Electric inductance sensor-based path recognition for the highly configurable path tracking of service robot

The electric inductance sensor is often used for automatic guided vehicles (AGV) owing to its high reliability that originates from the compactness of its line tracking. However, tracking a single line leads to the design problems in the path layout on a floor when there is a requirement to move in a highly configurable space. The limitation of a single and continuous line has restricted line tracking to simpler rather than more complex spaces in which a robot is required to execute various tasks and where a few crossways are included. In this paper, circular sensor arrays based on electric inductance are proposed for a service robot. This technique enables a robot to recognize the shape of a path using a clustering method and enables it to perform various local motions based on the relative position and orientation measured from the path on the ground.