Mobile Robot Self-Localization without Explicit Landmarks

Abstract.

Localization is the process of determining the robot's location within its environment. More precisely, it is a procedure which takes as input a geometric map, a current estimate of the robot's pose, and sensor readings, and produces as output an improved estimate of the robot's current pose (position and orientation). We describe a combinatorially precise algorithm which performs mobile robot localization using a geometric model of the world and a point-and-shoot ranging device. We also describe a rasterized version of this algorithm which we have implemented on a real mobile robot equipped with a laser rangefinder we designed. Both versions of the algorithm allow for uncertainty in the data returned by the range sensor. We also present experimental results for the rasterized algorithm, obtained using our mobile robots at Cornell.