Localization of networked robot systems subject to random delay and packet loss

TL;DR

This paper presents a unified state-space approach and an optimal linear estimator for localizing networked mobile robots affected by random communication delays and packet loss, validated through simulations and real-world experiments.

Contribution

It introduces a novel relevance factor to incorporate delayed measurements into the localization process, extending the estimator for nonlinear systems.

Findings

Effective localization despite random delays and packet loss

Estimator performs well in both simulations and real robot experiments

Method improves robustness of networked robot localization

Abstract

This paper deals with the localization problem of mobile robot subject to communication delay and packet loss. The delay and loss may appear in a random fashion in both control inputs and observation measurements. A unified state-space representation is constructed to describe these mixed uncertainties. Based on it, the optimal linear estimator is developed. The main idea is the derivation of a relevance factor to incorporate delayed measurements to the being estimate. The estimator is then extended for nonlinear systems. The performance of this method is tested within the simulations in MATLAB and the experiments in a real robot system. The good localization results prove the efficiency of the method for the purpose of localization of networked mobile robot.