J. Fisher, M. Spence, T. Ulm
Waystone Technologies,
United States
Keywords: Relative Navigation, Docking, RPO/ZPO, UxV, Autonomous Systems, Industrial Automation
Summary:
Our METAL™ (Modulated Electromagnetic Tracking and Localization) technology is an innovative alternative modality for sensing relative pose at short range. We place electromagnets called Artificial Field Emitters (AFEs) of known strength at known locations on a Host body. The resulting magnetic field, which we call a METAL™ field, fills a roughly spherical space around the Host. The contribution to the field due to each Emitter varies in a modelable way and has a unique vector value at each user’s location. Each Emitter is excited stepwise with a unique code, such that the METAL™ field varies in time from chip to chip. Demodulating the sensed field with a given Emitter code, analogous to CDMA communication, recovers the field due to that Emitter, rejecting the other Emitter and any non-METAL™ contributions. Two Emitters thus provide six scalar field measurements, sufficient for any number of users, each equipped only with a magnetometer and our proprietary algorithms, to determine all six axes of pose relative to the Host. We include inertial sensors for high bandwidth and better dynamic response, so a typical METAL™ Receiver Assembly (MRA) collects a total of nine measurement channels. Crucially, our sensing is immune to the effects of the surrounding environment including: ambient fields, other magnetic sources, foreign objects/walls, dust/particulate, weather, lighting, spoofing/jamming. This also allows flexible integration into the next higher system design. The technology is not limited by line-of-sight or triangulation to calculate pose and can be scaled with multiple emitters and receivers to suit different applications. Prior work places our METAL™ solution at a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of about 4 (demonstrated in a laboratory environment) with total equipment mass of a few kilograms. With continued development, we intend to demonstrate operation at larger ranges of 20m and beyond. To achieve that, we intend both to raise the Emitter output and to lower the detectable field threshold. We also intend to bring the Emitter maturity close to TRL 6, by building spaceflight-capable Emitters and subjecting them to the two most relevant Qual environments. We believe METAL™ is a novel technology that can be applied to a wide array of challenges. Originally conceived for use in Spacecraft applications (Rendezvous and Proximity Operations / Zero Proximity Operations), we see a number of applications across the Defense Industry (UxV autonomous systems in Air/Land/Sea/Space domains, drone docking from mobile platforms, relative navigation/tracking in contested or degraded visual environments for equipment and personnel, slung load control, automated aircraft refueling), Industrial Automation (autonomous mobile robots, end-effector tracking, real-time locating systems), Medical Devices, and beyond.