Positioning System for UAV Precision Tasks Near Walls in GPS Denied and Metallic Environments

A positioning system based on the combination of various measurements is being developed in order to allow precise UAV navigation on GPS denied environments. In the case of study, the task is developed near walls in a closed fully metallic environment with nearly homogeneous floor and walls. This led up to some interesting challenges. The first one regarding RF signal transmission on a metallic environment. Secondly, the difficulty of using SLAM or other computer vision navigation solutions due to the homogeneity of the walls and floor. Finally, a working place located near walls, where positioning systems tend to offer worst accuracy. To overcome these challenges, the proposed positioning method combines an Ultra Wide Band (UWB) based system, for global location, with unidirectional laser range finders, for very precise near-wall measurements. Moreover, RF transmission on various frequencies and results of the proposed positioning precision experiments performed are shown and results analyzed.