marvelmind presentation

Indoor/Outdoor “GPS”
For autonomous vehicles, robots,
forklifts, copters, VR and humans
(with ±2cm precision)


Problem to solve


Problem
• GPS does not work indoor:
1.
2.

no direct view to satellites
location precision is measured in meters rather than in centimeters
(required indoor)

• Other indoor navigation systems - UWB, Bluetooth beacons,
odometry, magnitometers, WiFi RSSI, laser triangulation,
optical, etc. - have their own serious limitations – usually,
either precision, or price, or size
• Without precise and timely knowledge of location,
autonomous navigation is impossible


Solution
• Off-the-shelf indoor/outdoor navigation system based on
stationary ultrasonic beacons united by radio interface in
license-free band
• Location of a mobile beacon installed on a robot (vehicle,

copter, human) is calculated based on the propagation delay
of ultrasonic signal to a set of stationary ultrasonic beacons
using trilateration


Indoor “GPS” (±2cm) – architecture
Submaps:

Beacon 1

– Advanced feature that allows building
independent maps/clusters of beacons in
separate rooms and thus covering large
buildings (with area of thousands of m2)
similar to cellular network coverage

Stationary beacons:

Beacon 2

– Mounted on walls or ceilings
– Measure distance to other beacons
using ultrasonic pulses (time-of-flight)
– Communicate with router wirelessly
in ISM band

Mobile beacon:
– Installed on robot and interacts with it
via UART or SPI or I2C or USB
– Receives location update from router

up to 45 times per second
– May contain IMU (accelerometer +
gyroscope + compass module)

Distance between
beacons-neighbors
is up to 50 meters.

Indoor Navigation System
consists of:
– 2 or more stationary beacons
– 1 or more mobile beacons
– 1 central router

Router/modem:
Key requirement for the system to work
well: unobstructed sight by a mobile
beacon of 2 or more stationary beacons
simultaneously (like in GPS)

Beacon N

– Central controller of the system
– Calculates position of mobile beacon up to 45 Hz
– Communicates via USB/virtual UART with
Dashboard or robot

Beacon 3

Indoor “GPS” (±2cm)
• Starter Set configuration:
•
•
•
•

1 mobile beacon – USD 69
4 stationary beacons – 4 x USD 69
1 router – USD 69
All required SW included

Ready to use 3D (x, y, z) system for USD 399
Covers up to 1000m²
Further extension by adding more stationary beacons

Designed for:
Overall evaluation of Indoor “GPS”
Indoor use (robots, AGVs, forklifts)


Indoor/Outdoor “GPS”
IP67 (±2cm)
• Starter Set configuration:
•
•
•
•
•

1 TX beacon IP67 – USD 149 (+power supply options)
1 dual-head RX beacon IP67 base – USD 149
2 RX heads – 2 x USD 19
1 router (non-IP67) – USD 69
All required SW included

Ready to use 2D (x, y) system for USD 399
Covers up to 1000m²
Further extension by adding more stationary beacons

Designed for:
Outdoor use (robots, AGVs,
forklifts)


Other network elements

TX beacon IP67 base
-

Can be single- or dual- multi-head
Requires external +12V supply (converter, for example, ~110/220V to 12V, or battery)
Starting from USD 129 (USD 149 for base+IMU)


Other network elements

Powerful 25kHz TX head IP67

Powerful 25kHz TX head IP67

TX head IP67
-

Can have different frequencies (25kHz, 31kHz, 40kHz, other variants)
Can be installed on the TX beacon IP67 base or separately
Can have cable of 0.1-10m
Starting from USD 19 (31kHz or 40kHz variant)

TX beacon IP67 base with
31kHz variant installed on top


Selected customers

Customers in 40+ countries


Use cases: mobile assets tracking
Use case:
-

Tracking forklifts, trolleys, buggies and other mobile assets in warehouses
and passenger and cargo areas

Problems solved:
-

Speeding
Accidents

Broken equipment and goods
Lost or underutilized mobile assets

Benefits:
-

Precise knowledge of who is doing what and where => productivity increase
Real-time data about speed, acceleration, position of the cars =>
productivity increase
Preventing accidents and decreasing insurance cost and other avoidable
costs


Use cases: safety & productivity
Tracing workers’ location underground,
in metro, on construction sites or
railways stations or under bridges

Applications:
• Underground / mining / metro
• Construction sites
• Large manufacturing factories
• Dangerous manufacturing
• Oil refineries and gas companies

Helmet with installed
mobile beacon

- Increasing productivity
- Improving safety

Use cases: staff tracking
Use case:
-

Staff, personnel and visitors tracking

Problems solved:
-

Real-time knowledge of who is doing what and where
Assistances cannot be found, when they are needed => lost sales

Benefits:
-

Improved customer satisfaction
Increased human capital utilization
Increased sales


Virtual reality for training
and gaming

Other use cases
Automatic delivery
inside large buildings

Advertising robots with

high-tech charm - shows,
shopping malls,
conferences, museums

Autonomous drones
indoor for inventory
management


Competition
2-5 meters

10-30 cm
Compete

UWB

Complement/compete

LIDAR
Inertial
Optical flow
Structured light
Laser triangulation
Odometry
GPS
Magnetic field

Precision: 2cm vs. 10-30cm – we are 10 times more precise
Price: 2..50x – we are 10 times less expensive

Non compete


Summary
Market needs: robots,
AGV, copters, VR

Unique: ±2cm

Competitive price

Customers in 40+ countries

Diverse team


Thank you!
– selected video demos
– selected customers
Email: