Thanks for posting that. I am not heavily into robots, but have
always kept an eye on the developing state of the art. In particular,
the "Where Am I?" question has always eluded roboticists. When RFID
started to be available, I had wondered if this would be the solution
inside buildings, which is where most robots would operate.
I noticed in the video, that the user was holding the RFID tag away
from their body. Is this an inherit issue with the technology?
One company I've checked a bit into is http://trolleyscan.com/ . But,
the readers are far too expensive for hobbiest or home use. The Rovio
by WoWee seems to have a great low-cost system, with its beacons being
projected onto the ceiling. I wonder if the hardware will ever really
be available to users as a component?
I suspect that some sort of vision system will eventually be the
technology that wins in regards to indoor navigation. Cameras are now
cheap, and processing hardware is powerful. Of course, I am sure
there will be several technologies in place. There will be something
to keep from bumping into thing (Sharp sensor, or Sonar), a method of
dead-reckoning (wheel odometry), and finally a method for the robot to
determine its absolute position within the building. It is this last
technology that has not had a clear winner like the other positioning
needs.
What technology do you think will win out for things like home
vacuums?
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