Docking autonomous robots in passive docks with Infrared sensors and QR codes.

In this paper, we describe an inexpensive andeasy to deploy docking solution in passive charging docks forautonomous mobile robots. The objective is to achieve long-termautonomous robots within an experiment test-bed. We propose tocombine the use of QR codes as landmarks and Infrared distancesensors. The relative size of the lateral edges of the visual patternis used to position the robot in relation with the dock. Infrareddistance sensors are then used to perform different approachingstrategies depending on the distance. Experiments show that theproposed solution is fully operational and robust. Not to relyexclusively on visual pattern recognition avoids potential errorsinduced by camera calibration. Additionally, as a positive sideeffect, the use of Infrared sensors allows the robot to avoidobstacles while docking. The finality of such an approach isto integrate these robots into the FIT IoT Lab experimentaltestbed which allows any experimenter to book wireless resourcessuch as wireless sensors remotely and to test their own code.Wifibots holding wireless sensors will be integrated as additionalreservable resources of the platform to enlarge the set of possibleexperimentations with mobile entities.