Floor estimation method for multi story buildings using WiFi maps created by Gaussian process regression

Abstract

Recent years, mobile robots are expected to provide security and transport in multi floor buildings such as condominiums and office buildings. To move between floors, robots need to use an elevator. From the viewpoint of labor shortage, robots need to be able to move to their destinations without human intervention. For this, robot itself needs to know the floor it is on. LiDAR is the most common sensor used in localization. However, with LiDAR, every floor could be similar data. So, need to use another sensor. Since WiFi signal strength varies with the floor of the building, WiFi receiving sensor is required for floor estimation. As a validation of the floor estimation we compare the likelihood of each floor in the entire area of the WiFi map using only WiFi information. As a result, we were able to estimate the floor where the robot is located in the building.