Multi-robot cooperative localization based on autonomous motion state estimation and laser data interaction

Multi-robot cooperative localization is an important research topic in mobile robotics. This paper mainly studies the problem of cooperative localization based on environment information interaction in unknown complex environment. Considering the effiect of robot motion state on the cooperative localization, we present an algorithm for adaptive selecting periods of the cooperative localization based on autonomous motion state estimation. In order to avoid equipping an extra localization marker on the robot which is needed for direct observation between robots, and to make full use of the interactive information between robots in the same scene, a method for obtaining multi-robot observations based on MbICP algorithm is proposed, which makes multirobot cooperative localization using EKF feasible and reliable in cluttered environment. Experiment results with the Pioneer 3-DX robots and data analysis show the method＇s validity and practicability.