XR-PALS
A Mixed Reality Tool to Easily Set Up Indoor Tracking for Robots and Drones
byDominik Grzelak and Victor Victor
TU Dresden
A Mixed Reality Tool to Easily Set Up Indoor Tracking for Robots and Drones
by
XR-PALS is an open-source research project aimed at improving indoor positioning systems for mobile robots using mixed reality technologies. It integrates ultra-wideband (UWB) tracking with an intuitive spatial setup tool to simplify the installation of tracking infrastructure in dynamic indoor environments.
Precise indoor positioning is essential for safe operation of mobile robots in dynamic environments. XR-PALS addresses the challenges of installing indoor localization systems by providing an intuitive mixed reality tool that bridges virtual and physical space. The system simplifies setup, reduces errors, and minimizes cognitive load for researchers and practitioners to facilitate non-stationary, structurally-free tracking systems.
Bitcraze Blog (Aug 2025): Making Loco Positioning Setup Faster with XR Pals
TUD School of Engineering Sciences – LinkedIn (Aug 2025): XR-PALS beschleunigt das Einrichten von Indoor-Tracking – der Turbo für die Robotik!
NEWSLETTER # 104 Faculty of Computer Science (TU Dresden) (Aug 2025): Page 3/7
This video demonstrator shows how to manually set up and use XR-PALS together with the Crazyflie Loco Positioning System. It provides a quick overview of how the mixed reality interface simplifies the placement and configuration of UWB anchors for precise indoor localization.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyuXMSM8wSw
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Reduction in Setup Completion Time
Increased Measurement Accuracy
An initial user study (n=18) compared XR-PALS to traditional laser-based setup methods. The study demonstrated that XR-PALS significantly reduces task completion time, measurement errors, and cognitive workload.
The XR-PALS system leverages the Crazyflie Loco Positioning System, a UWB-based localization platform. Traditional setup of UWB anchors requires time-consuming manual measurements, often using laser distance meters and complex calculations for non-rectangular layouts. XR-PALS replaces this with a seamless mixed-reality approach.
Anchors equipped with UWB modules mounted on moveable tripods.
Contact: dominik [dot] grzelak [ät] tu-dresden [dot] de
