Program Themes

The program is divided into four main themes that interact and contribute equally to the success of any Multi-Sensor System

 

Acquisition and Sensing Platforms:

This theme addresses the number and diversity of sensors that are increasingly deployed in new products; recently developed/tested sensors have included inertial sensors, GNSS, cameras, LIDAR, infrared systems, ranging systems, thermometers, and many others. Moreover, each additional sensor yields exponentially more configurations of the sensors within the system. We will therefore develop modular hardware that can support different numbers of low-cost and low-power sensors in order to enable evaluation of different sensor configurations. In/exclusion of individual sensors will be configurable in software to allow users to adaptively select which sensors are needed at any given time. These data will be accurately time-tagged and stored to disk for post-mission analysis. Finally, connectivity of the sensing platform (and data, as necessary) to the Cloud will allow the platform to contribute to and benefit from IoT trends and crowd-sourcing applications.

Sensor Integration:

The main focus of this theme will be on developing novel algorithms and methods for processing the wealth of data that will be collected in future systems. Emphasis will be on: maximizing system performance/accuracy; robustness to sensor errors and faults; computational efficiency; and, adapting to different sensor qualities and configurations. Use of sensors to determine user context, in terms of motion and operational environment, will also be investigated and this contextual information will be fed back in order to adapt data processing algorithms accordingly. The above capabilities are needed to develop cost-effective, power-efficient systems to meet growing needs of users and our industrial partners. Processing of crowd-sourced data and IoT infrastructure will also be a critical aspect of this work.

Human Interaction and Analytics:

Although autonomous systems are becoming increasingly more common, there is still a need for such systems to interact with humans (or other users). This theme addresses the challenges of accurately communicating/displaying results to users in the most efficient and effective manner. A key aspect of this theme is to develop interactive multi-platform infrastructure supporting different techniques and technologies (i.e. Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, mobile, etc.) to facilitate the users’ interaction with highly complex and integrated sensor data.  A primary issue is accommodating human cognitive constraints to achieve an understanding and gain new insights about the MSS data.  At the same time, methods to allow users to interact with the sensor systems in order to handle ill-defined and unstructured phenomena will also be considered. Furthermore, with the extensive sensor data being collected, the specific challenges of big sensor data need to be addressed. New technology that can collect and manage large and rapidly growing volumes of the sensor data need to designed and implemented. New solutions must enable searches of big data repositories to help quickly identify and visualize information among vast quantities of structured and unstructured data, and deliver results to support time-sensitive processes.

Applications:

In the short-term, research will focus on technology-enabling capabilities such as navigation in harsh environments such as indoors and robust autonomous navigation systems. Longer-term applications will include development of autonomous land and air vehicles, cellphone-based systems, biomedical/biomechanical tracking, and mobile mapping. The program will also solicit input and guidance from our collaborators in industry and academia as well as the applicants’ national and international connections in the relevant fields.

We acknowledge the support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
Nous remercions le Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada (CRSNG) de son soutien.

MMSS Group