APPLICATION OF ULTRA-WIDEBAND TECHNOLOGY IN THE DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF AN AUTONOMOUS OBJECT-FOLLOWING VEHICLE | Trọng | TNU Journal of Science and Technology

APPLICATION OF ULTRA-WIDEBAND TECHNOLOGY IN THE DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF AN AUTONOMOUS OBJECT-FOLLOWING VEHICLE

About this article

Received: 04/07/25                Revised: 21/11/25                Published: 25/11/25

Authors

1. Tran Xuan Trong Email to author, TNU- University of Information and Communication Technology
2. Le Thi Thu Huyen, TNU- University of Information and Communication Technology

Abstract


Nowadays, robots and autonomous vehicles play a significant role in both daily life and industrial production. In many cases, these vehicles are required to automatically follow a predefined object or person. This paper presents the design of an autonomous vehicle capable of real-time object tracking using ultra-wideband radio technology combined with the polar coordinate method. The system consists of three ultra-wideband transceivers: two mounted on the vehicle acting as reference points (called Anchor nodes), and one attached to the target object (called the Tag node). Based on the polar coordinate system, the onboard positioning system determines the Tag’s location, and the drive system then guides the vehicle toward the target. Experimental evaluations demonstrate that the vehicle can accurately track and follow the object in real time. The results also indicate that when the vehicle moves at speeds below 4 km/h, the tracking path deviation remains within 20 cm. With the achieved specifications, the design is suitable for integration into target-following control systems for robots and autonomous vehicles used in civilian applications.

Keywords


Autonomous vehicle; Navigation; Polar coordinates; Design; Ultra-wideband

References


[1] M. J. Islam, J. Hong, and J. Sattar, "Person Following by Autonomous Robots: A Categorical Overview," The International Journal of Robotics Research, vol. 38, no. 12, 2019, doi: 10.1177/0278364919881683.

[2] M.‑F. R. Lee and K. H.‑E. Lee, "Autonomous Target Tracking and Following Mobile Robot," Journal of the Chinese Institute of Engineers, vol. 36, no. 4, 2013, doi: 10.1080/02533839.2012.731863.

[3] N. Kanabar, U. Doshi, S. Jha, and A. Bhargava, “Global Positioning System,” International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT), vol. 6, no. 12, pp. 1-3, 2018.

[4] D. Pan and Y. Yu, "Design of Indoor Position System Based on DWM1000 Modules," IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, vol. 585, 5th Annual International Workshop on Materials Science and Engineering, May 17–18, 2019, Hunan, Changsha, China, doi: 10.1088/1757-899X/585/1/012067.

[5] S. Shentu, Z. Gong, X. Liu, et al., "Hybrid Navigation System Based Autonomous Positioning and Path Planning for Mobile Robots," Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering, vol. 35, no. 109, 2022, doi: 10.1186/s10033-022-00775-4.

[6] M. Zhang, X. Liu, D. Xu, and Z. Cao, "Vision-Based Target-Following Guider for Mobile Robot," IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, vol. 66, no. 12, pp. 9360-9371, Dec. 2019, doi: 10.1109/TIE.2019.2893829.

[7] A. Alarifi, A. M. Al-Salman, M. Alsaleh, and A. Alnafessah, "Ultra Wideband Indoor Positioning Technologies: Analysis and Recent Advances," Sensors, vol. 16, no. 5, 2016, Art. no. 707, doi: 10.3390/s16050707.

[8] A. J. Kurdila and M. Zabarankin, Advanced Engineering Mathematics with MATLAB, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA, 2011.

[9] M. Chen, “Recognition and Localization of Target Images for Robot Vision Navigation Control,” Journal of Robotics, vol. 2022, March 2022, doi: 10.1155/2022/8565913.

[10] S. Gezici and H. V. Poor, “Position Estimation via Ultra-Wideband Signals,” IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 70–84, Jul. 2005, doi: 10.1109/MSP.2005.149615.

[11] Decawave Ltd., “DWM1000 Module Datasheet,” version 1.8, Decawave Ltd., Dublin, Ireland, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://www.qorvo.com/products/p/DWM1000. [Accessed Jun. 18, 2025].

[12] K. Bae, Y. Son, Y.‑E. Song, and H. Jung, “Component‑Wise Error Correction Method for UWB‑Based Localization in Target‑Following Mobile Robot,” Sensors, vol. 22, no. 3, 2022, doi: 10.3390/s22031180.

[13] Espressif Systems, “ESP32 Series Datasheet,” Version 4.9, Espressif Systems, Shanghai, China, 2025.

[14] A. V. Oppenheim and R. W. Schafer, Discrete-Time Signal Processing, 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA: Prentice Hall, 2010.

[15] A. A. Prokhorov, M. Rubanov, and V. Solodovnikov, “Autonomous Vehicle Path Tracking Based on Cross-Track Error Minimization,” IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 1123–1131, Mar. 2020, doi: 10.1109/TITS.2019.2903245.

[16] A. M. Lekkas and T. I. Fossen, “Minimization of cross‑track and along‑track errors for path tracking of marine underactuated vehicles,” in Proc. European Control Conf. (ECC), 2014, pp. 1154–1161.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.34238/tnu-jst.13176

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.
TNU Journal of Science and Technology
Rooms 408, 409 - Administration Building - Thai Nguyen University
Tan Thinh Ward - Thai Nguyen City
Phone: (+84) 208 3840 288 - E-mail: jst@tnu.edu.vn
Based on Open Journal Systems
©2018 All Rights Reserved