Distributed Sensor Network Based on RFID System for Localization of Multiple Mobile Agents

This paper presents a distributed wireless sensor network for multiple mobile agents localization. Localization of mobile agents, such as mobile robots, humans, and moving objects, in an indoor space is essential for robot-robot interaction (RRI) and human-robot interaction (HRI). The standard localization system, which is based on sensors installed in the robot body, is not suitable for multiple agents. Therefore, the concept of sensor network, which uses wireless sensors distributed in a specified space, is used in this study. By analyzing related studies, two solutions are proposed for the localization of mobile agents including humans: a new hardware system and a new software algorithm. The first solution focuses on the architectural design of the wireless sensor network for multiple agent localization. A passive RFID system is used, and then the architecture of the sensor network is adapted to suit the target system. The second solution centers on a localization algorithm based on the sensor network. The proposed localization algorithm improves the accuracy in the multiple agent localization system. The algorithm uses the displacement conditions of the mobile agents and the recognition changes between the RFID tags and RFID reader. Through experiments using a real platform, the usefulness of the proposed system is verified.