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
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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) |