Low-RF PNT proof-of-concept platform successfully developed for use in indoor environments:

Last Updated: 14/06/2022 07:51     Created at: 14/06/2022 07:51

Final Presentation of NAVISP Project EL1-018 now available.

On Friday, June 10, 2022, GMV NSL and their consortium partner Alborg University presented the results of the NAVISP project “Low-FR Fast Deployable Systems for Emergencies in Difficult Environments.”  About 30 people from industry and research followed the interesting presentation and the subsequent interactive Q&A session.

Many different applications require reliable and accurate navigation services in hard-to-reach environments. These include providing reliable PNT data in very deep indoor environments or during disasters such as landslides or floods. Previous commercial products have struggled to meet these diverse user requirements. 

Based on these challenges, the project's main goal was to develop a proof-of-concept platform that can address the selected challenges and is sufficiently versatile to handle crisis situations in very harsh environments, where GNSS-based-only methods cannot be effectively used. To this end, GMV NSL combined low-RF and GNSS technologies to enable continuous and seamless navigation when traveling in and out of these challenging environments.  This included the development of a prototype Crisis Recovery and Emergency Assistance and management segment in form of system transmitters, as well as the development of a device that receives the transmitted signals. 

Various KPIs such as RF frequency, cost, size, weight, resilience, and control range were examined to determine which technology is best suited for the platform. Here, the drone clearly stood out as a platform to validate the proof of concept system based on a single Transmitter-receiver system with spread-spectrum signals, which provided promising results in terms of signal propagation and navigation capabilities in the relevant environments.

The project was part of NAVISP Element 1 which aims to develop innovative concepts, techniques, technologies, and systems related to the PNT sector along the entire value chain.

More detailed information can be found in the slides of the Final Presentation.