Robotic autonomous navigation and orientation tracking system and methods

1. A robotic platform comprising:

a non-contact velocity sensor set positioned on the robotic platform for measuring local velocities of the robotic platform relative to a target surface;

a communication unit for transmitting data collected from the non-contact velocity sensor set to a computer for data processing; and

a computer for processing data collected from the non-contact velocity sensor set;

wherein the non-contact velocity sensor set comprises a coherent light source that is emitted towards the target surface and reflected back to the coherent light source, wherein the non-contact velocity sensor set measures Doppler frequency shifts of the reflected coherent light source to determine local velocities of the robotic platform relative to the target surface.

2. The robotic platform of claim 1 , wherein the non-contact velocity sensor set comprises a first non-contact velocity sensor, a second non-contact velocity sensor, and a third non-contact velocity sensor where vectors of the first non-contact velocity sensor, the second non-contact velocity sensor, and the third non-contact velocity sensor are not coplanar.

3. The robotic platform of claim 2 , wherein the first non-contact velocity sensor, the second non-contact velocity sensor, and the third non-contact velocity sensor each comprises a set of laser self-mixing interferometers.

4. The robotic platform of claim 3 , wherein the set of laser self-mixing interferometers comprises three laser self-mixing interferometers.

5. The robotic platform of claim 4 , wherein the three laser self-mixing interferometers on each of the first non-contact velocity sensor, the second non-contact velocity sensor, and the third non-contact velocity sensor are equally spaced apart in a plane and inclined at a same angle such that each laser beam from the three laser self-mixing interferometers is focused at a same point on the target surface.

6. The robotic platform of claim 4 , wherein the three laser self-mixing interferometers further comprise an auto focusing mechanism to maintain focus of the laser beams on the target surface.

7. The robotic platform of claim 1 , wherein the local velocities of the robotic platform are used to determine an orientation of the robotic platform as roll, pitch, and yaw angles.

8. The robotic platform of claim 7 , wherein the velocity and the orientation of the robotic platform are determined at a select time interval that is continuously repeated until a command is issued from the computer.

9. A method for tracking a robotic platform comprising:

obtaining a robotic platform comprising:

a non-contact velocity sensor set for measuring local velocities of the robotic platform relative to a target surface;

a communication unit for transmitting data collected from the non-contact velocity sensor for data processing; and

a computer for processing data collected from the non-contact velocity sensor set;

emitting laser beams from the non-contact velocity sensor to the target surface;

collecting reflected laser beams from the target surface, where the reflected laser beams enters a diode laser cavity of the non-contact velocity sensor from which it was emitted to determine a position and an orientation of the robotic platform based on a change in intensity of the laser beams; and

determining a velocity vector of the robotic platform based on a measured frequency of the change in intensity of the laser beams.

10. The method for tracking a robotic platform of claim 9 , wherein the non-contact velocity sensor set comprises of a first non-contact velocity sensor, a second non-contact velocity sensor, and a third non-contact velocity sensor, where vectors of the first non-contact velocity sensor, the second non-contact velocity sensor, and the third non-contact velocity sensor are not coplanar.

11. The method for tracking a robotic platform of claim 10 , wherein the first non-contact velocity sensor, the second non-contact velocity sensor, and the third non-contact velocity sensor each comprises three laser self-mixing interferometers.

12. The method for tracking a robotic platform of claim 9 , further comprising averaging the beat frequencies determined by each non-contact velocity sensor over several measurements cycles to reduce data noise and improve accuracy of the position and the orientation of the robotic platform.

13. The method for tracking a robotic platform of claim 12 , further comprising determining a variation of an initial position of the robotic platform by calculating a rotation vector and a velocity vector of the robotic platform in global coordinates at a first time interval of a measurement cycle, such that the changes in the initial platform and its orientation are determined over a span of the measurement cycle.

14. The method for tracking a robotic platform of claim 13 , further comprising determining a second position of the robotic platform based on the rotation vector and the velocity vector of the robotic platform in global coordinates at a second time interval of the measurement cycle.

15. The method for tracking a robotic platform of claim 14 , further comprising determining a roll angle, pitch angle, and a yaw angle of the robotic platform in global coordinates.

16. A tracking system comprising:

a robotic platform comprising:

a non-contact velocity sensor set comprising a first non-contact velocity sensor, a second non-contact velocity sensor, and a third non-contact velocity sensor each positioned on the robotic platform for measuring local velocities of the robotic platform relative to a target surface;

a computer for processing data collected from the non-contact velocity sensor set to determine a position and orientation of the robotic platform at each selected time interval determined by the velocity measured; and

a communication unit for transmitting data collected from the non-contact velocity sensor to the computer for data processing;

wherein the non-contact velocity sensor set comprises laser interferometers utilizing laser beams reflected from the target surface to determine the velocity of the robotic platform by measuring frequencies of modulation of light intensities produced by the interferences of the reflected laser beams with incident beams; and

a transceiver for communicating with the robotic platform to receive data collected from the non-contact velocity sensor set to monitor a trajectory path of the robotic platform and transmit navigation instructions to the robotic platform.

17. The tracking system of claim 16 , wherein the local velocities of the robotic platform are determined by modulation frequencies of light intensities to determine the position of the robotic platform in global coordinates and the orientation of the robotic platform as roll, pitch, and yaw angles.

18. The tracking system of claim 17 , wherein the three laser self-mixing interferometers on each of the first non-contact velocity sensor, the second non-contact velocity sensor, and the third non-contact velocity sensor are equally spaced apart from each other in the modulo a plane and inclined at a same angle, such that each laser beam from the three laser self-mixing interferometers is focused at a same point on the target surface.

19. A robotic platform comprising:

a non-contact velocity sensor set positioned on the robotic platform for measuring local velocities of the robotic platform relative to a target surface;

a communication unit for transmitting data collected from the non-contact velocity sensor set to a computer for data processing; and

a computer for processing data collected from the non-contact velocity sensor set;

wherein the non-contact velocity sensor set comprises a coherent light source that is emitted towards the target surface and reflected back to the coherent light source; a first non-contact velocity sensor, a second non-contact velocity sensor, and a third non-contact velocity sensor where vectors of the first non-contact velocity sensor, the second non-contact velocity sensor, and the third non-contact velocity sensor are not coplanar;

wherein the first non-contact velocity sensor, the second non-contact velocity sensor, and the third non-contact velocity sensor each comprises a set of laser self-mixing interferometers;

wherein the set of laser self-mixing interferometers comprises three laser self-mixing interferometers; and

wherein the three laser self-mixing interferometers on each of the first non-contact velocity sensor, the second non-contact velocity sensor, and the third non-contact velocity sensor are equally spaced apart in a plane and inclined at a same angle such that each laser beam from the three laser self-mixing interferometers is focused at a same point on the target surface.

20. The robotic platform of claim 19 , wherein the three laser self-mixing interferometers further comprise an auto focusing mechanism to maintain focus of the laser beams on the target surface.

21. The robotic platform of claim 19 , wherein the local velocities of the robotic platform are used to determine an orientation of the robotic platform as roll, pitch, and yaw angles.

22. The robotic platform of claim 21 , wherein the velocity and the orientation of the robotic platform are determined at a select time interval that is continuously repeated until a command is issued from the computer.