5D Robotics: Reliable, Safe Navigation Indoors and Outdoors

David Bruemmer, CEO & Co-founder of 5D Robotics, wants to use a new means of positioning to change the way robots and humans interact with each other and their environment. “Our goal is to create reliable, safe motion that can be customized for multiple environments or tasks,” notes Bruemmer. Located in burgeoning tech community of Carlsbad, California, 5D Robotics is a team of visionary thinkers with a broad range of intellectual Property (IP).

5D was originally formed to accelerate robotic solutions required by the Department of Energy, Department of Transportation and the Department of Defense. To achieve the reliability and ac-curacy required for military, transportation and energy sectors, 5D created a peer to peer positioning technology based on Ultra Wideband (UWB) radio tags. Originally developed by 5D for landmine detection and tracking soldiers in difficult environments, this technology is now ready for a broader range of applications. The company has a unique four-pronged approach to positioning that includes a combination of GPS, inertial sensing, optical localization and the UWB tags. “By using these in combination we create flexible solutions which are both reliable and low cost,” Bruemmer adds. The technology provides much more reliability and accuracy than GPS and works anywhere, even indoors. Whereas GPS tends to measure accuracy in meters, the 5D positioning technology is accurate to about 2cm and also provides heading that is accurate to a few degrees.

Based on this technology, the company has developed a set of core capabilities for safe motion, 3D mapping, and autonomous navigation currently running on air and ground vehicles ranging from 6 to 6000lbs. 5D’s Virtual Rail technology allows facilities to create a flexible, intelligent ecosystem for autonomous mobility. For instance, an operator can specify routes on a map or can teach the vehicle a path by having it follow them.