Magnetic strips as landmarks for mobile robot navigation

In this paper, a low-cost localization system designed for mobile robots is introduced. The system has been developed for a teaching aid where a mobile robot operates in a maze. The mobile robot is navigated by a high level control system where path-planning is executed; however, autonomous execution of the plan is required from the robot. The robot uses magnetic landmarks, among others, for its localization. Detection of the landmarks is realized by a triple axis magnetometer sensor. The landmarks are made from a commercially available magnetic sheet. Construction of the sheets limits this approach. A successful application has to meet some requirements which are described in this paper.