Communications of the ACM
SB Flash Drives for Precise Positioning and Navigation Inside Buildings
Researchers in the Advanced System Technology Branch of the Fraunhofer Institute for Optronics, System Technology, and Image Exploitation in Germany have developed a system for navigating inside buildings based on the use of RTLSflares, devices that resem
Credit: Fraunhofer IOSB-AST
Researchers in the Advanced System Technology Branch of the Fraunhofer Institute for Optronics, System Technology, and Image Exploitation in Germany have developed a system for navigating inside buildings that can be implemented in minutes.
The system relies on RTLSflares, devices that resemble ordinary USB flash drives and facilitate the positioning and navigation of robots, vehicles, and objects inside buildings.
An RTLSflare contains a microcontroller, a radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip, an internal measurement unit, a USB interface, and positioning software.
Four flares can be placed in stationary positions to set up a wireless ad hoc network, while a fifth can be used to geolocate a moving object inside a building in real time.
When an RTLSflare transmits ultra-wideband signals, the propagation time of the signals transmitted can be measured to determine the position of a mobile unit to within centimeters.
From Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
View Full Article
Abstracts Copyright © 2018 Information Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA
No entries found