60 Second Spotlight on Jonathan Deacon, Oxford Technical Solutions
Ahead of the Instrumentation, Analysis and Testing Exhibition taking place on 16 May at Silverstone we caught up with Jonathan Deacon to find out more about his presentation and his thoughts on the future.
Please briefly explain your role
As a Product Manager at Oxford Technical Solutions (OxTS) I work closely with all stakeholders inside and outside of our business to create fresh and innovative products for applications where localisation and navigation are required.
How would you say your industry has evolved over the past two years?
The Inertial Navigation System (INS) industry has continued to evolve rapidly over the last two years, driven by advancements in technology, changing customer demands, and new applications for INS systems. In test and validation, this has meant a far larger requirement for systems that can perform consistently and reliably on the open road – especially in built up areas – necessitating a reduced reliance on GNSS.
What is the most important development in this field at the moment, either within your organisation or in the industry in general?
The reduced reliance on GNSS has firstly required an increase in performance from the inertial component of our systems. Multicore IMU technology from OxTS has lowered cost and increased performance, opening up our technology to be used by a wider variety of customers more often. Sensor fusion is also being used in conjunction with the IMU to add additional aiding sources to maintain position, velocity and attitude accuracy in GNSS poor and denied environments.
What key development(s) in test and measurement are you most interested in for the future and why?
The transfer of test and validation from the proving ground to more indoor and open road environments is of most interest. More work is expected to be done in simulations, and this will have to be validated with tests in the real world. This presents a challenge and opportunity for OxTS to produce new technology competencies and value blocks to navigate in different environments. This can be infrastructure based, like OxTS’ UWB indoor positioning for controlled environments, or with on-vehicle sensors, as in LiDAR odometry.
What will you be presenting at the Instrumentation, Analysis and Testing Exhibition and how will this benefit participants?
OxTS will be presenting its framework for Sensor Fusion with a particular focus on the inclusion of LiDAR odometry into navigation algorithms. LiDAR is the most effective tool for obtaining position information indoors, hence it will provide a key pillar in OxTS’ objective to provide a solution that can navigate anywhere. The talk will cover the key principles of the technology alongside results of our initial development and why they are important for creating digital twins and position based test and validation.
Why is it important for engineers to join this event?
Technology businesses are always innovating, keeping up to
date with latest testing developments is essential for maximising efficiency
and productivity. The most beneficial way of doing this is at in-person events,
such as EIS, as it facilitates and stimulates collaborative discussion between
customers and vendors.