Best indoor positioning system/technology for in-home use?

[Comprehensive-Ad3963]

I'm building a robot to be used in a residential setting. This robot's primary directive is going to be to open a door in someone's house, and then come to them and tell them this has been done. This will require the robot to be aware of its location within their house (or, at least, its location relative to the user)

Computer vision might be sufficient for identifying the door to be opened and then for identifying the human once either is in the robot's line of sight, but I'm not entirely sure about any other case.

Maybe I could have the user place Bluetooth low-energy beacons in every room of their house. Maybe I could combine that with computer vision for the robot to determine which room it's in (if it looks like the kitchen and the kitchen beacon is closest, the robot's probably in the kitchen.)

Maybe I could have the bot start from the charging station and then go back once its tasks are finished, and then the bot could use inertial navigation to determine ITS position, and then I can use a different technology to calculate the user's position.

 

[anorlunda]

It is a hardware versus software issue. Cameras interfaced to computers are very inexpensive today.

There are software libraries for image processing that you could use to find the image of the robot. You'll need CPU power and you'll need a lot of learning to figure out how to use the libraries.

Hardware solutions like lidar may be simpler to understand but much more expensive and hard to make them versatile enough.

My recommendation, do it with software and get a 14 year old to do the software for you.

 

[Comprehensive-Ad3963]

It is a hardware versus software issue. Cameras interfaced to computers are very inexpensive today.

There are software libraries for image processing that you could use to find the image of the robot. You'll need CPU power and you'll need a lot of learning to figure out how to use the libraries.

Hardware solutions like lidar may be simpler to understand but much more expensive and hard to make them versatile enough.

My recommendation, do it with software and get a 14 year old to do the software for you.

OK, but how do I let the robot locate the user? What if the bot's in the kitchen and the user's at his desk in the office?

I could use Bluetooth Low Energy beacons sprinkled throughout the house to locate the user, but then I might as well make the robot aware of them, too, and thereby (potentially) increase the robot's ability to accurately identify the room it's in.

 

[berkeman]

Can the robot just call or text the person on their cell phone? Is there a reason the robot has to go find the person and use voice synthesis to tell the user?

Can you provide more context for this project? Is it some kind of a challenge where you are competing against other Makers to come up with the best system for a set of requirements? Or are you trying to come up with something that can help an elderly family member be more self-sufficient in their home?

 

[Comprehensive-Ad3963]

Can the robot just call or text the person on their cell phone? Is there a reason the robot has to go find the person and use voice synthesis to tell the user?

Can you provide more context for this project? Is it some kind of a challenge where you are competing against other Makers to come up with the best system for a set of requirements? Or are you trying to come up with something that can help an elderly family member be more self-sufficient in their home?

A challenge, sure.

 

[Borek]

You'll need CPU power and you'll need a lot of learning to figure out how to use the libraries.

Even if I implemented some simple neuron network to classify images for me I never used Edge TPU by myself, but I was told by a friend of mine it is surprisingly powerful for the price - and is sold as just a USB device that can be plugged into anything. It could be a wise choice for the problem at hand.

 

[Comprehensive-Ad3963]

OK, so I have a few ideas.

1) Have the user wear two antennae a set distance apart and use time-of-arrival/time-difference-of-arrival to calculate the robot's distance to these antennae and then its position relative to the antennae. The bot would also know the user's position relative to these antennae and could therefore attempt to calculate the best route.

2) Have the user wear a device that is connected to at least three beacons that are located throughout the house. Measure the time-difference-of-arrival between the device and the beacons.

2) Have the robot memorize what the user looks like from all angles, so that once the robot gets close enough to the user, it can rely on its camera feed to find the user.

 

[anorlunda]

and then come to them and tell them this has been done.

That does not specify the "come to them" distance. Open the door, and loudly play "I'm here." How does that not satisfy the challenge?

If you have a more precise version of the challenge, please post it.

 

[berkeman]

1) Have the user wear two antennae a set distance apart and use time-of-arrival/time-difference-of-arrival to calculate the robot's distance to these antennae and then its position relative to the antennae. The bot would also know the user's position relative to these antennae and could therefore attempt to calculate the best route.

Your user doesn't look to happy...

https://www.zoo.com/quiz/its-your-favorite-my-favorite-martian-trivia-quiz

 

[dlgoff]

This Youtube video is a little long but for those interested, it's Season 1, Episode 1:

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[sophiecentaur]

I was wonder if perhaps a bright dog could do the required job. I guess that wouldn't count. (The solution - not the dog)