RFID platform for mobile robot navigation

Abstract

Localization , map-building and motion control (navigation) are the three major tasks for a successful mobile robot navigation. This report studies a hardware in the loop simulation system using the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for the design and implementation of cost-effective and modular control technique to navigate a mobile manipulator in a virtual static environment. The implemented navigation system is mainly composed of two parts: the RFID hardware platform and the Gazebo simulator for the robotic virtual environment. The RFID platform consists of multiple antennas, an RFID reader, and RFID tags which are placed in a three dimensional workspace. These tags provide necessary information about the environment for the reader. This information are then passed, in real-time, to the Gazebo simulator in order to generate appropriate control actions for the robot’s actuators. These control actions make the robot reach target positions or track predefined trajectory in the virtual environment depending on the desired task.The system was successfully implemented and gave promising preliminary results.