An acoustic sensor based novel method for 2D localization of a robot in a structured environment

Differences in locality in a structured environment cause variations in the reflection of an emitted acoustic wave. This paper exploits the above principle to propose a novel method of robot localization on a 2D map. The work brings novelty by using a simple acoustic emitter and a receiver for robot localization as opposed to exteroceptive sensors such as lasers, cameras, sonars and electromagnetic sensors which are conventionally used. This method requires only one sound emitter and a receiver in addition to odometry data to assist 2D localization of any mobile platform located in a pre-explored structured environment. The paper demonstrates the method through simulation by using Finite Element Analysis to solve the Helmholtz partial differential equation of acoustic wave propagation on a 2D map, and using a particle filter to correct the odometry through acoustic observations. Results show that the proposed method can effectively correct the odometry of a mobile platform in a structured environment. When compared with conventional exteroceptive sensors, compact installation and cost effectiveness come as practical advantages when implementing this method.