ISOCTANT FOG-BASED INS for Ground Unmanned Mining Inspection System

Background Challenge

Historically, manual inspection operations in underground mines and tunnels have led to severe accidents and human casualties. Mine and tunnel inspection missions expose personnel to extreme operational risks, including hidden landmines, structural instability, confined spaces, poor visibility, and GNSS-denied environments.

Our customer, a leading manufacturer of earth-moving and mining equipment, launched the design and development of a remotely operated Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) dedicated to performing inspection tasks in dark and confined underground settings. Within tunnel structures, GNSS signals are frequently weak, partially blocked, or fully unavailable due to signal loss and physical obstruction.

The requirement was to deploy an autonomous UGV capable of:

Precise positioning in GNSS-denied environments

Stable real-time orientation for vehicle control

Accurate geo-referencing

Reliable navigation without human presence in hazardous zones

A mission-critical sensor solution was required to deliver uninterrupted Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) data along with real-time attitude (roll, pitch, heading) information to ensure carrier stability throughout the inspection route. The solution was field proven for land systems, exhibit minimal drift during GNSS outages, be ruggedized for harsh environments, and remain cost-effective.

ISOCTANT Inertial Navigation System — Key Capabilities

Mission data is transmitted to the operator station for real-time monitoring and post-mission analysis.

Continuous position, velocity, and attitude data are supplied to the UGV control system, enabling stable autonomous motion and accurate geo-referencing of video and images.

As an assured real time PNT data is provided to the UGV control system and the operator used ISOCTANT Inertial Sensing System for integration.

Operational Impact

ISOCTANT inertial navigation system (INS) enables fully autonomous operations in hazardous inspection areas, eliminating the need for on-site personnel and greatly enhancing operational safety while minimizing risks to human life. Designed to deliver robust navigation performance even in GNSS-denied and signal-degraded environments, the system has been proven to maintain high reliability and stability. These capabilities validate ISOCTANT as a mission-critical navigation solution for unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and autonomous systems operating in challenging and extreme conditions.

This case study highlights Poseidon Inertial Navigation System integration capability to design and deliver indigenous, high-performance FOG-based inertial navigation systems for autonomous and safety-critical applications.

ISOCTANT inertial navigation system (INS) proved to be a rugged, field-ready, and cost-effective solution for unmanned mining inspection vehicles, supporting defence, cross-border security, and industrial automation missions requiring assured navigation in GNSS-denied environments.