The business requirement
Cadtracker explored personnel tracking where GPS alone could not provide the required indoor positioning, connecting wearable sensing with local and remote command systems.
Development and integration
Impact worked with C#, C++, UWB, inertial sensors and connected embedded hardware. The prototype included desktop and cloud components, outdoor GPS, remote software updates and rollback. The work covered prototype development and field testing through manufacturing handover.
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Original project detail
Embedded development for Personnel Tracking System
Cadtracker approached Impact to develop a tracking system for use in non-gps areas the project consisted of a number of solutions;
- An embedded system for RTLS using UWB, MEMS (NGIMU), WiFi and a 96Board CPU (DragonBoard).
- A local command and control centre which could run on a laptop to monitor and control the devices as required.
- A cloud control centre for global access to tracking and control information.
- A cloud based software update solution so remote units can be upgraded or configured.
The final prototype system comprised of a dragon board (battery powered hand held smart phone type device) running IoT (coded in c#/c++) to which was connected UWB receiver, MEMs foot sensor, Wi-Fi, GPS (only used when outside) and a high-power RF modem to transmit location data back to a base station. The unit also transmitted tracking data back to a cloud control centre when ever it detected a Wi-Fi signal.
The system could also receive software updates via the web portal, it had a rollback feature in case a update failed.
Users would walk around a building, underground, anywhere and the NGIMU would send back accelerometer, gyro and magnetometer readings to the hand held unit which was used to calculate the spacial position of the user, with clever error correction, this data was then transmitted back to a base station for local operator monitoring and also on to the cloud for remote monitoring.
The unit and all software was developed over 3 years then handed over to a manufacturing company for production.
Impact managed the whole process from building the prototype units, field testing, developing all embedded, desktop and cloud based solutions.
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