Line-of-sight task-space sensing methodology for the localization of robotic end-effectors

In this paper, the implementation of a line-of-sight (LOS) task-space sensing methodology is presented for guidance-based microlocalization of robotic end-effectors. The novelty of the overall system is its applicability to cases that do not allow for the direct proximity measurement of the end-effector's pose (position and orientation). The mobility of the localization application dictates the minimum number and the type (planar or spatial) of the LOS that would be necessary to use and, consequently, the exact configuration of the sensing system. Although the main focus of the paper is the presentation of the proposed LOS sensing system, a brief discussion of a robot-guidance method, which relies on the use of this sensing system, is also included. Extensive experiments conducted for a high-precision 3-DOF (degrees of freedom) planar robotic platform utilizing the overall guidance system validated our research.