Advantages

The system has several advantages. First of all, no training is required; the system can just be implemented by placing the base stations around a room and deploying the robot. No other preparation is required. Secondly, the transmitters are remote and the sensors are on the robot, and there is no need to talk back and forth, so transmissions can be continuous. Sensors can be added to different parts of the robot to get orientation. The device could even be used as part of a motion capture suit. Third, there is no possibility for slip unless the robot moves very fast; the analog to digital converter in the microcontroller is capable of about 75,000 samples per second: If you assume it needs 100 samples per wavelength not to slip, it could support a unit traveling up to 210 miles per hour! Fourth, it could be very accurate. Simulations indicate that the phase is detectable to about 2 degrees, for an accuracy of .7mm at 2.4 GHz. Fifth, the system can operate indoors (unlike carrier-wave phase differential GPS, which works on a similar priniciple and has about a few centimeters of accuracy). Finally, the projected cost of a unit is less than $50 (versus carrier-wave phase differential GPS, which costs $5000+ per unit, due to reduced complexities due to comparably short distances and both transmitter and receiver operating under identical circumstances).

©2002 Peter Schmidt, All rights reserved.