The Navigation and Instrumentation Research Group at RMC occupies a unique position in the continually advancing landscape of navigation and instrumentation technologies.
Led by Dr. Aboelmagd Noureldin, the group consists of a large number of military and civilian researchers from a variety of backgrounds and operational specialities, from postdoctoral fellows to baccalaureate students. The group is dedicated to the research, development, and improvement of integrated positioning and navigation technologies and other multi-sensor systems.
Today’s NavINST group evolved from the former Vehicular Navigation Research Group, founded by Dr. Noureldin in 2003. Its primary focus was the improvement of integrated INS and GNSS systems on land vehicle platforms. Since then, its mandate has expanded to include autonomous systems such as unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and self-driving cars, and portable navigation systems for personal location and navigation. Recently, the group has begun investigating the development of advanced methods for the precise lane-level positioning of land vehicles in all environments, using vision, radar, and LiDAR systems in addition to INS and GNSS.
Autonomous driving systems present researchers with numerous challenges. Vehicles such as self-driving cars must be able to move safely, follow a track, and avoid obstacles such as other vehicles, people, and animals as well as buildings and road features. These systems require accurate positioning to the lane level—distances of one metre or less. Vehicle motion sensors, currently used primarily for traction control, can also be used for positioning and GNSS integration, but this is not enough for truly precise positioning. New types of sensors, such as vision systems, laser scanners, and vehicular radar, may provide the answer.
Some of the research and development technologies the NavINST group has access to include:
- Spirent GNSS simulators
- Jamming signal generators
- Interference combiners
- Real-time embedded modules
- DSP and FPGA design platforms
- Calibration and testing equipment
- Vehicle motion sensors, LiDAR, cameras, cruise control radar, and GNSS receivers
- Experimental vehicles and vehicle systems
- An anechoic chamber used for experiments in real signal jamming
Navigation and positioning technologies have a number of applications across both the military and civilian markets. NavINST has research interests in a wide range of platforms, including land vehicles, airborne systems, drones, ships, and the individual movements of a travelling person; their research also covers a variety of environments including both outdoor and indoor, and accounts for the unique challenges of navigating an urban environment. The group employs a multi-disciplinary approach, with researchers specialized in instrumentation, signal processing, optimal estimation, machine vision, and machine intelligence.
Faculty
Dr. Aboelmagd Noureldin
PhD, BEng, MEng
Professor and Research Head