Posture estimation system for underground mine vehicles

Abstract

Platform pose is a key requirement for autonomous systems. The severe natural conditions and complex terrain of underground mines diminish the performance of classical localization systems. This paper proposes a pose (localization and orientation) estimator that utilizes ultrasonic and electromagnetic signals to facilitate a time-of-flight (TOF) based trilateration. This system decreases maintenance costs by utilizing a wait mode and only operational once a receiver is in the vicinity. The trilateration algorithm utilized is an Ordinary Least Square (OLS) estimator. The pose estimator has two ultrasonic receivers at a fixed separation distance. The two ultrasonic receivers each calculate its unique position. The orientation of the object is obtained from the orientation of a line segment joining the two positions on the object.