First navigation with wireless muometric navigation system (MuWNS) in indoor and underground environments

Hiroyuki K M Tanaka; Giuseppe Gallo; Jon Gluyas; Osamu Kamoshida; Domenico Lo Presti; Takashi Shimizu; Sara Steigerwald; Koji Takano; Yucheng Yang; Yusuke Yokota; muPS Collaboration

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.107000

First navigation with wireless muometric navigation system (MuWNS) in indoor and underground environments

iScience. 2023 May 29;26(7):107000. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107000. eCollection 2023 Jul 21.

Authors

Hiroyuki K M Tanaka^{1

2}, Giuseppe Gallo^{2

3}, Jon Gluyas^{2

4}, Osamu Kamoshida^{2

5}, Domenico Lo Presti^{2

3}, Takashi Shimizu^{2

6}, Sara Steigerwald², Koji Takano⁶, Yucheng Yang⁷, Yusuke Yokota^{1

2}; muPS Collaboration

Affiliations

¹ The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
² International Virtual Muography Institute (VMI), Global, Tokyo, Japan.
³ University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
⁴ Durham University, Durham, UK.
⁵ NEC Corporation, Tokyo, Japan.
⁶ Technoland Corporation, Tokyo, Japan.
⁷ Peking University, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Navigation in indoor and underground environments has been extensively studied to realize automation of home, hospital, office, factory and mining services, and various techniques have been proposed for its implementation. By utilizing the relativistic and penetrative nature of cosmic-ray muons, a completely new wireless navigation technique called wireless muometric navigation system (MuWNS) was developed. This paper shows the results of the world's first physical demonstration of MuWNS used on the basement floor inside a building to navigate (a person) in an area where global navigation satellite system (GNSS)/ global positioning system (GPS) signals cannot reach. The resultant navigation accuracy was comparable or better than the positioning accuracy attainable with single-point GNSS/GPS positioning in urban areas. With further improvements in stability of local clocks used for timing, it is anticipated that MuWNS can be adapted to improve autonomous mobile robot navigation and positioning as well as other underground and underwater practical applications.

Keywords: Navigation system; Particle physics instrumentation; Properties of specific particles.