LiveMaps: Sea led by Createc
An infrastructure free GNSS alternative for the marine industry was developed by Createc, by using radar and maps. The capability forms a complimentary system alongside traditional navigation as well as a reliable backup in areas of GNSS denial or spoofing.
During the project, an off the shelf radar was used to record two data sets sailing off of the West coast of Scotland. Raw data was captured and used to develop a frame to frame matching algorithm. Live sailing was able to be simulated for development purposes, as was as if “real” when conducting desktop testing. Accurate GPS equivalent odometry and map building was achieved using radar only, with minimal drift, whilst sailing 48km plus. The initial hypotheses were successfully demonstrated.
This project provides a good opportunity to offer GPS localisation alternatives, either as a standalone navigation tool in more niche MoD applications, or as part of a larger navigation ecosystem, providing GPS verification and error checking, applicable across the marine sector.