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RACELOGIC Support Centre

01 - VIPS Introduction

Overview

VBOX Indoor Positioning System uses a network of fixed beacons in set locations that communicate with a receiver (rover) using Ultra Wideband (UWB) to measure position and speed where you cannot use GNSS signals. A minimum of six beacons are required, and to ensure the optimum accuracy, a site survey must be carried out as part of the installation, using either a handheld laser or a Total Station (if time is of the essence, a self-survey can also be performed). Doing so means the exact location of each beacon is known which can then be shared with the rover enabling it to calculate its location to centimetre level accuracy. The beacons are completely stand-alone and can be battery powered, making the deployment very rapid.


Up to 250 beacons can be installed within a system, however a maximum of 12 beacons will be used at any one time by the rover. To receive the best accuracies of position and angles, the maximum number of beacons available to a solution (12) should be utilised within line of sight to the receiver. 


The rover features an integrated VBOX IMU04 (Inertial Measurement Unit) for precise pitch, roll and yaw angular data. It can also connect directly to an IMU04 enabled VBOX 3i, enabling additional parameters from the vehicle’s CAN bus to be logged. Offering seamless integration between indoor and outdoor environments, the system can be used for high dynamic applications and the rover will automatically connect to the nearest beacons in range.
 

The UWB receiver continuously communicates with the beacons and triangulates its position indoors. This data is combined with the measurements from a highly accurate inertial measurement system, providing a real-time 3D position and attitude measurement at 100 Hz, to within 2 cm. VIPS can achieve re-acquisition and full accuracy in less than 0.2 of a second, which is considerably faster than GNSS!
 

The system is designed for high dynamic vehicle test and validation procedures which are normally performed outside using GNSS. Examples include acceleration, braking, handling, crash testing, tyre testing and ADAS sensor validation. The system can also be used to fill in gaps in GNSS coverage in areas such as heavy tree cover, tunnels and urban canyons.

Features

  • When combined with a VBOX 3i, the system offers seamless integration between indoor environments (using VIPS) and outdoor environments (using GNSS).
  • Centimetre level accuracy in areas off limits to GNSS based systems.
  • Small, rugged and low powered.
  • Only one rover is required, featuring an integrated VBOX IMU with Kalman filter to reduce noise and errors in the data.
  • Connects directly to a VBOX 3i data logger using only one cable for simple configuration.
  • A minimum of 6 and maximum of 250 beacons can be installed in each location allowing continuous coverage of indoor spaces up to 3.5 km long.
  • Simple one time configuration either by Bluetooth or serial cable (RS232).
  • 100 Hz update and low latency for high dynamic applications.
  • The rover automatically connects to the nearest beacons for optimum accuracy.
  • Each beacon is numbered for simple installation.

Connectors

VPRS Hardware Ports.png

LED Behaviour

The LED on the front of the Beacon and Rover units provides a visual status indication.

Beacon

LED Colour

Status Description

Solid Blue The unit is Bootloader mode
Flashing Blue The unit is connected via an active Bluetooth link
Solid Green The unit has been used for ranging within the last second
Blinking Green The unit is idle
Solid Red There is a non recoverable fault (such as an invalid reply to a radio ID request)
Flashing Red The unit does not have a site configuration

Rover

LED Colour

Status Description

Solid Blue The unit is Bootloader mode
Flashing Blue The unit is connected via an active Bluetooth link
Solid Green The rover is in 'Stand alone Mode' and receiving ranging data from at least 3 beacons
Blinking Green The unit is looking for Beacons/ The unit is reading the site information/ The unit is set to beacon mode
Flashing Green The rover cannot see at least 3 beacons
Flashing Orange The unit is syncing the IMU
Solid Orange The unit is waiting for VBOX communication (if VB3i connected is selected)
Solid Red There is a non recoverable fault (such as an invalid reply to a radio ID request)
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