Two-dimensional location and direction estimating method

In this paper, a method of estimating both the position and the rotation angle of an object on a measurement stage was proposed. The system utilizes the radio communication technology and the directivity of an antenna. As a prototype system, a measurement stage (a circle 240mm in diameter) with 36 antennas that placed in each 10 degrees was developed. Two transmitter antennas are settled in a right angle on the stage as the target object, and the position and the rotation angle is estimated by measuring efficiency of the radio communication of each 36 antennas. The experimental result revealed that even when the estimated location is not so accurate (about a 30 mm error), the rotation angle is accurately estimated (about 2.33 degree error on average). The result suggests that the proposed method will be useful for estimating the location and the direction of an object.