Robot Localization and Navigation with a Ground-Based Microwave Radar

Global Positioning System (GPS) is intensively used for localization and navigation in mobile robotics due to its ease of use, its precision, and its worldwide accessibility. But in presence of tall obstacles (buildings) or vegetation (trees), the reception of GPS signals can be poor or impossible. Such a situation is not compatible with autonomous mobile robotics applications, and redundant localization tools need to be implemented. We present in this paper a solution for localization in mobile robotics based on PELICAN radar. PELICAN is a K-band panoramic radar, whose images are used to build radar maps of the traveled environments. The proposed solution realizes a real-time 3D matching between the current radar image and the pre-existing radar map, in order to estimate the position and the orientation of the radar within the map. Results obtained in localization and navigation are illustrated with a path-following application.