Abstract

The most basic way to determine a robot's position is to measure the distance it has moved from some initial position. Typical methods for doing this consist of measurement of wheel rotation. These methods frequently fail due to cumulative error due to slip in the wheels. We present a design that avoids this problem by providing a differential phase-lag based radio frequency positioning system. Unlike carrier wave-based GPS, our system is low cost and is being developed to function over the scale of about one room. We develop the device from wireless network components. Devices built from other components have failed repeatedly in the past, and, if this design fails, we seek to determine the source and extent of the errors causing the failure.

©2002 Peter Schmidt, All rights reserved.