Abstract
This work proposes the use of a hybrid acoustic and optical indoor positioning system for the accurate 3D positioning of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The acoustic module of this system is based on a Time-Code Division Multiple Access (T-CDMA) scheme, where the sequential emission of five spread spectrum ultrasonic codes is performed to compute the horizontal vehicle position following a 2D multilateration procedure. The optical module is based on a Time-Of-Flight (TOF) camera that provides an initial estimation for the vehicle height. A recursive algorithm programmed on an external computer is then proposed to refine the estimated position. Experimental results show that the proposed system can increase the accuracy of a solely acoustic system by 70–80% in terms of positioning mean square error.
Highlights
The production of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, has experienced a notable increase in the last few years, with the development of new applications both in the civil and the military market
The proposed system performs significantly better in all the test positions, with relative improvements between 70% and 80% in the Mean Squared Error (MSE)
This work has proposed the use of a hybrid broadband ultrasonic and optical positioning system to perform the accurate positioning of UAV in indoor environments
Summary
The production of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, has experienced a notable increase in the last few years, with the development of new applications both in the civil and the military market. Many researchers are focusing their attention on the development of a solution to the accurate and reliable location of UAVs in indoor environments This development includes the exploration of alternative technologies that must be compared in terms of coverage, accuracy, precision, cost and adaptability to existing infrastructures. One of these technologies is ultra-wideband (UWB) radar [1], which provides centimeter accuracy, strong multipath resistance and a good material penetration capability, which can be useful under Non-Line-of-Sight (NLoS) conditions, thanks to its very large bandwidth. A different approach is based on the exploitation of existing infrastructures and the so-called Signals-Of-Opportunity (SOP) to conduct a scalable positioning at a reduced cost
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
