Method and system for determining precise robotic position and orientation using near-simultaneous radio frequency measurements

• US 10,539,647 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2017
• Issued: 01/21/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nexus Robotics LLC
• Original Assignee: Discovery Robotics
• Inventors: Williams, Larry J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mott, Adam R
• Application Number:
  US15/632,718
• Publication Number:
  US 20180024223A1
• Time in Patent Office: 939 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 13/089 Determining the position of the robot with reference to its environment
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 5/007 mounted on wheels
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3856 Data obtained from user input
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/0209 Systems with very large relative bandwidth, i.e. larger than 10 %, e.g. baseband, pulse, carrier-free, ultrawideband
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/42 Determining position
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0289 of multiple transceivers, e.g. in ad hoc networks
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/10 Position of receiver fixed by co-ordinating a plurality of position lines defined by path-difference measurements , e.g. omega or decca systemsG01S5/12 takes precedence ; beacons and receivers cooperating therewith G01S1/306, G01S1/308
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/028 using a RF signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0092 using a wideband front end
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/01 Mobile robot

Abstract

A method and system for determining position and/or pose of an object. A robotic device moves throughout an environment and includes a master transceiver tag and, optionally, additional tags. The environment includes a plurality of anchor nodes that are configured to form a network. A master anchor node is in communication with at least a portion of the plurality of anchor nodes and is configured to transmit a ranging message as a UWB signal, receive a ranging message response from each other anchor node in the network, generate a reference grid representing physical locations of the plurality of anchor nodes within the network based upon the received ranging message responses, and distribute the reference grid to each of the other anchor nodes. The master transceiver tag receives the reference grid information and, based upon further calculations, determines a specific position and pose of the robotic device within the environment.

Claims

1. A method for determining a position of a robotic device within an environment, the method comprising:

transmitting, by a master transceiver tag associated with the robotic device, a request to join a network, the network comprising at least one master node and a plurality of anchor nodes;

receiving, by the master transceiver tag, distance information for at least a portion of the master node and the plurality of anchor nodes;

determining, by the master transceiver tag, a set of best fit anchor nodes based upon the distance information;

determining, by the master transceiver tag, ranging information from the master transceiver tag to each of the set of best fit anchor nodes;

calculating, by the master transceiver tag, a position of the robotic device based upon the determined ranging information;

receiving, by the master transceiver tag, relative positioning information from a plurality of additional transceiver tags operably attached to the robotic device;

calculating, by the master transceiver tag, a location for each of the plurality of additional transceiver tags based upon the received relative positioning information and the position of the robotic device; and

determining, by the master transceiver tag, a pose of the robotic device based upon the calculated location of each of the plurality of additional transceiver tags.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein transmitting the request to join the network is initiated upon an entry of the robotic device into an operating region of the plurality of anchor nodes.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein transmitting the request to join the network comprises transmitting the request in accordance with a predefined communication protocol.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the predefined communication protocol is IEEE Standard 802.15.4.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein calculating the position of the robotic device is performed utilizing, at least in part, a multi-lateration method.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the multi-lateration method comprises a hyperbolic position location algorithm.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the multi-lateration method comprises a linear quadratic estimation algorithm.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the linear quadratic estimation algorithm comprises a Kalman filter.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the steps of receiving relative positioning information from the plurality of additional transceiver tags, calculating the location for each of the plurality of additional transceiver tags and determining the pose of the robotic device based upon the calculated location of each of the plurality of additional transceiver tags are performed at a repetition rate based, at least in part on at least one of a time and a distance.