Radio Source Localization using Sparse Signal Measurements from Uncrewed Ground Vehicles

Radio source localization can benefit many fields, including wireless communications, radar, radio astronomy, wireless sensor networks, positioning systems, and surveillance systems. However, accurately estimating the position of a radio transmitter using a remote sensor is not an easy task, as many factors contribute to the highly dynamic behavior of radio signals. In this study, we investigate techniques to use a mobile robot to explore an outdoor area and localize the radio source using sparse Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) measurements. We propose a novel radio source localization method with fast turnaround times and reduced complexity compared to the state-of-the-art. Our technique uses RSSI measurements collected while the robot completed a sparse trajectory using a coverage path planning map. The mean RSSI within each grid cell was used to find the most likely cell containing the source. Three techniques were analyzed with the data from eight field tests using a mobile robot. The proposed method can localize a gas source in a basketball field with a 1.2 m accuracy and within three minutes of convergence time, whereas the state-of-the-art active sensing technique took more than 30 minutes to reach a source estimation accuracy below 1 m.

Coverage Path Planning with Budget Constraints for Multiple Unmanned Ground Vehicles

This paper proposes a state-machine model for a multi-modal, multi-robot environmental sensing algorithm. This multi-modal algorithm integrates two different exploration algorithms: (1) coverage path planning using variable formations and (2) collaborative active sensing using multi-robot swarms. The state machine provides the logic for when to switch between these different sensing algorithms. We evaluate the performance of the proposed approach on a gas source localisation and mapping task. We use hardware-in-the-loop experiments and real-time experiments with a radio source simulating a real gas field. We compare the proposed approach with a single-mode, state-of-the-art collaborative active sensing approach. Our results indicate that our multi-modal switching approach can converge more rapidly than single-mode active sensing.