Calibration of an Infrared Positioning System

Abstract

Introduction. For transportation systems and, in particular, autonomous devices, accurate position determination is an essential requirement. In outdoor environments, the Global Positioning System (GPS) remains the optimal solution due to its broad coverage, high level of automation, and ease of use. However, in indoor environments, the significantly weakened GPS signal creates serious difficulties for accurate localization. For navigation of   transportation devices in confined spaces, the Valve Lighthouse system has been proposed. Although this system exhibits rather low random noise, capable of achieving millimeter-level precision, its accuracy is sensitive to installation-related distortions in the received signal. This leads to errors in position estimation. The current literature lacks methods for identifying these distortions and performing system calibration. To address this gap, this paper proposes an algorithm for estimating the coefficients of a signal error model based exclusively on the coordinates of the transportation device. Aim. Calibration of the signal of an infrared system using exclusively the coordinates of the transportation device in the coordinate system associated with the base station. Materials and methods. An HTC Vive error model of an infrared system was used. The proposed approach is based on Newton’s method and uses a dataset of the true coordinates of the transportation device in the coordinate system associated with the base station, as well as the coordinates determined by the system. Results. The proposed method makes it possible to determine the coefficients of the signal error model of an infrared system using a single base station. Conclusion. A method for calibrating the signal of an infrared system using a single base station is presented. This method is based on Newton’s method and a dataset of transportation device coordinates in the system coordinate frame.