Indoor Navigation Systems for Drones
GPS doesn't work indoors. Drones need alternative positioning systems to navigate inside buildings, warehouses, and caves. Think of it as the drone's ability to find its way through a house without any windows.
Indoor Positioning Challenge
Indoor environments present unique challenges: no GPS, complex multipath for radio signals, dynamic obstacles, and limited space.
Indoor Positioning Systems Comparison
Visual-Inertial Odometry (VIO)
VIO combines camera images with IMU data to estimate motion without external references.
UWB Positioning
Ultra-Wideband (UWB) provides high-accuracy indoor positioning using time-of-flight measurements between anchors and tags.
WiFi-Based Positioning
WiFi received signal strength (RSS) can be used for coarse indoor positioning.
Visual Landmarks
Pre-placed visual markers (like AprilTags) provide absolute positioning references.
Sensor Fusion for Indoor Navigation
Combine multiple positioning systems for robust indoor navigation.
Hands-On Project: Complete Indoor Navigation System
Key Takeaways
- VIO provides drift-aware odometry without external references
- UWB offers high-accuracy positioning with proper anchor placement
- WiFi fingerprinting leverages existing infrastructure for coarse positioning
- Visual landmarks give absolute position fixes
- Sensor fusion combines systems for robust indoor navigation
- Always handle multipath and signal degradation in radio-based systems