Seamless autonomous navigation based on the motion constraint of the mobile robot

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a seamless autonomous navigation method based on the motion constraint of the mobile robot, which is able to meet the practical need of maintaining the navigation accuracy during global positioning system (GPS) outages. Design/methodology/approach The seamless method uses the motion constraint of the mobile robot to establish the filter model of the system, in which the virtual observation about the speed is used to overcome the shortage of the navigation accuracy during GPS outages. The corresponding motion constraint model of the mobile robot is established. The proposed seamless navigation scheme includes two parts: the micro inertial navigation system (MINS)/GPS-integrated filter model and the motion constraint filter model. When the satellite signals are good, the system works on the MINS/GPS-integrated mode. If some obstacles block the GPS signals, the motion constraint measurement equation will be effective so as to improve the navigation accuracy of the mobile robot. Findings Three different vehicle tests of the mobile robot show that the seamless navigation method can overcome the shortage of the navigation accuracy during GPS outages, so as to improve the navigation performance in practical applications. Originality/value A seamless navigation system based on the motion constraint of the mobile robot is proposed to overcome the shortage of the navigation accuracy during GPS outages, thus improving the adaptability of the robot navigation.