Marvelmind Indoor Navigation System Operating Manual V2017_05_20 www.marvelmind.
Table of contents 1. Version changes ...................................................................................................................................................... 3 2. Executive summary ................................................................................................................................................. 4 3. Basics of the system ............................................................................................................................
1. Version changes V2017_05_20 - - Cleaned up description and some corrections are added Description of HW v4.5 is removed from this manual and is given in the previous version of the manual and can be found here: http://www.marvelmind.com/pics/marvelmind_navigation_system_manual_HW_v4.5.pdf Description of HW v4.9 added Introduced plastic housing for beacons and modem Introduced 915MHz variant for the US market (HW v4.
2. Executive summary Marvelmind Indoor Navigation System is off-the-shelf indoor navigation system designed for providing precise (+-2cm) location data to autonomous robots, vehicles (AGV) and copters. It can also be used for tracking other objects, where the mobile beacon can be installed, for example, in virtual reality (VR) systems, helmets for construction workers or miners, etc. The navigation system is based on stationary ultrasonic beacons united by radio interface in license-free band.
Key capabilities: Parameter Technical Specifications Distance between beacons Up to 50 meters in lab conditions; Recommended distance in real-life - 30 meters (Transducer4 to Transducer4 looking straight to each other and other transducers are off) Coverage area Up to 1000 m2 for Starter Set configuration Coverage for larger territories done similar to cellular networks Location precision - Absolute: 1-3% of the distance to the beacons Differential precision: ±2 cm Location update rate - 0.
3. Basics of the system 3.1 What’s in the box Starter Set: - 4xStationary beacons 1xMobile beacon (aka “hedgehog”) 1xModem/Router * Exact appearance may wary depending on the Hardware version.
3.2 Indoor GPS architecture Marvelmind Indoor Navigation System provides high-precision (± 2 cm) indoor coordinates for autonomous robots and systems (“indoor GPS”).
3.3 Indoor “GPS” system – close-up and internal view LiPol 3.
3.4 System elements 3.4.1 Stationary beacons - Shall be mounted on walls and ceilings – usually, above the robot and ultrasonic sensors facing down – to provide the most robust unobstructed coverage of ultrasonic signal to robot.
3.4.2 10 Mobile beacon (“hedgehog”) - The mobile and stationary beacons can be easily interchanged by selecting the option in the Dashboard - The mobile beacons are designed to be placed on the robot vehicle or copter/drone or AGV or helmet to trace its location. Formally speaking, location of the mobile beacon is traced – not the robot itself.
3.4.3 11 Modem/router - The central controller of the system. It must be powered all the time, when the Navigation System works. It is recommended to use active USB hub for that purpose or even a regular USB power supply for cellular phones.
3.4.4 Charging beacons and other details − The Beacon has 5 sensors (transducers) RX1, RX2, RX3, RX4, RX5 − DIP switch modes: 1) Power = OFF, DFU = OFF: charging is possible; beacon is disconnected from internal battery. This mode is recommended, if you want to keep the battery fully charged for a long time and store the beacon on the shelf 2) Power = ON, DFU = OFF: normal working mode for beacon. The beacon is fully powered and wakes up every a few seconds to monitor radio signal from the modem.
4. Setting up the system 4.1 The very first setup routine of your device The routine below describes the very first setup of the system. If you have done that already, please, jump to the chapter Using the system after the very first setup below. 13 4.1.1 Unpack the system. Watch the help video: https://youtu.be/IyXB3UXHdeQ. Note that the video is shot for the previous HW version 4.5 4.1.
4.2 Setup software (Dashboard) 4.2.1 After charging boards download the latest stable software package from http://www.marvelmind.com/#Download 4.2.2 Select the SW version of the portable or distribution and unzip 4.2.3 Run the Dashboard and update the SW for all beacons and modem using Dashboard => Firmware => Choose the file => Program 4.2.4 If you see message in the Dashboard “Not found modem connection to computer through USB”, usually, it means that the driver is not installed.
4.2.7 Write down and use later the beacon’s address or change the addressed to your convenience as shown here 4.2.8 Press RESET button on your beacons and modem after programming 4.2.9 After programming devices with the latest software, modem and beacons are ready for use. Place stationary beacons on the walls vertically in such a way that optimal ultrasonic coverage is provided.
4.2.16 Now you can check the height position of the beacons, RSSI, radio channel, threshold etc. on the panel in the right corner of the Dashboard 4.2.17 Notice, that there are 99 beacon’s addresses available. If you don’t see some of your connected beacons on the map, scroll it so you will be able to find their addresses 4.2.18 Also double click on the device to go into sleeping mode and double clicking to wake up 4.2.19 The map will form automatically and zoom in automatically 4.2.
If you see in the table some empty cells or marked yellow/red, it is an indication that distances between some beacons are measured inconsistently or not measured at all. Try to check what the problems with those beacons are. Try to re-position them, because, usually, there is an obstruction of some sort in the between the beacons. Reset them. Use View => Table of distances to monitor the measured distances between beacons 4.2.21 Freeze the map by clicking the button.
4.2.23 If you see on the devices’ panel beacon colored orange, it means some settings between beacons are different, for example: some sensors are off or some ultrasonic or radio settings are different. You can change the settings for sensors manually by clicking on the panel in the right corner of the dashboard and make grey cells green to turn on sensor. But for starting, it is very much recommended to use default settings on all beacons and modem 4.2.
4.3 Using the system after the very first setup 4.3.1 If you had setup the drivers, built and froze the map and hadn’t moved stationary beacons, in order to start using the system again, you simply have to power up the modem. The map is stored inside the modem and the system will be ready to handle your mobile beacons in 5 seconds after that More help you can find here: https://www.youtube.
4.4 DFU programming DFU programming or SW uploading is used when HEX SW uploading in the Dashboard cannot be used, for example, when you update from a very old SW version or when the SW brings so much change to the system that it is possible to update the SW only via DFU programming 4.4.1 To start programming, move the beacon’s DIP switch in the DFU programming mode, as described in the paragraph DIP switch modes 4.4.
- Press "UPGRADE" button in the DfuSe program (3 step on pic) - After a couple of seconds the DFU will uploaded to the beacon. Make sure it actually takes 1-3 seconds, but not immediate. Otherwise, it is not really uploading the SW.
4.4.8 22 If you have experienced difficulties in DFU programming please check and do the following : - Change your operation system (from Windows10 to Windows7 and vice versa) - Install other DfuSe version (Install DfuSe SW 3.04 (or 3.0.3 or 3.0.
5. Interfaces Indoor “GPS” system supports many external interfaces that can feed measured location data to external system (robot, copter, VR). There are two different ways to get mobile beacons’ location data from the system: 1. From mobile beacons o Each mobile beacon knows its own position and doesn’t know position of other mobile beacons 2.
5.1 24 Beacon HW v4.
5.2 25 Modem HW v4.
6. Advanced system settings and optimization Start using advanced settings only when you know what you are doing. If you ran into troubles, connect beacon/modem to PC via USB and use Default button. You will uploads “factory settings” to the board while keeping the device address untacked. 6.1 Using oscilloscopes 6.1.1 Monitor ultrasonic signal from one beacon to another Use Dashboard => View => Oscilloscope to monitor ultrasonic signal from one beacon to another.
6.1.2 Proper ultrasonic signal detection When external noise is high: - Identify the source. Usual suspects: - Ultrasonic based volume or movement detecting alarm systems - Other robots using ultrasonic - Parktronics - Sources of very strong white or impulse noise (air guns, air press, cutters, vacuum cleaner, etc.) - Rotors of drones/copters Marvelmind Indoor Navigation System uses proprietary 31kHz frequency for ultrasonic signal and employs additional filtering to combat external noise.
6.2 – 28 Using hedgehog.log file System automatically records all measured positions in hedgehog.log file that is stored in the same folder as the Dashboard.
6.3 Important aspects and hints The single most important requirement for the system to work well is to have proper ultrasonic coverage - Each sensor has an ultrasonic beam of ~90 degrees. Outside of that range the emitting power and sensitivity drops quite rapidly. From the left, right, or back sides of the ultrasonic sensor the signal is received highly attenuated.
6.4 Deep hints Avoid placing beacons on long sound conducting objects 3. This is a very rare case, but may happen in some special circumstances 4. The best practice is to place beacons (stationary and mobile) in such places that would not result in transferring ultrasound energy from the beacon’s board/case directly to place it is attached via other medium than air.
6.5 Powering beacons Modes of operations: 1. Stationary beacons are powered from a clean source of +5V USB 2. Mobile beacon is powered from a clean source of +5V USB from a robot 3. Operations based on internal LiPol 3.7V 1000 mAh cell 31 - Typical power consumption in deep sleep mode is 50uA that gives ~2y shelf time with a regular 1000mAh battery.
6.6 Different colors in the Dashboard menu To be added in the future Manual releases 6.7 Ultrasonic coverage To be added in the future Manual releases 6.
7. Frequently Asked Questions http://www.marvelmind.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=2 8. Contacts For more support, you may send us your questions to info@marvelmind.com.
