INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION SOLUTIONS

Örebro University

Sweden

Örebro University has trialled the Navtech Radar sensors in their research of autonomous and teleoperated machinery. Selecting the radar for its ability to work in all environments, including low visibility, the research team were impressed with the results.

Download the case study

Written 7 papers on radar odometry and SLAM

Research in multiple industrial environments

Error rate of 1.09% at 5 Hz

CHALLENGE

Autonomous solution for harsh mining conditions.

The Centre for Applied Autonomous Sensor Systems (AASS) at Örebro University in Sweden trialled various sensor technologies to aid their research into autonomous and teleoperated machinery.

Örebro research is focused on progressing the field of localisation and mapping, specifically to find an autonomous solution for the harshest conditions, such as those found in mines, with the ability to navigate in smoke and dust, where Lidar and cameras fail.

“Compared to other sensors we have worked with, the Navtech radar provided excellent performance out of the box and was easy to integrate with standard robot software frameworks. We are looking forward to working much more with this sensor in the future, which will surely make low-visibility navigation considerably easier.”

Martin Magnusson
Associate Professor, Örebro University

Approach

Data-rich image of surroundings, even in poor visibility

Through their research, Örebro University was impressed by the excellent range and accuracy provided by our radar and noted its high speed in terms of throughput and frames per second, in addition to the low latency in its performance.

Operating successfully in impaired visual environments was an essential requisite, and they determined that the radar outputs the raw data as a complete polar image, building a data-rich picture of the surroundings.

Their research tested the radar in multiple environments, comparing the results to those of other technologies they had tested such as Lidar. They were able to report excellent benefits from the long maximum range that could be obtained from the radar in clear conditions as well as impaired.

IMPACT

Facilitating further autonomous vehicle research

As a result of the successful trial of our technology, Örebro University has purchased a sensor to facilitate further and extensive research of autonomous vehicles in harsh environments.

They will be using the radar in several applications, including construction, mining, and forestry robotics, as well as industrial indoor applications where visibility may be diminished due to mist or smoke.

Installation and commissioning images

Örebro University