Designer and manufacturer of commercial radar solutions, Navtech Radar, will be exhibiting the latest innovations in its radar localisation solution at this year’s bauma exhibition in Munich, October 24-30. The system, Teran360, is a single sensor radar localisation solution that uses Navtech’s millimetre wave radar technology to reliably position a vehicle in its surroundings, particularly in harsh working environments such as mining and construction.
Navtech Radar states: “Currently, autonomous vehicles in these two sectors rely on GPS sensors to report their location, in order to reliably maintain centimetre level positioning required for autonomy, especially within developments with tall infrastructure, deep pits or at high latitudes where reliable signals can be naturally compromised. Teran360, on the other hand, draws on high resolution radar technology which penetrates the atmospheric and weather conditions to constantly deliver highly accurate, centimetre level location data.”
Delivered in partnership with autonomous vehicle software specialist, Oxbotica, Teran360 is certified to IP67 standard, meaning the sensors are completely protected from water and debris, ensuring constant operation and minimal maintenance to enable 100% visibility of assets at all times. “Oxbotica’s world-class localisation algorithms are combined with Navtech’s ruggedised industrial radar sensors to provide a package that is resilient to weather and harsh environments.”
Sam Wood, Business Development Manager for Navtech Radar, said: “We are hugely excited and looking forward to bauma 2022 and unveiling the advancements in our Teran360 solution. When Navtech was formed 20 years ago, we were tasked with solving one of radar’s most challenging applications – answering the question of ‘where am I?’ in industrial automation and autonomous vehicles operating in harsh environments. Teran360 is that answer.”
He adds: “Autonomy is becoming more and more prevalent in mining and construction, partly due to the surge in remote operations caused by COVID-19, but also out of a need to improve safety. On construction sites, the loss of location information for autonomous vehicles or equipment poses wider risks to the public. Additionally, with increases in GPS attacks through jamming and spoofing, basing an autonomous operation on GPS alone is becoming commercially risky. Teran360, and other examples of innovation developed by Navtech, aims to address these challenges.”
Terran360 is a single sensor radar localisation solution that uses Navtech’s millimetre wave radar technology to reliably position a vehicle in its surroundings. Terran360 has been designed to enable GPS denied navigation in mission critical applications where ultra-high availability is essential. The solution works independently of GPS or additional infrastructure and can provide a 3DoF (x,y and yaw) positional information to centimetre level accuracy across a wide range of environments and applications. It is modular in design and intended to be integrated into a wider autonomy stack with the ability to fuse with existing positioning sources such as GPS.