2012 International Conference on Computer Distributed Control and Intelligent Enviromental Monitoring

Robot Navigation System with RFID and Sensors

Shi Peng, WangDong
Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, 200240, China watersp@163.com AbstractThe paper proposed a method enable robot to
navigate in indoor space is indicated.The system use RFID tags as landmarks to locate the robot.A topological map corresponding to the real environment is used for robot navigation.The robot goes along the ways,and turn to the right direction at each intersection of the hallways.The robot navigation system can be used in real life and do efficient work.

Keywords- Robot Navigation System,RFID,Ultrasonic sensor

I.

INTRODUCTION

Navigation services which usually depend on GNSS are limited to be used in open areas with satelite signals.If the users or robots are about to move in buildings,another approach must be used to navigate accurately. In our approach Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is used to determine the location indoors. In RFID positioning there are two common approaches to estimate the location.One method is based on signal strength.We take received signal strength indication(RSSI) which present the power of received signal as the measurement.Then the position is computed with certain methods based on the measurements.Several methods have been studied,such as RFID location fingerprinting,cell-based positioning, and the way using ranges to the tags calculated with RSSI. Another particular method to estimate the location is based on the landmarks.In the landmark-based navigation,landmarks are required to be set in the building,usually on certain doors and corners.A topological map with nodes corresponding to the landmarks is used to do the navigation.A navigation based on landmarks is without physical reality.For example,a navigation may be go straight till the end of the corridor,turn to the right,and stop after passing two junctions.Thus it is important to make a suitible topological map which should reflect the environment perfectly.There must be enough number of landmarks to complete the navigation without mistakes,so each landmark should be unique in the map,easy to distinguish,and settled in proper places such as doors or corners.With these demands we propose an approach using radio frequency identification(RFID) tags as landmarks.The RFID tags communicate via electormagnetic waves,which means tags can be read without contact and easily to distinguish from the surroundings.The tags have unique identifications inside the memories,and the memories may be read from several meters away.We paste the tags on the floor in special places in the building.When robots reach one of these places and
978-0-7695-4639-1/12 $26.00 2012 IEEE DOI 10.1109/CDCIEM.2012.150 610

read the tag,the location imformation is acquired.The passive RFID tags gain power from the electromagnetic waves which the reader transmits.Therefore the tags are quite thin,light and with low-cost.Furthermore they can be settled and replaced easily and have stable performance through lifetime. In the building,hallways are usually construsted with two straight walls and several doors on them.The hallways may be in different shapes,so it is essential to adjust the robots moving direction in time when going through the hallways.There are several method investigated and researched.Sonar range nders[2] are possible to measure the distance to a wall and modify the moving direction of a robot with walls as references. The laser range scanner[3] can create maps of nearby objects quickly and with proper resolution.With respect of both efficiency and cost,we choose ultrasonic sensors to detect the distance between the robot and the wall and adjust the direction when needed. II. LANDMARKS AND MAPS FOR NAVIGATION

A. RFID TAGS AS LANDMARKS In this approach we use UHF passive RFID tags,and figure 1 shows the tag we choose to use as landmarks.The tag has an IC with 800-bits nonvolatile memory,which conclude a 64-bit unique tag identification and 512-bit free memory can be read and write by the user.It works within the UHF band(840-960MHz),and has a size of 93mm D 19mm.The tag is attached to a thin plastic board which is pasted on the floor in the building. An interrogator is mounted on the robot.When the robot moves inside the building,its route is not certain.Therefore,when the robot is passing by a tag,we cannot tell which direction it comes from.This demand the tags can be read from every direction.Thus a circular polarization antenna is used,which is able to obtain information ignoring the orientation.

Figure 1.

UHF RFID Tag and Circular Polarization Antenna