Navigation Technology of Unmanned Vehicles Based on Electromagnetic Induction

The article deals with the issues of determining the position of unmanned vehicles (UV) in tunnels in the absence of signals from global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and unfavorable operating conditions, such as low light, high humidity, radioactivity and others. The authors proposes a method for navigating unmanned vehicles based on the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction. On board the unmanned vehicle there is a high-frequency generator, a radio transmitting unit, a radio receiving unit, an information management system, and under the bearing or supporting surface of the unmanned vehicle propulsion unit there is a single-wire radio transmission line coordinated with the environment by means of an active load. The high-frequency generator transmits high-frequency current to the radio transmitting unit, which excites a single-wire radio transmission line, the single-wire radio transmission line emits a high-frequency radio signal supplied to the radio receiving unit for further conversion by the information management system into electrical control signals of an unmanned vehicle. Magnetic loops or electrical vibrators can be used as radiating antenna from the radio transmitting unit, and magnetic loops or ferrite probe excited by the high-frequency magnetic field of the radio transmission line can be used as receiving antenna. The article deals with the influence of the environment on the processes of radiation and reception of radio signals. Computer testing of the developed method was carried out with using three-dimensional electromagnetic modeling. Electrically small loop antennas located orthogonally were used to transmit and receive the radio signal. It was shown that the phase analysis of the transmission gain in both cases can provide ample information about the direction and deviation rate from the path which is set using the radio transmission line. The results of the study can be useful for the development of navigation systems for unmanned vehicles in conditions of limited availability of signals from GNSS.

1. Kozyrev Yu. G. Industrial robots: a reference guide, Moskow, Mashinostroenie, 1988, 392 p. (in Russian).

2. Timofeev A. V. Adaptive robotic systems. Leningrad, Mashinostroenie, 1988, 332 p (in Russian).

3. Kalyuzhnyi A. T. Automatic Driving of Unmanned Tractors, Mashiny, agregaty i protsessy. Proektirovanie, sozdanie i modernizatsiya, 2021, no. 4, pp.74—82, doi: 10.26160/2587-7577-2021-4-74-82 (in Russian).

4. Patent RU 2596244C1. Kocharov O. M., Kocharov K. O., Kocharov A. O., Kocharov A. A. Arctic underwater navigation system for driving and navigation support of water surface and underwater objects of navigation in constrained conditions of navigation. Application RU2015133286/28A, Priority date 2015.08.10. Publication date 2016.09.10.

5. Patent RU 2652167C1. Kocharov A. O. Arctic system of ground transport driving and navigation support. Application RU2017106045A, Priority date 2017.02.27. Publication date 2016.09.10.

6. Vale A., Ventura R., Lopes P., Ribeiro I. Assessment of navigation technologies for automated guided vehicle in nuclear fusion facilities, Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 2017, vol. 97, рp. 153—170.

7. Moshayedi A. J., Jinsong L., Liao L. AGV (automated guided vehicle) robot: Mission and obstacles in design and performance, Journal of Simulation and Analysis of Novel Technologies in Mechanical Engineering, 2019, vol. 12, iss. 4, pp. 5—18.

8. Udvardy P., Széll K. Advanced Navigation of Automated Vehicles in Smart Manufacturing, Acta Technica Napocensis. Electronica-Telecomunicatii, 2019, vol. 60, iss. 1, pp. 11—14.

9. Varshney A., Aryan A., Singh A., Dubey N., Singh A. K. Modular on-Road Self-Guided Automatic Vehicle and Concept of Self-Power Transmission, International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology (IJEAT), 2020, vol. 9, iss. 4, pp. 1978—1981, doi: 10.35940/ijeat.D9022.049420

10. Rubanov V., Bushuev D., Karikov E., Bazhanov A., Alekseevsky S. Development a low-cost navigation technology based on metal line sensors and passive RFID tags for industrial automated guided vehicle, Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 2020, vol. 15, pp. 2291—2297.

11. Alekseevsky S. V., Rubanov V. G., Bushuev D. A., Masliev E. A. Selecting a Sensor configuration in the Development of Automatic Transport Trolley, Izvestiya Tul’skogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Tekhnicheskie nauki, 2021, no. 2, pp. 459—465 (in Russian).

12. Aizat M., Azmin A., Rahiman W. A Survey on Navigation Approaches for Automated Guided Vehicle Robots in Dynamic Surrounding, IEEE Access, 2023, vol. 11, pp. 33934—33955, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3263734.

13. Priority to RU2023107633A. A method of navigation of a transport and technological machine on a single-wire radio transmission line. JSC Progress MRI, A. V. Nikolaev, E. I. Starovoitov, Z. K. Kondrashov, E. S. Skiba, A. A. Ambaryan, D. M. Bodunov, D. A. Prokhorkin, A. V. Kolesnikov, N. B. Fedosova. Priority date 2023.03.29

14. Hansen R. C. Electrically Small, Superdirective, and Superconducting Antennas, Newark, NJ, Wiley, 2006, 182 p.

15. Davydov A. G., Pimenov Yu. V. Abilities of Program EDEM for Antenna Designing, Antennas, 2006, no. 12 (115), pp. 54—67 (in Russian).

16. EDEM. A program for electromagnetic fields calculating and researching into the electrodynamic properties of conducting structures. Program for calculation of electromagnetic fields, available at: http://edem3d.ru/index_eng.php