Mobile robot localization using WLAN, odometry and gyroscope data

Abstract

In this paper a method for estimation of position and motion of a mobile robot in an indoor environment is introduced. The proposed method uses WLAN signal strength to estimate the global position of a mobile robot in an office building. Thus signal strengths of the received access points are stored in the radio map in calibration phase. In localization phase the stored values are compared with actually measured one’s. Therefore a fingerprinting algorithm, that was introduced before, is used. The improvement of the presented work is the multi sensor fusion using Kalman filter, which enhances the accuracy of fingerprinting algorithms and tracking of the robot. For this reason odometric and gyroscopic sensors of the robot are fused with the estimated position of the fingerprinting algorithm. The paper presents the experimental results of measurements made in an office building.