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  • Author Author: Catwell
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Mitsubishi creates new GPS system for indoor navigation

Catwell

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Mitsubishi's idea of how the new technology will work. The car company uses WLAN and acoustic ranging for new indoor GPS technology. (via Mitsubishi)

 

There's seems to be no excuse to get lost since GPS is easily accessible. If it's not in your car, it's on your phone. No more relying on Map Quest to get you where you need to go. But once you leave the car and head indoors GPS gets a little spotty. WiFi can be helpful, but it's not always reliable or accurate. But now Mitsubishi believes they have a solution to this problem.

 

The car company has recently developed an indoor positioning system that uses wireless LAN communication and acoustic ranging. This new system finds your location based on how long it takes for sound to reach positioning-capable WiFi access points. The positioning trigger and other data is exchanged via a WLAN. The system is accurate within 3.3 feet and works with as like as three hotspots.

 

The system is meant to be used for applications involving walking navigation and warehouse management in underground locations where GPS signals often weaken. Other indoor positioning tools are available, but they require the purchase of positioning-specific hardware, like RF tags. Mitsubishi's system is simpler since it only requires WLAN communication and sound-wave transmission. This actually comes equipped on most smartphones, so most users will only need to install the positioning application on their phone.

 

As it stands, accurate, cost-effective indoor positioning methods have not been available due to a number of issues including low accuracy WLAN, acoustic signals, time of arrival for WLAN packets, and WLAN RSSI mapping. Mitsubishi hopes to eliminates these problems with their new system.

 

Though this system is ideal for underground warehouses where GPS is limited, it can also come in handy in everyday situations. For example, this technology can be used to help you locate your car in parking garages. No more being stranded in a desert of cars when you go to the mall. If this technology works as well as Mitsubishi is promising it would be a great innovation. It also helps to ensure GPS systems are accessible and reliable. No one wants to be standing in the middle of a garage walking in circles trying to get a signal.

  • cool idea uses ble in a parking. I think it is cool technology for maps and navigation. I read about airports indoor navigation. thank you. but i think , find a empty place or where you park your car in big parking it is also the brilliant idea.

  • in reply to mcb1

    Hi Mark,

     

    I think so, probably the principle is very similar. Sounds like a very interesting thing to work on to be honest!

  • in reply to shabaz

    Sounds similar to Multi Lateration.

    They use the time difference (TOA) for a signal at multiple sites to decide where the source is (in three dimensions).

     

    For MLAT there are some considerations for the transport path, but having it all in one these are removed which may allow a much finer tolerance.

     

    Mark

  • in reply to clem57

    I don't really understand it in detail, but one method relies on signal strength and triangulation, which as you say in theory is quite an old tech. The other method relies on a load of antennas, about 32 of them in the Halo example and loads of signal processing to figure out 'angle of arrival' which as I understand means in three dimensions, and combined with signal strength, means that you don't need to triangulate at all. The signal processing maybe involves a lot of high-speed calculations going on for data received from all 32 antennas captured simultaneously I'm guessing (I don't have any knowledge at all! heavy guesswork here) and the slight difference in phase allows to identify the angle of arrival. Apparently similar to military tech, and perhaps means you need heavy signal processing, which I'm guessing was costly in the past.

     

    EDIT: Some diagram from the Internet, the yellow part is the 32-or-so antennas mounted on the ceiling, arranged in a square perhaps about 25cm per side.

    image

  • in reply to DAB

    I agree with   . But why has this taken this long. Sems more like old tech.

    Clem