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Fog is no longer a problem for our flying friends.
Autonomous drones typically rely on visual cues to accurately determine the location of landing pads or other landmarks. But what if it's dark, rainy, or foggy outside and there's no ground power source for lighting? In this case, the Millisign system comes to the rescue.
The Millisign system was developed by scientists from the Japanese NTT Corporation and the University of Tokyo. It includes larger versions of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags that are currently used on many products. In a typical system, a wireless RFID tag is temporarily powered by a radio signal emitted by an RFID reader. The tag then uses an integrated antenna to transmit the modified signal back to the reader.
In the Millisign system, a small drone with millimeter-wave radar replaces the handheld reader. When one of the large tags on the landing pad receives a radio signal from this device, it transmits a response signal back to the drone. This response indicates the location of the placemark / pad relative to the drone, so the drone can determine it even without seeing it – the more intense the received signal, the closer the drone is to its target.
In addition to being used on landing pads, Millisign tags can also serve as navigation beacons along the drone's delivery route.
Importantly, Millisign tags include angle reflectors that allow them to send and receive signals at a wide three-dimensional angle. In the current version of the system, a tag measuring 292 x 600 mm can be read by an aerial drone at a distance of 10-15 meters.
However, the question arises: why don't drones just use GPS? NTT Research Engineer Tatsuya Iizuka explained: "When considering a landing scenario using GPS, obtaining relative positions requires two GPS modules on the UAV and the landing port, as well as a communication channel between them, which entails large installation and maintenance costs."
Autonomous drones typically rely on visual cues to accurately determine the location of landing pads or other landmarks. But what if it's dark, rainy, or foggy outside and there's no ground power source for lighting? In this case, the Millisign system comes to the rescue.
The Millisign system was developed by scientists from the Japanese NTT Corporation and the University of Tokyo. It includes larger versions of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags that are currently used on many products. In a typical system, a wireless RFID tag is temporarily powered by a radio signal emitted by an RFID reader. The tag then uses an integrated antenna to transmit the modified signal back to the reader.
In the Millisign system, a small drone with millimeter-wave radar replaces the handheld reader. When one of the large tags on the landing pad receives a radio signal from this device, it transmits a response signal back to the drone. This response indicates the location of the placemark / pad relative to the drone, so the drone can determine it even without seeing it – the more intense the received signal, the closer the drone is to its target.
In addition to being used on landing pads, Millisign tags can also serve as navigation beacons along the drone's delivery route.
Importantly, Millisign tags include angle reflectors that allow them to send and receive signals at a wide three-dimensional angle. In the current version of the system, a tag measuring 292 x 600 mm can be read by an aerial drone at a distance of 10-15 meters.
However, the question arises: why don't drones just use GPS? NTT Research Engineer Tatsuya Iizuka explained: "When considering a landing scenario using GPS, obtaining relative positions requires two GPS modules on the UAV and the landing port, as well as a communication channel between them, which entails large installation and maintenance costs."
