Our technology consists of hardware and software for providing mobility navigation solutions for autonomous vehicles of all kinds: on air, land, and sea — even in space.
The Three Levels of Route Planning
When planning a route for an autonomous vehicle, most systems handle two levels well: an intended route based on waypoints or GPS, and obstacle avoidance that prevents collisions. But there’s a critical third level that almost every system gets wrong:
Adhering to local rules.
How does an autonomous vehicle stop at stop signs, follow detours, stay within lane lines, or otherwise micro-navigate in a dynamic environment? To date, this is handled by expensive, complicated vision systems that attempt to recognize lanes and signs — and it is the heart of the most difficult, error-prone part of autonomous navigation.
Beluga Navigation Systems has a solution: an inexpensive, reliable, predictable, digital local route planning system.
BIDAR™
Our proprietary BIdirectional Detection And Ranging protocol replaces passive visual markers with active digital transceivers. Instead of a camera trying to read a stop sign, a GRBeacon tells the vehicle exactly what to do and where it is — with centimeter precision, in real time, at any speed.
Example: Harbor Channel Markers
We have deployed active BIDAR™ technology for harbor channel markers that can automate the challenging navigation of vessels into port. Traditional channel buoys are passive — they reflect radar or carry lights. A BIDAR™-equipped buoy actively communicates with approaching vessels, providing precise positioning and navigation instructions.
Works Like Traffic Infrastructure
Think of GRBeacons like digital traffic signs. A driver doesn’t need to see every traffic light on a route — just the next one ahead. GRBeacons work the same way: as a vehicle approaches and recognizes a beacon, it responds accordingly. The beacons can be distributed over an arbitrarily large path.
Applications
- Harbor and port channel navigation
- Warehouse AGV and AMR floor guidance
- Agricultural robotics and field navigation
- Industrial campus and parking lot routing
- Container loading and docking assistance
- Any vehicle that needs to follow local rules without vision systems
If you are a supplier of AGVs, AUVs, or AMRs, contact us for an NDA and we will preview the technology for you.