Development of a Cooperative Localization System using a UWB Network and BLE Technology

TL;DR

This paper develops a cooperative localization system combining UWB and BLE technologies, achieving high-accuracy 2D relative positioning for multi-robot scenarios with real-time updates.

Contribution

It introduces a novel system integrating UWB and BLE for cooperative localization, with a nonlinear least squares approach for position estimation.

Findings

Achieves approximately 3 cm positioning accuracy

Operates at an update rate of 10 Hz

Validated through experimental tests with 4 nodes

Abstract

This paper presents the development of a system able to estimate the 2D relative position of nodes in a wireless network, based on distance measurements between the nodes. The system uses ultra wide band ranging technology and the Bluetooth Low Energy protocol to acquire data. Furthermore, a nonlinear least squares problem is formulated and solved numerically for estimating the relative positions of the nodes. The localization performance of the system is validated by experimental tests, demonstrating the capability of measuring the relative position of a network comprised of 4 nodes with an accuracy of the order of 3 cm and an update rate of 10 Hz. This shows the feasibility of applying the proposed system for multi-robot cooperative localization and formation control scenarios.