Sensor based localization for multiple mobile robots using virtual link

An approach for multiple mobile robot localization using inexpensive infrared sensors and CMOS cameras is presented. A multiple robot system is treated as a virtual linked robot. Using the virtual link length and the relative heading information in conjunction with sensor scan data for each robot in the system, the entire system can effectively be localized without investing heavily in sensors. In order to facilitate collaboration and exploit geometry, a team must be able to extract salient information from the collective sensing of all its members. By collecting and fusing sensor information from multiple, distinct positions, the effective resolution of the space can be improved beyond that of the individual measurements. The proposed localization method is verified via both simulation and experiment.