Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Tech & Science

Learning while locating: Digital transformation of logistics

DUNE is able to translate the collected information into an estimate of its position.

Historic English port weathers supply storm
A backlog in shipping containers has caused a logjam at deep-water ports such as Felixstowe in eastern England - Copyright AFP/File Philip FONG
A backlog in shipping containers has caused a logjam at deep-water ports such as Felixstowe in eastern England - Copyright AFP/File Philip FONG

New research has shown how artificial intelligence can be harnessed to improve the location of objects inside industrial environments. This involves the use of deep learning algorithms to increase the accuracy and performance of current systems.

The reason why this research is of interest is because indoor positioning technologies are a driving force behind the digital transformation of the industrial sector. This is based around the ability to track objects, assets and people accurately and cheaply. The intention is to improve accuracy and to save resources, time and money. The types of sectors investing in such technology include logistics and healthcare.

With the new study, to assess the potential of different systems, researchers from Universitat Oberta de Catalunya will carry out an experiment within a 1,000-square-meter facility. Here indoor asset location can utilise the point of view of a receiving device in order to deduce which direction a signal emitted by the objects is coming from. The technology that has been developed has been dubbed ‘DUNE’.

DUNE is able to translate the collected information into an estimate of its position. Accuracy has been improved through multipath propagation, a process that leads to radio signals reaching the receiving antennas by two or more paths and at different times.

To fine tune the positioning mechanisms, DUNE is assisted by deep learning techniques at various stages of the location process in order to achieve optimal performance. With this approach algorithms can be trained to learn from input. The subsequent knowledge can then be used to draw conclusions based on new information.

The basis of the system is deep learning techniques combined with distributed computing systems. This takes advantage of both cloud and edge computing, enabling the technology to operate both on remote servers and near where the data are generated (‘the edge’).

Hence the computation is distributed in various nodes closer to the source of the data in order to reduce cloud computing processes. This both improves the response time of the servers and increases the security of the data. Once collected, data are transformed to estimate the angles that define the direction of the signal and provide a real-time update

The aim is to create a versatile system that uses the various technologies available and which can adapt to the different potential cases of use.

According to lead researcher Xavier Vilajosana: “There are numerous technological approaches today that attempt to exploit the characteristics of radio signals as a tool for obtaining the relative position between objects.”

With the specifics, Vilajosana  adds: “This technological variety and the wide range of situations in which they can be used, with highly diverse budgets and environments for application, means that we need to develop a powerful framework for managing location data from different technologies in real time, which at the same time is able to adapt to multiple industrial needs and is economically appealing.”

Avatar photo
Written By

Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, business, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.

You may also like:

World

Calling for urgent action is the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Business

The cathedral is on track to reopen on December 8 - Copyright AFP Ludovic MARINParis’s Notre-Dame Cathedral, ravaged by fire in 2019, is on...

Business

Saudi Aramco President & CEO Amin Nasser speaks during the CERAWeek oil summit in Houston, Texas - Copyright AFP Mark FelixPointing to the still...

Business

Hyundai on Wednesday revealed plans to invest more than $50 billion in South Korea by 2026.