Robot navigation and sound based position identification

In this paper, we proposed a robot self position identification method by active sound localization. This method can be used for autonomous security robots working in room environments. A system using a AIBO robot equipped with two microphones and wireless network is constructed and is used for position identification experiments. Arrival time differences to the microphones of robot are used as localization cues. To overcome the ambiguity of front-back confusion, a three-head position measurement method was proposed. The robot position can be identified by the intersection of circles restricted by the azimuth differences to different speaker pairs. By localizing three or four speakers as sound beacons positioned on known locations, the robot can identify its self position with an average error of about 7 cm in a 2.5times3.0 m² working space. A robot navigation experiment was conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the position identification system.