Robust UWB-Based Localization with Application to Automated Guided Vehicles

Herein, localization framework based on ultra wide band (UWB) signaling is described. The proposed framework tackles the issues of industrial indoor localization. In particular, experiments are performed using the PulsON 410 Ranging and Communication Modules (P410 RCMs) produced by Time Domain. The considered scenario consists of an industrial warehouse with laser guided vehicles (LGVs), manual forklifts, and people. In the considered localization setup, three RCMs are placed on an LGV and an additional RCM acts as a Target Node (TN), whose position needs to be estimated. As the laser guarantees perfect knowledge of the LGV position inside the building, the three RCMs on board can be considered as Anchor Nodes (ANs) with known positions. The TN is supposed to be placed on a manual forklift or in the belt of a person inside the warehouse. Two localization algorithms that rely on the distance estimates between pairs of UWB sensors positioned on the automated guided vehicles (AGV) and the UWB sensor that acts as TN are proposed. Extensive performance results based on an experimental campaign performed in an industrial warehouse is also shown, for different TN positions around the LGV.