- Author
-
Stone, W. C.
- Title
- Surveying Through Solid Walls.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Book or Conf
- Automation and Robotics in Construction, 14th International Symposium. Proceedings. June 8-11, 1997,
Pittsburgh, PA,
22-40 p.,
1997
- Keywords
-
walls
|
electromagnetic wave propagation
|
metrology
|
non-line-of-sight
|
signal attenuation
|
spread spectrum radar
|
surveying
|
wireless communications
- Abstract
- A good metrology system in the automated environment must (1) measure the three dimensional position and attitude of any component to a reasonable degree of accuracy; (2) acquire these data fairly rapidly; and (3) be capable of making reliable measurements anywhere on site. A significant limitation for existing surveying systems (including GPS and laser based technologies) is the requirement for direct line-of-sight betwwen the reference and roving surveying elements. Construction sites, as a rule, are highly unstructured environments and clutter is the norm. Recent fundamental research has been undertaken at NIST to develop a real-time Non-Line-of-Sight measurement system capable of tracking to 10 mm accuracy despite the presence of walls, ceilings, floors, and other obstructions. The new system determines the distance from a series of reference transmitters which broadcast pulse-synthesized baseband electromagnetic signals. Digital signal processing techniques are used to recover the time of flight (and hence distance) and to compensate for errors introduced as a result of material penetration and re-transmission of the signal. Results are disucssed.