UWB-Based Indoor Navigation in a Flexible Manufacturing System Using a Custom Quadrotor UAV

A novel solution for indoor navigation of a transportation drone in flexible manufacturing is presented in this paper. To address the challenges of accurate and robust drone navigation in occluded environments, an ultra-wideband (UWB) navigation system has been integrated with a commercially available open source control platform. The system offers high accuracy (±20 mm), low power consumption, resistance to electronic interference, and support for automatic navigation. UWB technology has not been applied to drone navigation in flexible manufacturing before. Acceptable navigation accuracy was demonstrated in preliminary testing, which is expected to have significant implications for the efficiency and safety of manufacturing operations.