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Locating Soldiers in GPS-Denied Environments

Apr 1, 2021

Photo illust. US DoD — A Soldier competes in the 9mm pistol qualification event during the 2014 412th and 416th Theater Engineer Commands Best Warrior Competition at Fort McCoy, Wis., April 29. The competition tests soldiers on a variety of skills to include land navigation, weapons familiarization and qualification, physical fitness and combatives during the four-day event. (U.S. Army photo by Army Staff Sgt. Scott Griffin/Released)

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Locating combatants in the field in a GPS-denied environment can be challenging, especially if they are under threat and every second count. A new technology determines a soldier’s precise location, even when GPS is compromised or denied.

PNI Sensor has spent seven years of internal research and development perfecting the high-accuracy, low-power sensor fusion algorithms for wearables and smartphones. Dismounted Soldier Tracking (DST) is an inertial tracking module that provides precise step-by-step tracking for soldiers, both indoors and outdoors. This location technology stays accurate over time and through a wide range of conditions, so its data can be trusted to deliver precise results in mission-critical scenarios.

It determines direction of motion independent of the soldier’s body pose or dynamic movement in any direction (forward, backward, sideways). The DST module can be body worn.

No additional infrastructure is required and the system is optimized for low size, weight (only 33.3 g), power, and cost (SWaP-C).

The company has operated in the soldier-portable domain for more than 30 years and its compass technology is used in U.S. Army laser rangefinders, enhanced night vision goggles, and other mission critical applications that require high accuracy, consistency and reliability in the field.