MagNav PDR Passive Indoor Positioning

No construction, no maintenance, immune to obstruction — meter-level indoor positioning from the Earth's inherent magnetic field, one of China's first commercially proven magnetic positioning solutions

Fully Passive PositioningZero Deployment CostMeter-Level Accuracy No ConstructionMaintenance-FreeFloor Recognition Obstruction-ImmuneEMI-ResistantLow Power

Technology Overview

The Gear-Lab MagNav PDR fusion positioning solution combines four core technologies — magnetic matching, pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR), map constraints and Kalman filter fusion — to achieve seamless indoor/outdoor positioning with high accuracy, continuity and stability. It fuses multiple positioning sources ("magnetic field + inertial navigation + map + Bluetooth") and is among the first commercially mature magnetic positioning solutions in China, field-proven in demanding scenarios such as power plants, chemical plants, and warehousing & logistics.

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Magnetic Fingerprint Matching

A building's reinforced-concrete structure creates a unique distortion of the geomagnetic field, giving every point a unique magnetic fingerprint. With a fingerprint database built in advance, real-time measurement and matching pinpoint position precisely

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Pedestrian Dead Reckoning (PDR)

MEMS inertial sensors detect gait, step frequency, step length and heading to compute continuous displacement trajectories. Combined with magnetic matching, it effectively suppresses the cumulative drift of inertial navigation

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Kalman Filter Fusion

Magnetic matching, PDR estimates and map constraints are optimally fused through an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF), outputting continuous, stable and reliable position information with no dropped frames and no drift

Key Advantages & Technical Specifications

One of China's first commercially deployed magnetic positioning solutions · military-grade technology transferred to civilian use, validated by multiple national-level awards

🏆 Key Advantages

Fully passiveSenses only the geomagnetic field and emits no signal — covert, zero radiation, privacy-safe
No constructionUses the building's inherent magnetic characteristics — no base stations or beacons to install, just one fingerprint survey
Maintenance-freeNo hardware requiring periodic inspection — operating costs near zero
Floor recognitionDistinguishes floors from vertical magnetic field characteristics, with automatic multi-floor switching
Obstruction-immuneStrong magnetic penetration — unaffected by walls, people or metal shelving
Full-area coverageWorks in every GPS-denied area: underground utility tunnels, mines, tunnels, large venues and more
EMI-resistantThe geomagnetic field is stable — unaffected by multipath effects, electromagnetic interference or crowd occlusion
Low-power terminalTerminal power < 200mW, continuous operation 24h+

⚙️ Technical Specifications

Positioning accuracy1~3m (typ. 2m)
Update rate10Hz
Cold-start fix< 3s
Terminal power< 200mW
Battery life≥ 24h (built-in lithium battery)
CommunicationBLE 5.0 / LoRa / 4G Cat.1
Terminal sizeUltra-thin; integrates into badges / helmets
Ingress protectionIP67
Operating temperature-20℃ ~ +65℃
Network capacity1000+ terminals per gateway

Magnetic Positioning Products

Fully passive positioning terminals — no base stations to deploy, ready out of the box

MagNav PDR positioning product
▶ MagNav PDR Passive Positioning · live demo (video narration in Chinese)

Application Scenarios

Field-proven in demanding environments such as power plants, chemical plants and warehousing & logistics, with continuous, stable and reliable positioning

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Power Plant / Chemical Plant Personnel Positioning

Real-time positioning of workers in high-risk zones, geofencing, boundary-crossing alarms and emergency evacuation guidance. Field-proven with continuous, stable and reliable results

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Warehousing & Logistics Vehicle Positioning

Real-time tracking of forklifts, AGVs and other in-plant vehicles, with flow analysis, collision warnings and dispatch optimization

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Underground Mines / Utility Tunnels

Precise positioning and trajectory tracking for inspection personnel in mines, tunnels and utility corridors, with abnormal-event location alarms

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Exhibition Halls / Shopping Malls

Visitor navigation, heatmaps and footfall analytics inside venues, improving smart venue / mall operations

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Public Safety & Emergency Response

Real-time tracking of firefighters / rescuers inside fire scenes and rubble, with safety warnings — applicable to a multibillion-RMB public safety market

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Smart Construction Sites

Precise positioning of site workers and machinery, restricted-zone control, geofencing, productivity analysis and flow optimization

Field Case

Typical application validation of MagNav PDR technology in a power plant scenario

📝 Read the full case: Coal Preparation Plant Magnetic Positioning System →

🏭 Magnetic Mapping of a Power Plant Steam Turbine Hall

At the 0 m level of a power plant's steam turbine hall, surveying and mapping covered 10,000 square meters — the full-area map collection and magnetic field database were completed in just 2 hours.

10,000
square meters covered
2 hours
to survey and map the area

📺 Mapping & Positioning Field-Test Video

▶ MagNav PDR · mapping & positioning field demo (on Bilibili, narration in Chinese)

📸 Mapping Results

Fig. (A) 2D map of the turbine hall  ·  Fig. (B) 3D map of the turbine hall  ·  Fig. (C) LiDAR point cloud  ·  Fig. (D) Regional magnetic field distribution

Magnetic mapping case of a power plant steam turbine hall

Need Infrastructure-Free Indoor Positioning?

No construction, no maintenance, immune to obstruction — we provide end-to-end services from technical evaluation and solution design to terminal delivery, with ODM customization supported

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