I don’t know if it’s viable to estimate range and bearing angle (location) with one camera and object size/position analysis of the video. The object ('bot) would have to be very contrasty or have 3+ IR LEDs, etc. to show up reliably in a digitized video raster. Then you do edge detection in the video, try to find the object in the raster (lots of hairy math), then try to calculate location based on some calibration on the object.
The TV based alternative is also too complex, but is using 2-3 cameras sensing one IR diode on the tracked object. Photogrammetry math, well known, calculates location given constants as to the camera focal length and pointing angle.
If you only need two devices communicating with each other, then the bluetooth (with serial port profile) modules are the easiest to use in opinion. You can set them up as a wireless UART connection.
If you need three or more transceivers (in each corner of the table for example), then I would suggest using the NRF24L01+ in shockburst mode because you can have several nodes communicating at the same time, without worrying about pairing as you do with bluetooth. The code will be more complex of course.
XorLor:
If you only need two devices communicating with each other, then the bluetooth (with serial port profile) modules are the easiest to use in opinion. You can set them up as a wireless UART connection.
If you need three or more transceivers (in each corner of the table for example), then I would suggest using the NRF24L01+ in shockburst mode because you can have several nodes communicating at the same time, without worrying about pairing as you do with bluetooth. The code will be more complex of course.
Maybe less no now, but for years, bluetooth modules capable of the serial profile were far more expensive than 802.15.4 modules.
The ultrasonic suggestion is a good one and I like the time slot idea as well. However, the range in ultrasonic pingers isn’t long enough.
My installation area, at smallest, is 50’ x 50’.
There is one (moving) Master that needs to transmit its position to 10 slaves so they can follow the Master.
I was thinking to have some number of unique RF signals transmitted (via some cheap RF transmitter chip) , and in this way, create an X,Y grid for the Master. The Master would be able to “know” it is at (freq #1, freq #2) and then transmit it to the slaves.
The slaves could look at their own positions (freq #3, freq#4) and calculate where to go.
I think this has a lot of inaccuracy because the signals will overlap, but I don’t need it to be that accurate.
Nora:
The ultrasonic suggestion is a good one and I like the time slot idea as well. However, the range in ultrasonic pingers isn’t long enough.
My installation area, at smallest, is 50’ x 50’.
There is one (moving) Master that needs to transmit its position to 10 slaves so they can follow the Master.
I was thinking to have some number of unique RF signals transmitted (via some cheap RF transmitter chip) , and in this way, create an X,Y grid for the Master. The Master would be able to “know” it is at (freq #1, freq #2) and then transmit it to the slaves.
The slaves could look at their own positions (freq #3, freq#4) and calculate where to go.
I think this has a lot of inaccuracy because the signals will overlap, but I don’t need it to be that accurate.
Thoughts?
Please re-read this thread, looking again at the laws-of-physics issues when using RF for position/location.