Isotropic optical mouse placement for mobile robot velocity estimation

This paper presents the isotropic placement of optical mice for the velocity estimation of a mobile robot. It is assumed that optical mice are placed at the bottom of a mobile robot, with possible restriction on their installation. First, with the characteristic length introduced, the velocity kinematics of a mobile robot with an array of optical mice is obtained. Second, the geometrical conditions for the isotropic and singular optical mouse placements are derived, along with the optimal characteristic length. And, for an anisotropic optical mouse placement, the suboptimal characteristic length required for maximal isotropy is determined. Third, simulation results for several different placements of three optical mice are given: the optimal optical mouse placement and the least squares mobile robot velocity estimation.