Research summary
The use of self-driving cars and drones continues to increase. Our trust in these autonomous vehicles hinges on their reliability, including their ability to carry out crucial tasks like positioning, locating and navigating (PLAN). But so far, there is no single PLAN technique versatile enough to address the challenges of degraded or suboptimal environments, such as those involving rain, fog or signal blockage.
As Canada Research Chair in Geomatics Multi-Sensor Systems, Dr. Naser El-Sheimy is developing technologies and processing platforms that enable the use of new PLAN systems that can operate reliably in all environments. He and his research team are doing this by fusing all available sensors to provide continuous and robust positioning anywhere. They are also using machine intelligence algorithms to manage and coordinate heterogeneous sets of sensors and systems into a robust positioning system that can meet the demand for safety-critical autonomous navigation. Ultimately, their work will increase the public’s acceptance and trust of autonomous vehicles.