Global Posture Estimation of a Tour-guide Robot using RFID and Laser Scanning Measurements

This paper presents methodologies concerning with how to apply a least-square method and an extended information filtering (EIF) scheme to global posture estimation of an tour- guide robot with radio-frequency-identification-device (RFID) and laser scanning measurements. An active RFID localization system with the RSSI (received signal strength indication) data from selected tags to a reader is presented to estimate both the unknown start-up position and orientation of the tour-guide robot at any circumstance. With the odometric data from the driving wheels and the laser scanning measurements from the robot's surroundings, an EIF-based pose localization algorithm is proposed to continuously keep track of the robot's poses at slow speeds. Experimental results are conducted to confirm that the proposed method not only provides precise estimation of both the unknown initial and continuous moving poses of the tour-guide robot, but also shows a simpler and more efficient localization way for navigation purposes.