NorthStar helps robots find their way indoors

Evolution Robotics, the company responsible the Aibo's charging station-recognition software, have created an infrared navigation system called NorthStar.  With the system, each room is installed with a basic infrared beacon that allows the robot to know which room it is in or going to.  It also helps robots find the charging station before it's too late.  While robots like the Aibo are cool and all that, they have some major navigation flaws: they don't remember the names of rooms or where they are, and they can sometimes get lost long enough to never find their charging station before electric death (running out of batteries).  NorthStar aims to fix this, making robots much more reliable house-roamers-when-you're-out.

[Via Near Near Future]

[Karan Narang @ Dec 19th 2005 2:10AM]

bluetooth

[Nat Roth @ Dec 19th 2005 2:10AM]

And find sarah conner...

[Guttrhead @ Dec 19th 2005 2:10AM]

and my assassinbot will be complete

[Richard @ Dec 19th 2005 2:10AM]

So now my robots can continue indefinitely without me. What a pleasant thought.

[Chris @ Dec 19th 2005 2:10AM]

To the suggestor of bluetooth:-
How would that help? To get any sense of location/direction, you'd have to get involved in all sorts of triangulation techniques (like, err, GPS?) to work out where the reference point was. This solution avoids all that. The 'bot can look out for a beacon, notice that the code for 'kitchen' is coming from "over there on the left", and know which way the charging station is. Suitably placed beacons could lead a trail back to the charging station. Home in on the highest scoring visible beacon, at which point another one becomes visible. Repeat until home.

[chuck @ Dec 19th 2005 2:10AM]

When I spoke to James Dyson (yes, THE Dyson) I asked him why he didn't choose to use a similar system for navigation of his DC-06 (robotic cleaner). He replied that it's impractical and no one would bother installing those transmitters/sensors.