A Method for Estimating Position and Orientation with a Topological Approach using Multiple Infrared Tags

This paper presents a method for estimating an object's two-dimensional (2D) position and orientation based on topological information collected using infrared tags without any special location sensors or direction sensors. Estimating a user's and articles' location, irrespective of circumstances, is an important issue for context-aware systems. Users are present in a location with some purpose or intention. Therefore, a user's position and orientation clearly reflect their context. Especially, orientation information can reflect a more detailed context than that obtained merely according to location: people standing face- to-face or back-to-back would have vastly different contexts. The analyses explained in this paper particularly examine an object's orientation and describe a new method for estimating an object's position and orientation in an indoor, real-world environment. Using a simulation and an implemented prototype system, the experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of our topological estimation method.