Highly accurate indoor GPS for navigating buildings

Philip Wong | Jun 17, 2009

The Wiz.
(Credit: Philip Wong/CNET Asia)

Navigating the crowded ~~maze~~ halls of CommunicaAsia out at the Singapore Expo isn't for the faint-hearted, but this is also where the A*STAR Ultra-Wideband (UWB) localization system comes into the picture. Hailed by the Singapore research institute as an indoor GPS, this system has an amazing accuracy of up to 10cm. Unlike other comparable solutions, the proof-of-concept prototype requires only a single UWB reader and a tag which is really a battery-powered radio transmitter in disguise. The system currently has an effective range of 15m and uses range and angle-of-arrival information to track objects.

Some key deployments of the UWB localization system include indoor robot navigation, smart supermarket trolleys, as well as exhibition visitor tracking and data collection.

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