Robot Localization Using MEMS Sensors

Autonomous robots are becoming more common in this world. To be able to survive, they need precise information about their position. Purpose of this thesis is to design and create robust localization library, that provides such information to the robots. MEMS sensors are used as inertial measurement unit, which provide acceleration and rotation data to the library. We are discussing various available MEMS sensors, and their usability for such task. Described are various methods used to process sensor data such as the Kalman fi lter used to lter noise from measurements, sensor alignment using quaternions as spacial rotation, and xed-point arithmetics for compatibility with embedded systems. We found out that gyroscopes can only be used for short term observations, because of their drift. Acceleration sensors proved themselves unusable for localization purposes, because of imprecise acceleration sensing and major drift over time