Frykman, Petter

Navigation is about knowing your own position, orientation and velocity relative to some geographic entities. The sensor fusion considered in this thesis combines data from a dead reckoning system, inertial navigation system (INS), and measurements of the ground elevation. The very fast dynamics of aircraft navigation makes it difficult to estimate the true states. Instead the algorithm studied will estimate the errors of the INS and compensate for them. A height database is used along with the ...

Karlsson, Tobias

For many years, terrain navigation has been successfully used in military airborne applications. Terrain navigation can essentially improve the performance of traditional inertial-based navigation. The latter is typically built around gyros and accelerometers, measuring the kinetic state changes. Although inertial-based systems benefit from their high independence, they, unfortunately, suffer from increasing error-growth due to accumulation of continuous measurement errors. Undersea, the number...

Borras Sillero, Jose

Some applications such as industrial automation, cargo handling, warehouse managing,monitoring of autonomous robot or personnel localization, require reliable indoor positioning. In particular, the requirement is to accurately localize a mobile wireless node in real-time. In outdoor scenarios, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSSs) are commonly used for positioning. Nevertheless, they present notable shortcomings for being used in indoor applications. The principal disadvantages are the low...

Watson, Annaliese

Haiti's political and economy history has led to a maternity care system that lies out of reach, geographically and financially, of most Haitians, resulting in excessively high maternal and infant mortality. The most common birth practitioners are homebirth midwives (matwòns), who attend roughly three-fourths of all births in Haiti (UNICEF), often without the benefit of emergency obstetric services. In this ethnographic study, I examine how matwòns experience caring for mothers and babies in e...

Tran, Eric

Wearable computing systems have been researched and developed for several decades. With the advent of the head-mounted display, augmented and mediated reality systems became an important example of wearable computing. However, due to certain factors such as computational constraints, cost, obtrusiveness, practicality, and social acceptance, mediated reality systems have been leveraged in only very specific application domains and have yet to see mainstream adoption. This dissertation describes t...

Ginzburg, Sasha

A navigation system developed for an omni-directional wheeled mobile robot, called the Omnibot, is presented. This system is developed to enable the Omnibot to autonomously navigate, in a collision-free manner, along predefined paths in indoor structured office or factory-like environments. The navigation system is composed of four integrated subsystems: localization, path- following, velocity control, and obstacle detection. The path-following subsystem is responsible for driving the Omnibot al...

Maeland, Lasse

Observing the relative state of two space vehicles has been an active field of research since the earliest attempts at space rendezvous and docking during the 1960's. Several techniques have successfully been employed by several space agencies and the importance of these systems has been repeatedly demonstrated during the on-orbit assembly and continuous re-supply of the International Space Station. More recent efforts are focused on technologies that can enable fully automated navigation and co...

Rickenbach, Mark Douglas.

No description available.

Moore, Jon Prichet

No description available.

Mixon, Ted R.

No description available.

Murphy, Donald Francis

No description available.

Potter, Gary Glen.

No description available.

Thacker, John Richard.

No description available.

Bechtle, Jon M.

No description available.

Matallana, Jose Augusto

No description available.

Akyol, Kadir

At the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), a small AUV navigation system (SANS) has been developed for research in support of shallow-water mine countermeasures and coastal environmental monitoring. The objective of this thesis is to develop a new version of SANS, aimed at reducing size and increasing reliability by utilizing state-of-the-art hardware components. The new hardware configuration uses a PC/104 computer system, and a Crossbow DMU-VG Six-Axis Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). The PC/104 ...

Lake, Rodney D.

No description available.

Garrett, Royce R.

No description available.

Knapp, Randall G

There are three major thrusts to this thesis. The first was to design and build a device to measure ground speed for testing the position estimating capabilities of the Small Autonomous Navigation System (SANS) filter. The ground tests consisted by placing the SANS unit on a golf cart and maneuvering it along a known track. The speed sensing device uses a bicycle wheel attached to the golf cart along with an appropriate time to speed software conversion. The next problem was to determine if the ...

Xie, Xianshi

Immersive virtual environment (IVE) systems have applications in many areas, such as training, physical therapy, and entertainment. This thesis examines a fundamental function in IVEs: navigation. We built and optimized a locomotion system that allows free exploration in large IVEs within a limited physically tracked space while maintaining users spatial orientation. We additionally examined bipedal locomotion systems versus non-locomotive interfaces as means of moving and navigating in an IVE t...

Oliver, Jr., Ted Emerson

<p>For a launch vehicle, the Navigation System is responsible for determining the vehicle state and providing state and state derived information for Guidance and Controls. The accuracy required of the Navigation System by the vehicle is dependent upon the vehicle, vehicle mission, and other consideration, such as impact foot print. NASAs Ares I launch vehicle and SLS are examples of launch vehicles with are/where to employ inertial navigation systems. For an inertial navigation system, the navi...

Wen, James

Being completely lost in an unfamiliar environment can be inconvenient, stressful and, at times, even dangerous. Maps are the traditional tools used for guidance but many people find maps difficult to use. In recent years, new tools like outdoor Augmented Reality (AR) have become available which allow virtual navigation cues to be directly overlaid on the real world, potentially overcoming the limitations of maps. However, it has been hypothesized that lower effort invested in processing navigat...

Livingstone, Sharon Ann

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) damages many regions of the brain but damage to the hippocampus has been particularly linked to functional deficits in memory and wayfinding (i.e., finding one's way in familiar and unfamiliar environments). The current study investigated the nature of these wayfinding problems using a virtual simulation of a Morris water maze, a standard test of hippocampal function in laboratory animals. Eleven TBI survivors and 12 comparison participants, matched for gender, age a...

Murarka, Aniket

In this work we focus on building local maps to enable wheeled mobile robots to navigate safely and autonomously in urban environments. Urban environments present a variety of hazards that mobile robots have to detect and represent in their maps to navigate safely. Examples of hazards include obstacles such as furniture, drop-offs such as at downward stairs, and inclined surfaces such as wheelchair ramps. We address two shortcomings perceived in the literature on mapping. The first is the extens...

O'Connor-Dreher, Ryan

<p> Implementation of effective onboard computer technologies into commercial cockpits will alter the current role and actions taken by pilots. These new technologies will require precise and efficient input methods due to the unstable nature of a cockpit environment. The benefits of haptic force feedback input devices have been shown in previous research. The present study investigated the effects of force feedback distractors on movement time, movement path, and workload. Results demonstrated ...

McKay, John Douglas., Preston, Gerry Lee.

Approved for public release; distribution unlimited. / A VLF relative navigation system makes use of the fact that, at any given point on the earth, phase delay of a received VLF signal is highly stable and predictable. As the receiver is physically moved, phase delay changes linearly with distance from the transmitting station, so that by keeping track of the phase delay of the received signal from several VLF stations, one may keep an accurate plot of geographical position. Two problems...

Busse, Harald, Riedel, Tim, Garnov, Nikita, Thörmer, Gregor, Kahn, Thomas, Moche, Michael

Objectives: MRI is of great clinical utility for the guidance of special diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. The majority of such procedures are performed iteratively (\"in-and-out\") in standard, closed-bore MRI systems with control imaging inside the bore and needle adjustments outside the bore. The fundamental limitations of such an approach have led to the development of various assistance techniques, from simple guidance tools to advanced navigation systems. The purpose of this work w...

Hernandez, Glenn C.

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited. / A Small AUV Navigation System (SANS) is being developed at the Naval Postgraduate School. The SANS is an integrated INS/GPS navigation system composed of low-cost, small-size components. It is designed to demonstrate the feasibility of using a low-cost Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) to navigate between intermittent GPS fixes. This thesis presents recent improvements to the SANS hardware and software. The 486-based ESP computer used in th...

Goerger, Simon R.

Approved for public release; distribution in unlimited. / Navigation and terrain familiarity are critical for mission success in the military. Virtual environments (VEs) have often been suggested as a useful tool in addressing these issues. This thesis research addresses the utility of VEs to improve spatial knowledge of and navigation performance through natural terrain compared to traditional methods. In this experiment, fifteen subjects were assigned to one of three training conditions. The m...

Haase, Peter H.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. / This thesis details the engineering design of a personal, computer- based system. which is intended to support a hands-eyes-ears-free Personal Navigational and Communication System (PNCS). This computer-based system is designed to be used with COTS devices, such as, (1) a GPS receiver, (2) a laptop or desktop computer, (3) a rechargeable, long-life battery pack, and (4) a wearable tactile communications vest. The vest is currently under d...

Þorsteinsson, Jóhannes

Sound design with the help of procedurally generated sound in video games has seen arise in the last few years given how that method gives us greated freedom in how soundreacts in realtime to the games, and the players. This research looks into if there is anydifference in how procedural sound, in this case procedurally generated wind, affectsthe navigation of players in a three dimensional world, as opposed to static samplebased sound design.

Sadeghi Gol, Mohsen

The use of artificial potential fields is beneficial in most two dimensional environments but they are bound by limitations. Introduction of the third dimension eradicates some of the limitations and brings about a set of new problems. If the emergent problems are solved then the new approach can give way to smarter helicopters and consequently a new game-play experience or possibly safer flight. This thesis aims to solve the emergent problems and proposes a new solution for guidance of autonomo...

Norton, Nancy Ann

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the hardware and software for a Small Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Navigation System (SANS), a self-contained, externally mountable navigation system. The SANS is designed to determine the location of an underwater object using a combination of Global Positioning System (GPS) while surfaced, sand Inertial Navigation System (INS) while submerged. Various experimental testing of the hardware w...

Lin, Jhih-Yan, 林志晏

碩士 / 國立交通大學 / 資訊科學與工程研究所 / 97 / The shortest path problem has been studied for decades, and many efficient algorithms based on Dijkstra's algorithm have been developed. In this thesis, we focus on the road network graphs. Priority queue is an important data structure used in Dijkstra's algorithm. Since the road netwrok graph has low degree, we propose a lazy binary heap as the priority queue. According to our experiments, we reduce 30% to 50% running time on this kind of sparse graphs. Moreover,...

Guerrero De La Pena, Ana Isabel

The present investigation focuses on the development of computationally efficient path planning algorithms for autonomous ground vehicles. The approach selected is based on a heuristic hill climbing local search. The cost index employed incorporates a traversability cost average, which offers two primary benefits: 1) the average extends the region of knowledge of the search algorithm, increasing optimality of the solution; and 2) the avoidance of hazardous regions is added to the decision making...

Zhang, Jing

This thesis presents a comparison of controller designs and a system software design for a general Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) system. The first part of the thesis investigates four control algorithms based on Lyapunov Direct Method in conjunction with sliding mode and adaptive control. These algorithms address three practical issues in controller design: maximum actuation limitation, external disturbances, and imperfect dynamic models. Each of the algorithms is proven to be globally ...

Pleil, Kristen Elizabeth

<p>Estradiol modulates the use of spatial navigation strategies in female rats. The presence of circulating estradiol enhances learning on tasks that require the use of a hippocampus-dependent place strategy and impairs learning on tasks that require the use of a dorsal striatum-dependent response strategy. When either strategy may be used successfully, estradiol biases females to use a place strategy. While this behavioral effect has been well-described in the young adult female rat, little is ...

Karamat, Tashfeen

Land vehicle navigation is primarily dependent upon the Global Positioning System (GPS) which provides accurate navigation in open sky. However, in urban and rural canyons GPS accuracy degrades considerably. To help GPS in such scenarios, it is often integrated with inexpensive inertial sensors. Such sensors have complex stochastic errors which are difficult to mitigate. In the presence of speed measurements from land vehicle, a reduced number of inertial sensors can be used which improve perfor...

Amin, Bilal, Surveying & Spatial Information Systems, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW

This thesis examines the sampling and jitter specifications and considerations for Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) software receivers. Software Radio (SWR) technologies are being used in the implementation of communication receivers in general and GNSS receivers in particular. With the advent of new GPS signals, and a range of new Galileo and GLONASS signals soon becoming available, GNSS is an application where SWR and software-defined radio (SDR) are likely to have an impact. The sam...

Tolmie, Julie.

No description available.

Kim, Beomjoon

A key skill for mobile robots is the ability to navigate efficiently through their environment. In the case of social or assistive robots, this involves navigating through human crowds. Typical performance criteria, such as reaching the goal using the shortest path, are not appropriate in such environments, where it is more important for the robot to move in a socially adaptive manner such as respecting comfort zones of the pedestrians. This thesis investigates the Learning from Demonstration fr...

SHEN, ZHI

Due to their complementary characteristics, Global Positioning System (GPS) is usually integrated with standalone navigation devices like odometers and inertial measurement units (IMU). Recently, intensive research has focused on utilizing Micro-Electro-Mechanical-System (MEMS) grade inertial sensors in the integration because of their low cost. In this study, a reduced inertial sensor system (RISS) is considered. It comprises a MEMS grade single axis gyroscope, the vehicle built-in odometer, an...

Rios-Martinez, Jorge

This thesis proposes a risk-based navigation method including both the traditional notion of risk of collision and the notion of risk of disturbance.

Wang, Lei

In this study, two algorithms for real-time navigation of mobile robots in unknown environments is presented. The first approach integrates a novel learning algorithm derived from Skinner's operant conditioning and a shunting neural dynamics model, producing the capability of path planning in unknown and cluttered environments, after training and assistance with an angular velocity map. Second, a fuzzy logic based bio-inspired system is developed for mobile robot navigation. Based on a modified ...

Ramakrishnan, Balasubramaniam

Autonomous Vehicles (AV) can navigate itself from point `A' to point `B' without the aid of humans. Research on autonomous vehicles were primarily focused on the localization, navigation and path planning schemes. This led to numerous methods in each of the elds of focus. This research focuses on creating a scheme for the autonomous vehicle to navigate using minimal sensors and get maximum data/infor- mation from the map. At rst a digital map contains various structures and each has an associa...

Somogyi-Ganss, Eszter

Objectives: To evaluate and compare an experimental surgical navigation system (ESNS) in implant placement accuracy to static planning and transfer systems. Material and Methods: Partially edentulous, surgical typodonts were used to simulate prosthetically-driven osteotomies in preclinical setting. After cbCT acquisition the DICOM files were used to reverse plan and fabricate surgical guides. Manual placement, three static guiding systems and ESNS were compared. Eight osteotomies per jaw were t...

Roth, Niels Henrik

CanX-4/-5 is a formation flying technology demonstration mission that shall demonstrate sub-meter formation tracking control. The key to this precision control is carrier phase differential GPS state estimation, which enables centimeter-level relative state estimation. In this thesis, the formation flying controller design is reviewed in detail, and an innovative closed-loop formation reconfiguration strategy is presented. In addition, the designs of both coarse- and fine-mode relative state est...

Lien, Torgrim Aalvik

A complete setup of sensors, estimators and controllers for autonomous and manual control of an unmanned dierential steered ground vehicle has been implemented in this paper. The entire system is implemented in Robot Operative System (ROS) using the open source ROS software platform FroboMind as a foundation. The system is running on a Ubuntu 12.10 laptop, with the Groovy distribution of ROS.A reliable CANopen communication for real-time control and monitoring of the motors over a single CAN bus...

Marquez-Gamez, David

L'objectif de ces travaux porte sur la navigation de robots autonomes sur de grandes distances dans des environnements extérieurs dynamiques, plus précisément sur le développement et l'évaluation de fonctions avancées de perception, embarquées sur des véhicules se déplaçant en convoi sur un itinéraire inconnu a priori, dans un environnement urbain ou naturel. Nous avons abordé trois problématiques : d'abord nous avons exploité plusieurs méthodes de l'état de l'art, pour qu'un véhicule A, équipé ...

Peppas, Dimitrios Ioannis

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. / This thesis compares two types of command guidance to be used by a point defense system: Proportional Navigation and Command to Line Of Sight (CLOS). The system block diagram was first defined. The necessary transfer functions were derived. Two forward time models were evaluated, one for each guidance method, using state variable analysis. Two three dimensional scenarios were defined and their results used to compare the two methods. Para...