Unitree Go2 mobility
Uses a quadruped platform with onboard LiDAR, camera, obstacle avoidance, and mapping support for navigating dynamic factory spaces.
Project
SCOUT Autonomous RFID Robot for Inventory Monitoring
A Unitree Go2 quadruped equipped with a UHF RFID reader and antenna for flexible warehouse inventory monitoring and tag localization.
Overview
Legged robotic inventory tracking for flexible manufacturing spaces.
SCOUT, Smart Canine Optimized for UHF Tracking, explores how a robot dog can support inventory monitoring without requiring fixed warehouse infrastructure or multiple RFID antenna arrays.
The system combines Unitree Go2 mobility, onboard mapping, passive UHF RFID sensing, and RSSI-based localization to scan tagged inventory in a controlled factory environment.
Citation
Manufacturing Letters paper
DiBattista, M. A., Frericks, J., Garcia, C. I., & Camelio, J. A. (2025). SCOUT: An autonomous UHF RFID-equipped robot dog for flexible inventory monitoring. Manufacturing Letters, 44, 1525-1532. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mfglet.2025.06.172
System
What the platform integrates
Single-antenna UHF sensing
Mounts a UHF RFID reader and directional antenna to collect passive tag reads while reducing the complexity of multi-antenna inventory systems.
RSSI-based localization
Uses robot pose and received signal strength observations to triangulate tagged inventory locations during autonomous scanning.
Impact
A lower-infrastructure path to warehouse visibility.
Designed for retrofit environments
Targets inventory monitoring in facilities where fixed infrastructure, drones, or wheeled robots may be difficult to deploy reliably.
Single-sensor localization
Demonstrates feasibility for inventory mapping using one UHF RFID sensor, robot motion, and RSSI triangulation instead of dense antenna installations.
NAMRC 53 / Manufacturing Letters
Published as an open-access Manufacturing Letters paper from the 53rd SME North American Manufacturing Research Conference.
Links