Alternative Navigation
Tailoring radar systems to the unique requirements of different applications
Alternative navigation offers a valuable lifeline in environments where traditional global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) are ineffective or unavailable.
Using tools and techniques ranging from simple inertial sensors found in smartphones to cutting-edge quantum gravity mapping, alternative navigation keeps everything on track underground, underwater, indoors and in urban canyons, and even in space.
Inertial navigation, visual scene matching, and acoustic or electromagnetic localisation are all examples of alternative navigation methods which allow systems to understand their location when GNSS is not available or is degraded.
Real-world challenges
Key skills
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Signal processing
Processing sensor data, such as accelerometers and gyroscopes, to estimate motion of a platform.
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Radio Frequency (RF) geolocation
Advanced RF geolocation techniques for detecting and locating objects, relying on years of experience in hardware development, antenna design and embedded signal processing.
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Electronics design
Delivering the intelligence that makes products work.
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Low size, weight, power and cost (SWAP-C)
Taking devices and optimising for embedded applications or designing custom hardware solutions for applications.
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Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)
Specialising in their application to RF, embedded hardware design and signal processing.
Recent advancements in machine learning and sensor technology provide us with the tools for developing robust and precise alternative navigation methods – ensuring continuity and reliability in even the most complex of environments where GNSS signals are unreliable.
Freddy Saunders
Senior Data Scientist
Dismounted Position & Navigation Sensor (DPNS)
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We developed a boot mounted positioning system providing location estimates to the dismounted user in both GNSS enabled and degraded or denied environments, such as subterranean, under canopy or in building. This self-contained device can be interfaced with systems such as ATAK and maintains low positional error over distance travelled.
The boot-mounted unit shown consists of an array of inertial measurement units. A motion-processing algorithm converts data from the IMU array and barometer into a 3D estimate of displacement relative to an initial start position. The boot-mounted unit forwards this displacement data to the Android smartphone. The Android smartphone then fuses the displacement data from the boot-mounted unit with referenced position data from its GNSS receiver, when it is available, such that when GNSS is lost, the position of the user can be continually estimated from displacement data from the boot-mounted unit alone.
What sets us apart when it comes to alternative navigation?
The Plextek team has a track record of delivering complex technology solutions covering a broad range of alternative navigation applications, including:
- Indoor
- Urban canyons
- Underground/underwater
- Military operations (GNSS denied)
- Space
Examples of our alternative navigation methods include:
- Computer vision
- Visual scene matching
- Radar terrain profile matching
- Simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM)
- Dead reckoning (inertial sensors)
- Acoustic localisation
- Electromagnetic localisation
Contact Us
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Millimetre-Wave Radar System
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mmWave Radar for Foreign Object Debris Detection
Collaborating with WaveTech to develop an advanced mmWave radar system, enabling the rapid and automated detection of foreign object debris on runways, enhancing safety and operational efficiency at a South Korean airport.
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Surveillance Radar for Comprehensive Threat Detection
Advancing a perimeter surveillance solution with long-range detection and low false-alarm rates, using state-of-the-art Passive Electronically Scanned Array technology for robust and maintenance-free operation in a range of demanding environments.
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Intelligent Mobility
Advancing intelligent mobility by integrating cutting-edge electronic-scanning radar technology to ensure the safe and efficient operation of autonomous vehicles in complex real-world environments.
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Sensing in space
Space holds vast promise. Orbiting satellites have already enabled global communications and allowed us to learn about our planet's climate. This paper will explain radar, how it works, and why it is suited to space applications. It will also discuss considerations for space companies when deploying any sensing technology. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to sensing. Our team works with space missions to assess if mmWave radar is right, and where it is, identify optimal configurations, software, and security to deliver against the performance and SWaP-C goals.
mmWave Imaging Radar
Camera systems are in widespread use as sensors that provide information about the surrounding environment. But this can struggle with image interpretation in complex scenarios. In contrast, mmWave radar technology offers a more straightforward view of the geometry and motion of objects, making it valuable for applications like autonomous vehicles, where radar aids in mapping surroundings and detecting obstacles. Radar’s ability to provide direct 3D location data and motion detection through Doppler effects is advantageous, though traditionally expensive and bulky. Advances in SiGe device integration are producing more compact and cost-effective radar solutions. Plextek aims to develop mm-wave radar prototypes that balance cost, size, weight, power, and real-time data processing for diverse applications, including autonomous vehicles, human-computer interfaces, transport systems, and building security.
Low Cost Millimeter Wave Radio frequency Sensors
This paper presents a range of novel low-cost millimeter-wave radio-frequency sensors that have been developed using the latest advances in commercially available electronic chip-sets. The recent emergence of low-cost, single chip silicon germanium transceiver modules combined with license exempt usage bands is creating a new area in which sensors can be developed. Three example systems using this technology are discussed, including: gas spectroscopy at stand off distances, non-invasive dielectric material characterization and high performance micro radar.
60 GHz F-Scan SIW Meanderline Antenna for Radar Applications
This paper describes the design and characterization of a frequency-scanning meanderline antenna for operation at 60 GHz. The design incorporates SIW techniques and slot radiating elements. The amplitude profile across the antenna aperture has been weighted to reduce sidelobe levels, which makes the design attractive for radar applications. Measured performance agrees with simulations, and the achieved beam profile and sidelobe levels are better than previously documented frequency-scanning designs at V and W bands.
Ku-Band Low-Sidelobe Waveguide Array
The design of a 16-element waveguide array employing radiating T-junctions that operates in the Ku band is described. Amplitude weighting results in low elevation sidelobe levels, while impedance matching provides a satisfactory VSWR, that are both achieved over a wide bandwidth (15.7-17.2 GHz). Simulation and measurement results, that agree very well, are presented. The design forms part of a 16 x 40 element waveguide array that achieves high gain and narrow beamwidths for use in an electronic-scanning radar system.