OrchLoc: In-Orchard Localization via a Single LoRa Gateway and Generative Diffusion Model-based Fingerprinting

Abstract

In orchards, tree-level localization of robots is critical for smart agriculture applications like precision disease management and targeted nutrient dispensing. However, prior solutions cannot provide adequate accuracy. We develop our system, a fingerprinting-based localization system that can provide tree-level accuracy with only one LoRa gateway. We extract channel state information (CSI) measured over eight channels as the fingerprint. To avoid labor-intensive site surveys for building and updating the fingerprint database, we design a CSI Generative Model (CGM) that learns the relationship between CSIs and their corresponding locations. The CGM is fine-tuned using CSIs from static LoRa sensor nodes to build and update the fingerprint database. Extensive experiments in two orchards validate our system’s effectiveness in achieving tree-level localization with minimal overhead and enhancing robot navigation accuracy.