the localization process. This paper proposes an indoor localization system for concurrent multiple robots localization in a wide service area divided into multiblocks for reliable sensor operation. The beacon color code scheduling algorithm is developed in order to avoid signal interference and to achieve an efficient localization with a high accuracy and a short sampling time. The performance of the proposed localization system has been verified through real experiments.