4,506 research outputs found
Towards the development of an autonomous navigation system for unmanned vessels
This paper discusses the implementation of an intelligent navigation system for an
autonomous unmanned surface vessel (USV). The focus is developing a multiple
sensor data acquisition and fusion system to provide accurate and continuous
information on positions, speeds and courses of the USV itself and also dynamic
obstacles known as target ships (TSs). For USV’s autonomous navigation, a Global
Positioning System (GPS) receiver, low-cost sensors for dead reckoning (DR) and
various types of electronic compasses are employed; For TS’s localisation, the
Automatic Identification System (AIS) information has been simulated to estimate and
predict the positions of TSs over time. Simulations and practical trials are provided to
demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed system
The design of an autonomous maritime navigation system for unmanned surface vehicles
This paper presents the development of an autonomous maritime navigation system for unmanned
surface vehicles (USVs). In the autonomous system various maritime navigational devices are
connected to obtain necessary navigational information but with uncertainties. To improve signal
accuracy as well as robustness, a novel multi-sensor data fusion algorithm is proposed and
developed. Then, a new predictive path planning algorithm is employed to provide an advisory
collision-free trajectory. Practical trials and computer based simulations are carried out to prove the
effectiveness of the developed syste
Towards autonomous localization and mapping of AUVs: a survey
Purpose The main purpose of this paper is to investigate two key elements of localization and mapping of Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), i.e. to overview various sensors and algorithms used for underwater localization and mapping, and to make suggestions for future research.
Design/methodology/approach The authors first review various sensors and algorithms used for AUVs in the terms of basic working principle, characters, their advantages and disadvantages. The statistical analysis is carried out by studying 35 AUV platforms according to the application circumstances of sensors and algorithms.
Findings As real-world applications have different requirements and specifications, it is necessary to select the most appropriate one by balancing various factors such as accuracy, cost, size, etc. Although highly accurate localization and mapping in an underwater environment is very difficult, more and more accurate and robust navigation solutions will be achieved with the development of both sensors and algorithms.
Research limitations/implications This paper provides an overview of the state of art underwater localisation and mapping algorithms and systems. No experiments are conducted for verification.
Practical implications The paper will give readers a clear guideline to find suitable underwater localisation and mapping algorithms and systems for their practical applications in hand.
Social implications There is a wide range of audiences who will benefit from reading this comprehensive survey of autonomous localisation and mapping of UAVs.
Originality/value The paper will provide useful information and suggestions to research students, engineers and scientists who work in the field of autonomous underwater vehicles
Low-cost RPAS navigation and guidance system using Square Root Unscented Kalman Filter
Multi-Sensor Data Fusion (MSDF) techniques involving satellite and inertial-based sensors are widely adopted to improve the navigation solution of a number of mission- and safety-critical tasks. Such integrated Navigation and Guidance Systems (NGS) currently do not meet the required level of performance in all flight phases of small Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS). In this paper an innovative Square Root-Unscented Kalman Filter (SR-UKF) based NGS is presented and compared with a conventional UKF governed design. The presented system architectures adopt state-of-the-art information fusion approach based on a number of low-cost sensors including; Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) based Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and Vision Based Navigation (VBN) sensors. Additionally, an Aircraft Dynamics Model (ADM), which is essentially a knowledge based module, is employed to compensate for the MEMS-IMU sensor shortcomings in high-dynamics attitude determination tasks. The ADM acts as a virtual sensor and its measurements are processed with non-linear estimation in order to increase the operational validity time. An improvement in the ADM navigation state vector (i.e., position, velocity and attitude) measurements is obtained, thanks to the accurate modeling of aircraft dynamics and advanced processing techniques. An innovative SR-UKF based VBN-IMU-GNSS-ADM (SR-U-VIGA) architecture design was implemented and compared with a typical UKF design (U-VIGA) in a small RPAS (AEROSONDE) integration arrangement exploring a representative cross-section of the operational flight envelope. The comparison of position and attitude data shows that the SR-U-VIGA and U-VIGA NGS fulfill the relevant RNP criteria, including precision approach tasks
Intelligent Sensor Positioning and Orientation Through Constructive Neural Network-Embedded INS/GPS Integration Algorithms
Mobile mapping systems have been widely applied for acquiring spatial information in applications such as spatial information systems and 3D city models. Nowadays the most common technologies used for positioning and orientation of a mobile mapping system include a Global Positioning System (GPS) as the major positioning sensor and an Inertial Navigation System (INS) as the major orientation sensor. In the classical approach, the limitations of the Kalman Filter (KF) method and the overall price of multi-sensor systems have limited the popularization of most land-based mobile mapping applications. Although intelligent sensor positioning and orientation schemes consisting of Multi-layer Feed-forward Neural Networks (MFNNs), one of the most famous Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), and KF/smoothers, have been proposed in order to enhance the performance of low cost Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) INS/GPS integrated systems, the automation of the MFNN applied has not proven as easy as initially expected. Therefore, this study not only addresses the problems of insufficient automation in the conventional methodology that has been applied in MFNN-KF/smoother algorithms for INS/GPS integrated systems proposed in previous studies, but also exploits and analyzes the idea of developing alternative intelligent sensor positioning and orientation schemes that integrate various sensors in more automatic ways. The proposed schemes are implemented using one of the most famous constructive neural networks—the Cascade Correlation Neural Network (CCNNs)—to overcome the limitations of conventional techniques based on KF/smoother algorithms as well as previously developed MFNN-smoother schemes. The CCNNs applied also have the advantage of a more flexible topology compared to MFNNs. Based on the experimental data utilized the preliminary results presented in this article illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed schemes compared to smoother algorithms as well as the MFNN-smoother schemes
A review of sensor technology and sensor fusion methods for map-based localization of service robot
Service robot is currently gaining traction, particularly in hospitality, geriatric care and healthcare industries. The navigation of service robots requires high adaptability, flexibility and reliability. Hence, map-based navigation is suitable for service robot because of the ease in updating changes in environment and the flexibility in determining a new optimal path. For map-based navigation to be robust, an accurate and precise localization method is necessary. Localization problem can be defined as recognizing the robot’s own position in a given environment and is a crucial step in any navigational process. Major difficulties of localization include dynamic changes of the real world, uncertainties and limited sensor information. This paper presents a comparative review of sensor technology and sensor fusion methods suitable for map-based localization, focusing on service robot applications
Composite Disturbance Filtering: A Novel State Estimation Scheme for Systems With Multi-Source, Heterogeneous, and Isomeric Disturbances
State estimation has long been a fundamental problem in signal processing and
control areas. The main challenge is to design filters with ability to reject
or attenuate various disturbances. With the arrival of big data era, the
disturbances of complicated systems are physically multi-source, mathematically
heterogenous, affecting the system dynamics via isomeric (additive,
multiplicative and recessive) channels, and deeply coupled with each other. In
traditional filtering schemes, the multi-source heterogenous disturbances are
usually simplified as a lumped one so that the "single" disturbance can be
either rejected or attenuated. Since the pioneering work in 2012, a novel state
estimation methodology called {\it composite disturbance filtering} (CDF) has
been proposed, which deals with the multi-source, heterogenous, and isomeric
disturbances based on their specific characteristics. With the CDF, enhanced
anti-disturbance capability can be achieved via refined quantification,
effective separation, and simultaneous rejection and attenuation of the
disturbances. In this paper, an overview of the CDF scheme is provided, which
includes the basic principle, general design procedure, application scenarios
(e.g. alignment, localization and navigation), and future research directions.
In summary, it is expected that the CDF offers an effective tool for state
estimation, especially in the presence of multi-source heterogeneous
disturbances
Practical Moving Target Detection in Maritime Environments Using Fuzzy Multi-sensor Data Fusion
As autonomous ships become the future trend for maritime transportation, it is of importance to develop intelligent autonomous navigation systems to ensure the navigation safety of ships. Among the three core components (sensing, planning and control modules) of the system, an accurate detection of target ships’ navigation information is critical. Within a typical maritime environment, the existence of sensor noises as well as the influences generated by varying environment conditions largely limit the reliability of using a single sensor for environment awareness. It is therefore vital to use multiple sensors together with a multi-sensor data fusion technology to improve the detection performance. In this paper, a fuzzy logic-based multi-sensor data fusion algorithm for moving target ships detection has been proposed and designed using both AIS and radar information. A two-stage fuzzy logic association method has been particularly developed and integrated with Kalman filtering to achieve a computationally efficient performance. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm has been tested and validated in simulations where multiple target ships are transiting with complex movements
- …