Nature-inspired position determination using inherent magnetic fields

Abstract

Many creatures in nature, including butterflies, newts, and mole rats, use the Earth's inherent magnetic field for navigation. They use magnetic field lines and variations in field intensity to determine their geographical position. This paper seeks to apply similar techniques to measure the positions of individual ferromagnetic objects found all around us in everyday life. Ferromagnetic objects have inherent magnetic fields around them. We show here that the magnetic field variation around a ferromagnetic object can be modeled using purely the geometry of the object under consideration. By exploiting this model, the position of the object can be measured quite accurately using a small inexpensive magnetic sensor. Further, the use of just one additional redundant magnetic sensor can eliminate the need to calibrate the position measurement system. As demonstrated in the paper through a series of experimental results, the developed measurement system is applicable to accurate position measurement of small and large ferromagnetic objects, including cars on highways, oscillating pistons in internal combustion engines, pneumatic cylinders, hydraulic cylinders, as well as moving parts in many machines.