NavigateIO (Ex NECX)

NavigateIO is developing a real-time, visual, and accurate infrastructure-free location intelligence solution in 3-Dimensional space. NavigateIO works in GPS denied areas like indoors and rugged terrains and could be easily integrated with GPS enabled systems. In addition to tracking x and y-direction on each floor, the solution can also identify the floor of the first responder location. First responders are displayed with unique identifiers on the graphical user interface as separate floors for tracking purposes. Each first responder carries a wearable tracking beacon. By providing real-time situational awareness and trajectory data for digestion into different systems, NavigateIO ensures accountability of personnel and enables more efficient 4Cs (command, control, communications, and coordination) of a mission. Above results in significantly reduced response time that saves lives and properties. NavigateIO is an end-to-end system that can be deployed in an on-demand and ad hoc manner, making it perfect for real-time public safety/emergency response events. The system is portable and self-contained, so there is no significant overhead expenditure. NavigateIO is innovated by top talents in mobile wireless sensing, communication, and networking. The heart of the solution lies in intelligent sensor fusion and a unique algorithmic approach to solving this complex problem for first responders. Today, promising solutions can accurately track mobile entities indoors using visual-inertial odometry in favorable visual conditions or by leveraging fine-grained ranging (RF, ultrasonic, IR, etc.) to reference anchors. However, they cannot directly cater to "dynamic" indoor environments (e.g., first responder scenarios, etc.) devoid of favorable conditions. NavigateIO researchers have shown that the need for "infrastructure-free" and robustness to "node mobility" and "visual conditions" in such environments motivate a robust RF-based approach. Also, NavigateIO understood the need to address a novel and challenging variant of its infrastructure-free localization problem that is latency-bounded. Therefore, accurate tracking of mobile entities imposes a latency budget that affects the solution computation, and the collection of peer-to-peer ranges themselves. The design and deployment of NavigateIO address this latency-bounded infrastructure-free RF localization problem. To this end, NavigateIO unravels the fundamental tradeoff between latency and localization accuracy. NavigateIO incorporates design elements that judiciously leverage the available ranging resources to adaptively estimate the joint topology of nodes, coupled with robust algorithm that maximizes the localization accuracy even in the face of practical environmental artifacts (Wireless connectivity and multipath, node mobility, etc.). The above techniques allow NavigateIO to track (every second and improve) a network of a few tens of mobile entities even at running speeds with a median accuracy of a meter level currently and without infrastructure support. NavigateIO team is working hard to improve the above performance metrics with the constant refinement of the solution. NavigateIO team also understands the robustness and ruggedization needs for the harsh environment where first responders operate. NavigateIO's current prototype has held up reasonably in multiple firefighter tastings that involved working in a harsh environment. Through these learnings, our team has developed a plan to address any gaps in the durability, environmental (temperature, dust, water ingress), other anti-penetration needs, and still being able to function to meet the requirements of first responders' intelligent location tracking. Finally, the NavigateIO team has put much effort into making the whole workings and various interfaces extremely simple for first responders to keep the focus on their missions. NavigateIO has tested and validated our system in the field in different building types and environments and successfully passed various success criteria provided by first responder departments.

Basics

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Description

NavigateIO is developing a real-time, visual, and accurate infrastructure-free location intelligence solution in 3-Dimensional space. NavigateIO works in GPS denied areas like indoors and rugged terrains and could be easily integrated with GPS enabled systems. In addition to tracking x and y-direction on each floor, the solution can also identify the floor of the first responder location. First responders are displayed with unique identifiers on the graphical user interface as separate floors for tracking purposes. Each first responder carries a wearable tracking beacon. By providing real-time situational awareness and trajectory data for digestion into different systems, NavigateIO ensures accountability of personnel and enables more efficient 4Cs (command, control, communications, and coordination) of a mission. Above results in significantly reduced response time that saves lives and properties. NavigateIO is an end-to-end system that can be deployed in an on-demand and ad hoc manner, making it perfect for real-time public safety/emergency response events. The system is portable and self-contained, so there is no significant overhead expenditure.
NavigateIO is innovated by top talents in mobile wireless sensing, communication, and networking. The heart of the solution lies in intelligent sensor fusion and a unique algorithmic approach to solving this complex problem for first responders. Today, promising solutions can accurately track mobile entities indoors using visual-inertial odometry in favorable visual conditions or by leveraging fine-grained ranging (RF, ultrasonic, IR, etc.) to reference anchors. However, they cannot directly cater to "dynamic" indoor environments (e.g., first responder scenarios, etc.) devoid of favorable conditions. NavigateIO researchers have shown that the need for "infrastructure-free" and robustness to "node mobility" and "visual conditions" in such environments motivate a robust RF-based approach. Also, NavigateIO understood the need to address a novel and challenging variant of its infrastructure-free localization problem that is latency-bounded. Therefore, accurate tracking of mobile entities imposes a latency budget that affects the solution computation, and the collection of peer-to-peer ranges themselves.
The design and deployment of NavigateIO address this latency-bounded infrastructure-free RF localization problem. To this end, NavigateIO unravels the fundamental tradeoff between latency and localization accuracy. NavigateIO incorporates design elements that judiciously leverage the available ranging resources to adaptively estimate the joint topology of nodes, coupled with robust algorithm that maximizes the localization accuracy even in the face of practical environmental artifacts (Wireless connectivity and multipath, node mobility, etc.). The above techniques allow NavigateIO to track (every second and improve) a network of a few tens of mobile entities even at running speeds with a median accuracy of a meter level currently and without infrastructure support. NavigateIO team is working hard to improve the above performance metrics with the constant refinement of the solution.
NavigateIO team also understands the robustness and ruggedization needs for the harsh environment where first responders operate. NavigateIO's current prototype has held up reasonably in multiple firefighter tastings that involved working in a harsh environment. Through these learnings, our team has developed a plan to address any gaps in the durability, environmental (temperature, dust, water ingress), other anti-penetration needs, and still being able to function to meet the requirements of first responders' intelligent location tracking. Finally, the NavigateIO team has put much effort into making the whole workings and various interfaces extremely simple for first responders to keep the focus on their missions. NavigateIO has tested and validated our system in the field in different building types and environments and successfully passed various success criteria provided by first responder departments.