Design and Scaled Implementation of a UWB Sensor System for Cargo Transfer

In this paper a UWB-based sensor system for cargo transfer is designed, simulated, implemented and tested. This system was designed to address the problem of safely transferring cargo crates between ships on the open seas. UWB antennas are placed on the four corners of the cargo crate, providing the information needed by a ranging/positioning algorithm that estimates the orientation and distance of the ship´s deck from the crate. This information is fed to a non-linear control system which controls the landing crane. We focus on the sensor system in this paper. Furthermore, the system is successfully tested in a 1/24 scale prototype demonstration.