Title: Intelligent mapping and outdoor localisation for mobile robots by using algorithmic DGPS and Kalman filtering

Authors: Erol Uyar, Omer Oral, Bertan Karahoda

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dokuz Eylul University, Bornova 35100, Izmir, Turkey. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dokuz Eylul University, Bornova 35100, Izmir, Turkey. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dokuz Eylul University, Bornova 35100, Izmir, Turkey

Abstract: In this work, a novel approach that integrates GPS and Kalman filtering for the purpose of outdoor mapping is presented. Using two low-cost GPS receivers, a completely DGPS-like system is achieved algorithmically in the absence of real DGPS service. After the measurements are differentially corrected, a discrete Kalman filter algorithm is employed to estimate optimally the position of a robot vehicle to realise the trajectory estimation of the vehicle. Therefore, mapping of a specific geographical field in latitude and longitude is obtained. The results of the experimental testing of the DGPS algorithm and Kalman filtering show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Keywords: global positioning systems; GPS; state-space methods; estimation theory; Kalman filters; navigation systems; intelligent mapping; outdoor localisation; robot mapping; robot localisation; mobile robots; robot navigation; trajectory estimation; robot trajectories.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMMS.2009.026051

International Journal of Mechatronics and Manufacturing Systems, 2009 Vol.2 No.3, pp.358 - 368

Published online: 26 May 2009 *

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