A Single RF Emitter-Based Indoor Navigation Method for Autonomous Service Robots

Area of Science:

• Robotics and Autonomous Systems
• Wireless Communication
• Sensor Fusion

Background:

• Location-aware services are crucial for intelligent applications like factory automation and search and rescue.
• Autonomous robots require robust navigation in unknown environments to reach mobile targets, often without existing infrastructure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel dynamic target localization approach for autonomous robot navigation.
• To enable robots to reach mobile targets using a single radio frequency (RF) emitter.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing multiple directional antennas to determine target direction via Received Signal Strength (RSS) comparison.
• Employing a particle filter to enhance localization accuracy by mitigating RSS fluctuations.
• Integrating Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) with A* path planning for navigation in complex, unknown environments.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated improved localization performance by combining direction and distance estimates.
• Successfully enabled autonomous robot navigation towards a dynamic target in simulated factory automation scenarios.
• Validated the system's functionality and performance in various complex navigation tasks.

Conclusions:

• The proposed RF-based dynamic target localization and navigation system offers a viable solution for autonomous robots in infrastructure-less environments.
• The integration of RSS-based direction finding, particle filtering, and SLAM with A* path planning provides robust navigation capabilities.
• This research contributes to advancing intelligent robot applications in fields requiring autonomous navigation and target acquisition.