Apparatus for recognizing position using range signals and method thereof

• US 8,725,416 B2
• Filed: 03/25/2011
• Issued: 05/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Park, Jun-Ho, Choi, Hyun-Do
• Primary Examiner(s): Olszewski, John R
• Assistant Examiner(s): MELTON, TODD M
• Application Number:
  US13/071,852
• Publication Number:
  US 20110320123A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,145 Days
• Field of Search: 701/300
• US Class Current: 701/518
• 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 19/51 Relative positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0252 Radio frequency fingerprinting
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0284 Relative positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/028 using a RF signal

Abstract

A position recognizing apparatus and method is provided. The position recognizing apparatus includes a range sensor which senses a distance between the position recognizing apparatus and a range landmark, and a candidate range landmark information generating unit which generates information about candidate range landmarks. The candidate range landmark information is modeled using a position and a posture of the position recognizing apparatus, the sensed distance and an angle between the range landmark and the position recognizing apparatus. The position recognizing apparatus further includes a range landmark extracting unit which, if a new distance is sensed, updates the candidate range landmark information and extracts actual range landmark information from the candidate range landmark information, and a position recognizing unit which recognizes a position of the position recognizing apparatus based on the extracted actual range landmark information.

Claims

1. A position recognizing apparatus comprising:

a range sensor which senses a distance between the position recognizing apparatus and a range landmark;

a candidate range landmark information generating unit which generates a plurality of pieces of candidate range landmark information of a plurality of candidate range landmarks including the range landmark, wherein the plurality of pieces of candidate range landmark information are modeled using an initial position and a posture of the position recognizing apparatus, the sensed distance between the position recognizing apparatus and the range landmark and a preset angle to set the plurality of pieces of candidate range landmark information based on an initial travelling direction of the position recognizing apparatus;

a range landmark extracting unit which, if a new distance between the position recognizing apparatus and the range landmark is sensed, updates the plurality of pieces of candidate range landmark information and extracts actual range landmark information of the range landmark among the updated plurality of pieces of candidate range landmark information by use of a covariance of the updated plurality of pieces of candidate range landmark information; and

a position recognizing unit which recognizes a position of the position recognizing apparatus based on the extracted actual range landmark information.

2. The position recognizing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the candidate range landmark information generating unit models the plurality of pieces of candidate range landmark information in a polar coordinate system if a range signal generator corresponding to the range landmark is located at an identical plane to a plane where the position recognizing apparatus moves.

3. The position recognizing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the candidate range landmark information generating unit models the plurality of pieces of candidate range landmark information in a spherical coordinate system if a range signal generator corresponding to the range landmark is located at a plane different from a plane where the position recognizing apparatus moves.

4. The position recognizing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of pieces of candidate range landmark information are modeled in a polar coordinate system, and the candidate range landmark information generating unit generates the plurality of pieces of candidate range landmark mark information at a first angular position which is distant from the position recognizing apparatus by the sensed distance in the travelling direction of the position recognizing apparatus, at a second angular position which proceeds from the first angular position by a preset angle based on the travelling direction of the position recognizing apparatus, and a third angular position which recedes from the first angular position by a preset angle based on the travelling direction of the position recognizing apparatus.

5. The position recognizing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of pieces of candidate range landmark mark information are modeled as a spherical coordinate system, the spherical coordinate system is divided into a lower part, an upper part, a front part and a rear part with respect to the travelling direction of the localization apparatus, and the candidate range landmark information generating unit generates the plurality of pieces of candidate range landmark mark information covering both of the front part and the upper part.

6. The position recognizing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the range landmark extracting unit performs a number of updates on the plurality of pieces of candidate range landmark information and determines candidate range landmark information producing a smallest covariance value among the candidate range landmark information, as the actual range landmark information.

7. The position recognizing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the range landmark extracting unit determines candidate range landmark information producing a covariance value having a highest convergence speed among the candidate range landmark information, as the actual range landmark information.

8. The position recognizing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the range landmark extracting unit uses at least one of a position of the position recognizing apparatus estimated using an image landmark and a position of the position recognizing apparatus estimated using previously registered range landmark information.

9. A position recognizing method comprising:

sensing a distance between a range landmark and a position recognizing apparatus;

generating a plurality of pieces of candidate range landmark information of a plurality of candidate range landmarks including the range landmark, wherein the plurality of pieces of candidate range landmark information are modeled using an initial position and a posture of the position recognizing apparatus, the sensed distance between the position recognizing apparatus and the range landmark and a preset angle to set the plurality of pieces of candidate range landmark information based on an initial travelling direction of the position recognizing apparatus;

if a new distance between the position recognizing apparatus and the range landmark is sensed, updating the plurality of pieces of candidate range landmark information;

extracting actual range landmark information of the single range landmark among the updated plurality of pieces of candidate range landmark information by use of a covariance of the updated plurality of pieces of candidate range landmark information; and

recognizing a position of the position recognizing apparatus based on the extracted actual range landmark information.

10. The position recognizing method of claim 9, wherein the generating the candidate range landmark information comprises modeling the plurality of pieces of candidate range landmark information in a polar coordinate system if a range signal generator corresponding to the range landmark is located at an identical plane to a plane where the position recognizing apparatus moves.

11. The position recognizing method of claim 9, wherein the generating the candidate range landmark information comprises modeling the plurality of pieces of candidate range landmark information in a spherical coordinate system if a range signal generator corresponding to the range landmark is located at a plane different from a plane where the position recognizing apparatus moves.

12. The position recognizing method of claim 9, wherein the extracting the actual range landmark information comprises performing a number of updates on the plurality of pieces of candidate range landmark information and determining candidate range landmark information producing a smallest covariance value among the plurality of pieces of candidate range landmark information, as the actual range landmark information.

13. The position recognizing method of claim 9, wherein the extracting the actual range landmark information comprises determining candidate range landmark information producing a covariance value having a highest convergence speed among the plurality of pieces of candidate range landmark information as the actual range landmark information.