Patent ID: 8761934

Claim:
A system for performing seamless localization, comprising: a plurality of mobile robots within a cluster, each mobile robot configured to receive Global Positioning System (GPS) signals to provide an absolute position; a network for providing a wide area communication environment for the plurality of mobile robots; and a control center configured to monitor when a first subgroup of the plurality of mobile robots moves to a shadow area where the GPS signals are not received while a second subgroup of the plurality of mobile robots receives the GPS signals, and to perform seamless localization for the first subgroup of the plurality of mobile robots over the network by: performing an absolute localization for the second subgroup of the plurality of mobile robots using the GPS signals; performing a relative localization for the first subgroup of the plurality of mobile robots based on the second subgroup of the plurality of mobile robots; and determining an absolute location of the first subgroup of the plurality of mobile robots based on the relative localization for the first subgroup of the plurality of mobile robots.