Positioning System Error Correction via Reference Trajectory
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Solution Overview
Problem
Real-time positioning systems, even when integrated with GPS and INS, suffer from inaccuracies and signal losses due to obstacles and environmental factors, leading to errors in inventory and resource tracking, which can propagate and require manual correction, causing delays and costs.
Innovation Solution
A system that employs real-time GPS and secondary sensors like INS to determine motion data, and applies mathematical filtering and post-processing techniques to correct position data automatically, identifying and removing noise and biases to provide high-confidence location information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If real-time positioning systems use GPS and INS integration to improve accuracy, then positioning reliability is improved, but measurement precision deteriorates due to signal blockage and environmental factors
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calibration by establishing a reference trajectory during periods of accurate GPS signal availability. This calibrated reference trajectory is stored and later used to automatically correct position data when signal blockage occurs, preventing error propagation before it affects inventory tracking accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously compares real-time position measurements against the calibrated reference trajectory and automatically applies corrections when deviations exceed threshold values. This feedback mechanism enables automatic error correction without manual intervention, maintaining positioning precision while preserving the reliability benefits of sensor integration.
2Measurement precision
If manual correction of position errors is performed to maintain accuracy, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of time increases due to correction delays
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-correction by automatically comparing real-time position data against the calibrated reference trajectory and applying corrections without human intervention. The error correction process is autonomous, eliminating the time loss associated with manual verification and correction while maintaining positioning accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors position data and applies corrections in real-time as errors are detected, rather than waiting for periodic manual review. This continuous correction approach eliminates gaps in accuracy and removes the time delays inherent in batch processing or manual correction cycles.
3Measurement precision
If real-time position data is continuously collected to improve tracking accuracy, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases due to multiple sensors and processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and isolates the calibration function from the main positioning processing. By separating the reference trajectory establishment from continuous position measurement, the system simplifies the processing architecture while maintaining high tracking accuracy through the use of a pre-computed reference framework.
Solution Approach 2:
The calibrated reference trajectory serves multiple functions: it provides the basis for error detection, guides automatic correction, and maintains consistency across the entire tracking period. This multi-functional reference trajectory reduces the need for multiple separate processing systems, thereby reducing overall device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A system is provided for tracking and maintaining an inventory of location of containers that are stored on cargo ships or in a container yard. The system includes one or more sensors, such as GPS and INS sensors for obtaining real-time position information, as well as a processor configured to automatically provide post processing to recover lost data and to correct erroneous data, such as when real-time position signals are blocked or distorted, the post processing performed by estimating trajectories and correcting the location errors. Post-processed positioning techniques are continuously applied to the stored position data to iteratively determine calibrated position locations to provide calibrated second trajectory segments in a real-time fashion. The calibrated second trajectories are then used to identify the errors in the past real-time position data as soon as a segment of the second calibrated trajectory becomes statistically trustworthy. Corrections can be automatically made in inventory locations stored in a database to correct position errors for the containers.