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Technologies

Cooperative Relative Navigation of Multiple Aircraft in GPS-Denied/Degraded Environment

ID: 2020-021 This invention improves unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) navigation by enabling small, fixed-wing aircraft to communicate with each other about their movements.

Principal Investigator: Tim McClain

As UAVs fly, they can exchange odometry information with each other and use radio signals to measure the ranges between them. Each aircraft can then use odometry and the inter-vehicle range measurements to optimize its estimate of its position.

UAVs need to navigate in cities and inside buildings. To do this, they must be able to navigate when GPS is unavailable or unreliable. The existing GPS-denied navigation methods have neglected small, fixed-wing aircraft. This technology enables multiple small UAVs to improve navigational accuracy in GPS-denied environments by cooperatively sharing information.

Key Advantages:

  • Navigate without GPS
  • Efficient Computation
  • Supports small, fixed-wing aircraft

Applications:
Civil applications include delivery and inspection services. Military applications also exist, where various types of UAVs, including fixed-wing aircraft, must navigate in GPS-denied environments.

For more information, contact BYU Tech Transfer at 801-422-6266

Links and Resources

  1. One Page Summary PDF
  2. Inventor Webpage
  3. Magicc Lab