Towards acoustic localization for biobotic sensor networks

A cyberphysical network of insect biobots or biological robots could aid first-responders for search-and-rescue applications in uncertain disaster environments. In such networks, the nodes are insect biobots equipped with miniature backpacks utilizing a system-on-chip. These applications demand fine-grained, real-time localization of the sensor nodes. In this paper, we use a combination of radio-frequency and acoustic signal transmission to estimate the distance between two nodes with an aim of localizing the biobotic sensor nodes. We describe how digital processing, peak detection, and noise mitigation can be applied to meet the severe resource constraints of the specific application, yet yielding average localization errors of 12 cm within the effective range.