A dynamic localization algorithm for mobile robots using the iGS system

This paper proposes an efficient dynamic localization algorithm in the active beacon sensor space for the precise localization of a mobile robot. The design and implementation of the localization system is based on the use of active beacon systems, each of which is composed of an RFID receiver and an ultrasonic transmitter. The RFID receiver obtains the synchronization signal from the mobile robot and the ultrasonic transmitter sends out a short-term signal to be used for measuring the distance from the beacon to the mobile robot. The position of a mobile robot in three dimensional space can basically be calculated using the distance information from three beacons which have their own absolute position information. There exists a localization error caused by the long time required to process the data from the beacons. To overcome this problem, a new method of allocating the beacons in the absolute position sensor space, which is referred to as the dynamic localization algorithm, is proposed in this paper to improve the localization accuracy. That is, an efficient and precise algorithm to estimate the position and orientation of the mobile robot as quickly as possible has been newly developed. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated and verified through experiments.