An Indoor Positioning System for Mobile Robots Using Visible Light Communication and Fuzzy Logic

Abstract

Visible light communication (VLC) using LED lamps is suitable for implementing an indoor positioning system in an indoor environment where the global positioning system (GPS) signal does not reach. In this paper, we present an indoor positioning system for mobile robots using a VLC beacon and fuzzy rules. This system consists of an autonomous mobile robot, VLC modules, and device application software. Fuzzy rules are applied to plan the global and local paths along which the mobile robot navigates indoors. The VLC transmitter modules are attached to the wall or the ceiling as beacons to transmit their own location information. The variable pulse position modulation (VPPM) algorithm is used to transmit data, which is a new modulation scheme for VLC providing a dimming control mechanism for flicker-free optical communication. The mobile robot has a receiver module to receive the location information while performing its mission in the environment where VLC transmitters are deployed.