Positionssignaler

Positionssignaler is a generic term for a software component or hardware device responsible for producing and disseminating position information within a larger system. It is used in robotics, autonomous systems, mobile applications, and geographic information systems to convey the current location and pose of an agent, device, or asset.

A positionssignaler typically ingests raw sensor data from GPS, inertial measurement units, wheel encoders, lidar, or processed pose estimates from a localization system. It validates and normalizes data, attaches a timestamp, and publishes a standardized position payload through defined interfaces. Common data fields include position coordinates (latitude, longitude and altitude, or local x,y,z), orientation (yaw/pitch/roll), timestamp, and quality indicators such as signal accuracy or covariance. The component may also include the source or frame of reference and status flags.

Communication patterns include publish-subscribe through message buses (ROS topics, MQTT), REST or gRPC APIs, and streaming telemetry. It supports multiple coordinate frames and conversions between them, and may offer optional filtering, interpolation, or dead reckoning to provide smooth, continuous position streams when updates are sporadic.

Use cases include navigation stacks in robotics, autonomous vehicles and drones, asset tracking, and mobile localization services. A positionssignaler typically forms a decoupled input for downstream consumers such as path planners, mapping modules, or visualization tools.

Considerations include data latency, reliability, and accuracy; handling lost data or sensor faults; security and privacy in disseminating location information; and resource usage for energy-constrained devices. The term positionssignaler is not a standardized designation and is often used descriptively for components that emit position data within a system.

See also: Positioning system, Localization, Sensor fusion.