Indoor/Outdoor “GPS” For autonomous vehicles, robots, forklifts, copters, VR and humans (with ±2cm precision) Problem to solve Problem • GPS does not work indoor: no direct view to satellites location precision is measured in meters rather than in centimeters (required indoor) • Other indoor navigation systems - UWB, Bluetooth beacons, odometry, magnitometers, WiFi RSSI, laser triangulation, optical, etc - have their own serious limitations – usually, either precision, or price, or size • Without precise and timely knowledge of location, autonomous navigation is impossible Solution • Off-the-shelf indoor/outdoor navigation system based on stationary ultrasonic beacons united by radio interface in license-free band • Location of a mobile beacon installed on a robot (vehicle, copter, human) is calculated based on the propagation delay of ultrasonic signal to a set of stationary ultrasonic beacons using trilateration Indoor “GPS” (±2cm) – architecture Submaps: Beacon – Advanced feature that allows building independent maps/clusters of beacons in separate rooms and thus covering large buildings (with area of thousands of m2) similar to cellular network coverage Stationary beacons: Beacon – Mounted on walls or ceilings – Measure distance to other beacons using ultrasonic pulses (time-of-flight) – Communicate with router wirelessly in ISM band Mobile beacon: – Installed on robot and interacts with it via UART or SPI or I2C or USB – Receives location update from router up to 45 times per second – May contain IMU (accelerometer + gyroscope + compass module) Distance between beacons-neighbors is up to 50 meters Indoor Navigation System consists of: – or more stationary beacons – or more mobile beacons – central router Router/modem: Key requirement for the system to work well: unobstructed sight by a mobile beacon of or more stationary beacons simultaneously (like in GPS) Beacon N – Central controller of the system – Calculates position of mobile beacon up to 45 Hz – Communicates via USB/virtual UART with Dashboard or robot Beacon Indoor “GPS” (±2cm) • Starter Set configuration: • • • • mobile beacon – USD 69 stationary beacons – x USD 69 router – USD 69 All required SW included Ready to use 3D (x, y, z) system for USD 399 Covers up to 1000m² Further extension by adding more stationary beacons Designed for: Overall evaluation of Indoor “GPS” Indoor use (robots, AGVs, forklifts) Indoor/Outdoor “GPS” IP67 (±2cm) • Starter Set configuration: • • • • • TX beacon IP67 – USD 149 (+power supply options) dual-head RX beacon IP67 base – USD 149 RX heads – x USD 19 router (non-IP67) – USD 69 All required SW included Ready to use 2D (x, y) system for USD 399 Covers up to 1000m² Further extension by adding more stationary beacons Designed for: Outdoor use (robots, AGVs, forklifts) Other network elements TX beacon IP67 base - Can be single- or dual- multi-head Requires external +12V supply (converter, for example, ~110/220V to 12V, or battery) Starting from USD 129 (USD 149 for base+IMU) Other network elements Powerful 25kHz TX head IP67 Powerful 25kHz TX head IP67 TX head IP67 - Can have different frequencies (25kHz, 31kHz, 40kHz, other variants) Can be installed on the TX beacon IP67 base or separately Can have cable of 0.1-10m Starting from USD 19 (31kHz or 40kHz variant) TX beacon IP67 base with 31kHz variant installed on top Selected customers Customers in 40+ countries Use cases: mobile assets tracking Use case: - Tracking forklifts, trolleys, buggies and other mobile assets in warehouses and passenger and cargo areas Problems solved: - Speeding Accidents Broken equipment and goods Lost or underutilized mobile assets Benefits: - Precise knowledge of who is doing what and where => productivity increase Real-time data about speed, acceleration, position of the cars => productivity increase Preventing accidents and decreasing insurance cost and other avoidable costs Use cases: safety & productivity Tracing workers’ location underground, in metro, on construction sites or railways stations or under bridges Applications: • Underground / mining / metro • Construction sites • Large manufacturing factories • Dangerous manufacturing • Oil refineries and gas companies Helmet with installed mobile beacon - Increasing productivity - Improving safety Use cases: staff tracking Use case: - Staff, personnel and visitors tracking Problems solved: - Real-time knowledge of who is doing what and where Assistances cannot be found, when they are needed => lost sales Benefits: - Improved customer satisfaction Increased human capital utilization Increased sales Virtual reality for training and gaming Other use cases Automatic delivery inside large buildings Advertising robots with high-tech charm - shows, shopping malls, conferences, museums Autonomous drones indoor for inventory management Competition 2-5 meters 10-30 cm Compete UWB Complement/compete LIDAR Inertial Optical flow Structured light Laser triangulation Odometry GPS Magnetic field Precision: 2cm vs 10-30cm – we are 10 times more precise Price: 50x – we are 10 times less expensive Non compete Summary Market needs: robots, AGV, copters, VR Unique: ±2cm Competitive price Customers in 40+ countries Diverse team Thank you! https://marvelmind.com/#watch_demo – selected video demos https://marvelmind.com/#customers – selected customers Email: info@marvelmind.com