RFID tracking system could replace machine vision on robots

radio-frequency identification) system developed at MIT has allowed robots to track objects with pinpoint accuracy and could supersede computer vision.

Known as TurboTrack, the technology sees cheap RFID tags placed on objects, with a wireless signal then bounced around the environment to locate them. Signals from the tags and other reflected objects are then processed using a “space-time super-resolution” algorithm, with the movement and direction of the tags factored in to improve localisation accuracy. And where machine vision for robots relies on line-of-sight, the new system can operate in cluttered environments.

“If you use RF signals for tasks typically done using computer vision, not only do you enable robots to do human things, but you can also enable them to do superhuman things,” said Fadel Adib, an assistant professor and principal investigator in the MIT Media Lab, and founding director of the Signal Kinetics Research Group. “And you can do it in a scalable way, because these RFID tags are only 3 cents each.”