Sensor Fusion: Potential, Challenges and Applications. Presented by KVH Industries and Geodetics, Inc. December 2016

Transcription

1 Sensor Fusion: Potential, Challenges and Applications Presented by KVH Industries and Geodetics, Inc. December

2 KVH Industries Overview Innovative technology company 600 employees worldwide Focused on mobile products and services Annual revenue of $185M Guidance & stabilization systems Fiber optic gyros (FOGs) and inertial navigation systems 25 years of FOG and inertial systems development Mobile broadband satellite services Global high-speed Internet, television, voice, and elearning, content, and content delivery 2

3 KVH Gyros & Inertial Systems KVH s precision guidance, stabilization, and navigation solutions for unmanned, autonomous, and manned applications Commercial & OEM applications ADAS (Autonomous or Driverless car) Navigation & control Precision pointing & stabilization Motion sensing & robotics GPS augmentation 3D mapping Military & government applications Weapon/turret stabilization Radar, antenna & optical stabilization Munitions guidance Autonomous vehicle motion sensing & guidance Tactical navigation 3

4 Why Sensor Fusion? Quantity Single sensor solutions can be slow, noisy, and cause a delay in data processing Technology Typically an individual sensor has a specific capability and availability Environment Some sensors struggle to operate effectively in specific conditions Accuracy Measurements from individual sensors are limited to the precision of the deployed sensing element 4

5 Real-time Sensor Fusion Delivers More Robustness and reliability Multiple sensor suites have inherent redundancy the system provides data even in a case of partial failure or obstruction Extended coverage One sensor can look and perform a measurement when other sensors cannot Increased confidence The information of one sensor is confirmed by another sensor covering the same domain Robustness against interference Increasing the number of sensors makes the entire system less vulnerable to interference Improved resolution Combining information of multiple independent sensors creates a superior resulting value 5

6 Geodetics, Inc. An advanced sensing and navigation company Products and technologies designed and built in the U.S.A. Commercial products offer a range of cost-effective, robust solutions for positioning, navigation, and timing applications Products and systems deployed in mission critical applications including: Unmanned air, sea, and land vehicle navigation Antenna pointing Aerial refueling Aerial combat training Intelligence surveillance & reconnaissance 2649 Ariane Drive, San Diego, CA

7 Sensor Fusion Definition Combining sensory data or data derived from disparate sources such that the resulting information has less uncertainty than would be possible when these sources were used individually Sensors Biological Example Behaviors Sensor Fusion 7

8 Machine Example Two sensors are commonly used in inertial navigation Sensors Behaviors GPS IMU Sensor Fusion Why do we need these two sensors? 8

9 GPS provides position information when receiver has clear visibility to the GPS satellites Problems occur with GPS when clear sight of the GPS satellites is not available 9

10 IMUs can provide position and orientation, but without corrections, they drift and the position error grows without bound 10

11 Sensor fusion techniques using both GPS and IMUs help overcome the limitations of the individual sensors GPS IMU Requires the use of sophisticated mathematical tools, e.g. Kalman Filter 11

12 Many Sensors Are Available Challenge How to fuse data from a wide range of sensors and what applications does this enable? 12

13 Sensor Fusion Architectures 13

14 Sensor Fusion: GPS + IMU + LiDAR: GEO-MMS Low-cost highly capable drone technologies Agriculture Mining Sophisticated sensor payloads available at lower cost points Sensor Fusion Technologies Construction Forestry Opening of the civil airspace to drone pilots Urban Planning Infrastructure Geodetics Geo-MMS is a multi-sensor Mobile Mapping System comprised of inertial navigation, passive camera, and active laser sensors for accurate automated 3D mapping 14

15 LiDAR Mapping 15

16 Sensor Fusion: 2 X GPS, 2 X IMU:GEO-RelNAV Geo-RelNAV provides key measurements needed for autonomous aerial refueling and shipboard landing Relative Navigation Aerial Refueling Shipboard Landing 16

17 Geo-RelNAV and Aerial Refueling Maintain safety-of-flight by ensuring receiver does not exceed a certain velocity Determine whether or not a receiver is approaching the tanker with sufficient velocity Provide data to drogue-control engineers to improve control law design Goal: Enable fully autonomous aerial refueling EC-130H KC-10A C-5 B-2A F-16D F-22A 17

18 GPS-Based Relative Navigation is Sensor Fusion of 2 X GPS, 2 X IMU There are three types of data transmitted from the Secondary to the Primary unit: 1. TSPI (Time, Space Position Information) 2. Raw GPS measurements 3. Raw IMU measurements For example, for the rates of 5 Hz, GPS and 20 Hz, IMU processing requires a data link capable of transporting slightly over 5k Bps in one direction. 18

19 Sensor Fusion: Overcoming GPS-denial When GPS is available, high-accuracy relative positions are derived from the use of carrier-phase differential GPS However, GPS is not always available due to: Jamming Spoofing Airframe masking Question: How do you solve this problem without access to GPS? Answer: Sensor Fusion 19

20 Aerial Refueling in GPS-denied Environments: Use Non-GPS Sensors Camera, LiDAR Stereo Vision-based Aiding LiDAR Aiding Geo-MMS: Real-Time laser scanner system with capability of direct geo-referencing 20

21 Vision Sensor & Simulation of Drogue Detection Sensors Model Specification Limitations & Challenges LiDAR Velodyne VLP-16 (PUCK) 100m range ± 15 vertical FOV Elevation angle separation: 2 Stereo camera Fuji FinePix Real 3D W3 Focal length: 6mm Camera baseline: 7mm Sensor size: 6.17 x 4.55 mm Stereo pair camera Canon A630, A640 Focal length: 7mm Camera baseline: 1.37m Sensor size: x mm Depth limitation < 5m Low point cloud density Noisy (direct-sun impact) Short baseline Depth limitation < 5m Camera calibration Stereo Synchronization Small focal length Scale variant 26.8 cm 36 cm 12 cm 24 cm 72 cm 48 cm 21

22 Accuracy Study (Probe-Drogue) To simulate the scenario of measuring the relative distance between the Primary and Secondary using passive-camera, a series of ground vehicle tests were conducted, and a simulated drogue was mounted on the back of the Primary vehicle During the tests, vision sensory data were collected while the Secondary was chasing the Primary at varying distance and directions providing a database of imagery data at different scales, rotations, and translations Step I: Left/Right Stereo Image data acquisition Pattern Detection Relative Distance Measurement Accuracy: ±10cm 22

23 Impact of Vision-aiding Probe-Drogue The relative TSPI is calculated in the reference point of the camera, and then the relative distance between the camera and the drogue basket is measured and output Boom-System Increase the integrity and availability in GPS-challenged environments GPS-denied operation Actual relative distance (GPS-based) Vision-based Relative Distance (Stereo camera based) Pair 1 Pair 2 Pair 3 Pair 4 Pair 5 Pair 6 Depth [m] Depth[m] Residual (RMS) 3cm 6cm 33cm 0.77m 1.5m 2.93m 23

24 Improved Availability Through Redundancy Voting schemes Weighted consensus voting Majority voting M-out-of-n consensus voting Approval voting 24

25 Structure from Motion 25

26 For More About Geodetics Please visit us at: 26

27 Designed for a Broad Range of Integrated Solutions FOG-based Inertial Measurement Units and Gyros Low Bias Offset, ARW and excellent Thermal Bias Stability Designed for ease of integration KVH FOG/IMU Developer s Kit accelerates sensor integration and system development Supports system development and testing Enables rapid prototyping Aids in troubleshooting and debugging Critical solutions for Unmanned vehicle stabilization and navigation Antenna, laser pointing, and stabilization GNSS-aiding EO/FLIR Land, sea, and aerial mobile mapping/surveying High accuracy inertial navigation systems 27

28 Contact Information KVH Industries Inc. Sean McCormack, Director, FOG & OEM Business Development Phone: (401) Geodetics Inc. Dr. Jeff Fayman, Chief Technology Officer Phone: (858) Please watch your for our 30-second survey on your thoughts about this webinar, and what you d like to see in upcoming webinars 28