I’m trying to track pedestrian position in situations or areas where GNSS signal is weak or unavailable. The tracking hardware would be mounted on a survey pole and allow the person with the pole to capture position at arbitrary times, using software on the tracking hardware or by that hardware transmitting latitude and longitude to an app on a phone or tablet. I imagine that at least where the pedestrian starts there would need to be good GNSS signal or some way to input the starting coordinates, as pure dead reckoning with just the IMU is not feasible.
Commercial hardware (essentially a GNSS receiver based on the ZED-F9R or similar chipset) would be acceptable, though I could also make something with the SparkFun GPS-RTK Dead Reckoning pHAT for Raspberry Pi, if I can find software for it that will do what I’m trying to do.
Help identifying a commercial device or software is appreciated. I am aware of https://github.com/sparkfun/Qwiic_Ublox … rds_ex1.py, though I assume that something that more explicitly leverages the sensor fusion, or is in some other way “more”, would be more useful for what I’m trying to do.
This is a large challenge without a lot of good solutions. The ZED-F9R with IMU is algorithmically designed for automotive use, to the point it performs most ideal when wheel ticks are supplied to the module. I don’t know how good the dead reckoning of ZED-F9R is in a pedestrian scenario.
It also comes down to accuracy. If you need +/- a few meters, GNSS will likely work even with poor reception. If you are looking to track pedestrian movement as they head indoors, then it’s (currently) an enormously complex problem. Since you mention a person with a survey pole/antenna, you will experience very good reception (much better than a chip or ceramic antenna alone). If money is limited, I may recommend starting with a lower cost MAX-M10S (https://www.sparkfun.com/products/18037) or ZOE-M8Q (https://www.sparkfun.com/products/15193) with the larger survey antenna like TOP106 (https://www.sparkfun.com/products/17751). These receivers are single band (L1 only) so you won’t get exceptional precision, but the TOP106 will provide the receivers with the best possible chance of getting reception (short of a choke ring antenna).
If you have the funds, the ZED-F9P combined with a TOP106 is your best bet for reception in an urban or challenging GNSS reception environment.