Robot Pose Estimation on Floor Equipped with a Lattice of RFID Tags

Abstract

A method of estimating pose of a robot on a lattice of RFID tags is described. There is a model room in WABOT-HOUSE Laboratory of Waseda University where the floor is equipped with a lattice of RFID tags at 300 mm intervals, simulating a future home environment where robots interact symbiotically with humans. This paper propose a method that uses Monte Carlo localization to estimate the pose of robot on the lattice more precisely than the interval of tags. The experience shows the position and orientation error converge at about 50 mm (straight movement) / 20 mm (rotating movement) and less than 0.1 radian using some properly designed model-parameters, which are tuned in accordance with our simulation results, when two readers are placed appropriately. Moreover, we describe some items about where readers should be placed.