Comparison of two methods for fusing information from a linear array of sonar sensors for obstacle localization

The performance of a commonly employed linear array of sonar sensors is assessed for point-obstacle localization intended for robotics applications. Two different methods of combining time-of-flight information from the sensors are described to estimate the range and azimuth of the obstacle: pairwise estimate method and the maximum likelihood estimator. The variances of the methods are compared to the Cramer-Rao Lower Bound, and their biases are investigated. Simulation studies indicate that in estimating range, both methods perform comparably; in estimating azimuth, maximum likelihood estimate is superior at a cost of extra computation. The results are useful for target localization in mobile robotics

Performance analysis of two linear array processing algorithms for obstacle localization

The performance of a commonly employed linear array of sonar sensors is assessed for point- target localization. Two different methods of combining time-of-flight information from the sensors are described to estimate the range and azimuth of the target: pairwise estimate method and the maximum likelihood estimator. The biases and variances of the methods are investigated and their combined effect is compared to the Cramer-Rao Lower Bound. Simulation studies indicate that in estimating range, both methods perform comparably; in estimating azimuth, maximum likelihood estimate is superior at a cost of extra computation