"For mowing a lawn it may well be possible
      to have some IR Led marker posts at strategic
      points which the bot could sense."

What if these IR LED markers were 'swept' at known
intervals over the work area?

What I mean is, what if they were 'rotated' in place and
acted much like a VOR beacon.

By taking the angular bearing from 2 (or more of these
beacons) a very accurate position could be determined.
Perhaps this in combination with a perimiter wire to mark
the outer boundary?

Jim


----- Original Message -----
From: "Alan B. Pearce" <A.B.Pearce@RL.AC.UK>
To: <PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
Sent: Friday, August 31, 2001 11:48 AM
Subject: Re: [EE]: - Botboard


> >However, if you were to add "some" kind of fixed markers, I
> >think a combination approach between marker sensing and dead
> >reckoning based upon an internal representation would put you in
> >business.
> >
> >Possibly a wire around the outer perimeter, as Quiet Joe mentioned,
> >plus some low bricks at the edge of the flower beds, etc.
>
> For mowing a lawn it may well be possible to have some IR Led marker posts
> at strategic points which the bot could sense. A scheme something like
this
> has been used on tractors to plough a field, but that was done with a
laser
> on the tractor sensing survey type corner reflectors I believe.
>
> If the Leds were only about a foot above the ground it should be possible
to
> have a slit that the bot uses to view them which would keep incident
> sunlight from overpowering the sensor. If each led was permanently
implanted
> in the garden border and operated at a different frequency then the bot
> would always know where it was. The leds could even be mounted on the
house
> wall or fence some way back from the mowing limit. With enough leds it
would
> not matter if bushes sometimes obscured some of them, the bot may even be
> able to learn how much the bush has grown by the shadow of a sensor :)
>
> This would save burying a wire all round the perimeter of the mowing area.
>
> --
> http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out subtopics
> (like ads or off topics) for you. See http://www.piclist.com/#topics
>
>

--
http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out subtopics
(like ads or off topics) for you. See http://www.piclist.com/#topics