An Ultra-Wideband Handover System for GPS-Free Bridge Inspection Using Drones

Area of Science:

• Robotics and Automation
• Civil Engineering
• Wireless Communication

Background:

• Bridge inspection using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) requires precise positioning.
• Ultra-wideband (UWB) positioning systems offer high accuracy but face range limitations.
• Large-scale infrastructure like bridges present challenges for UWB anchor deployment due to extensive areas and numerous structural elements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose an enhanced ultra-wideband (UWB) handover system for extended range positioning.
• To optimize UWB anchor deployment for UAV-based bridge inspection.
• To reduce deployment costs and power consumption in UWB positioning systems.

Main Methods:

• A bipartite graph model was employed to represent the UWB positioning network.
• A greedy algorithm was utilized for optimizing anchor allocation.
• The problem was reformulated as a vertex coloring problem to manage a large number of anchors and limited anchor IDs.

Main Results:

• The proposed system successfully reduced the number of required UWB anchors from 27 to 14.
• The solution demonstrated feasibility through simulations and experimental validation.
• Significant savings in deployment costs and power consumption were achieved.

Conclusions:

• The developed UWB handover system effectively extends positioning range for UAVs in bridge inspection.
• The vertex coloring approach provides an efficient solution for anchor ID management in complex environments.
• This research offers a cost-effective and power-efficient method for infrastructure inspection.