Indoor Cooperative MAV Navigation using Signals of Opportunity

Toyon Research Corporation proposes to determine the feasibility of developing a cooperative indoor navigation framework using signals of opportunity (SoOP). SoOP-aided navigation (SAN) will rely on signals such as those being emitted by WiFi and WiMAX access points and routers. A SoOP sensor design with direction-finding (DF) capability will be developed and its angle of arrival accuracy evaluated. The cooperative navigation system will be compatible with Toyons plug-and-play Software-Defined Navigation(TM) architecture that enables on-the-fly changes to the sensor mixture. The SoOP/DF sensor will be incrementally augmented with alternative sensors such an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and a camera. The performance of each sensor configuration will be evaluated. Communication bandwidth and network topology requirements will be determined. A roadmap for developing the system hardware and software will be identified in preparation for a Phase II demonstration. BENEFIT: The cooperative SoOP-aided navigation (SAN) system will permit accurate navigation under GPS-denied conditions and is applicable to both indoor and outdoor missions. All civilian and military navigation platforms with severe size, weight and power (SWAP) constraints are potential hosts for the proposed cooperative navigation system. These include ground-based and aerial unmanned vehicles, robots, and farming systems.