Patent ID: 8121399

Claim:
A self-position identifying method for identifying a self-position by incorporating three-dimensional shapes from the outside, comprising the steps of: (a) inputting, into a computer, coordinate values on a three-dimensional shape at a new measuring position; and (b) structuring an environment model that partitions a spatial region, in which the three-dimensional shape exists, into a plurality of voxels formed from rectangular solids, of which the boundary surfaces are mutually perpendicular, and stores the positions of the individual voxels; (c) a matching step comprising the steps of i. adding a representative point and the error distribution thereof to the inside of a voxel; and ii. setting and storing a probability value that expresses the probability of the existence of an object within the voxel; for setting and recording a representative point and an error distribution thereof, within the voxel corresponding to the coordinate value, (d) identifiying the self-position, wherein, i. when three-dimensional shape data for a previous measuring position does not exist, a new measuring position is identified as a self-position; and ii. when three dimensional shape data for a previous measuring position exists, then 1. performing a fine matching step for position matching so as to minimize a summation of the distances between adjacent error distributions by rotating and translating a new measured data and error distribution, or rotating and translating an environment model for a new measuring position, relative to an environment model for a previous measuring position; 2. performing a self-position identifying step for identifying the self-position from a rotation quantity and a translation quantity in the fine matching step; and 3. performing an outputting step for outputting the self-position to an outputting device.