Shkel Receives Wiley-IEEE Book Award
Aug. 15, 2024 - Andrei Shkel and Yusheng Wang ’20 have won the 2024 Wiley-IEEE Press Professional Book Award for their book “Pedestrian Inertial Navigation with Self-Contained Aiding.” Published in 2021, the book provides a comprehensive summary of the major self-contained aiding technologies for pedestrian navigation from established and emerging leaders in the field.
“Receiving this recognition from Wiley and the IEEE Press – two most recognized names in the publishing world of engineering – is unexpected and a pleasant surprise,” said Shkel, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. “Material in this book is a product of our recent research attempting to solve the challenge of navigation in extreme scenarios and without relying on GPS.”
Answering the question, “where are you?” is an ancient fundamental problem. In their book, Shkel and Wang developed theory and proposed a practical approach for solving this problem with modern technologies. “We hope this book will accelerate the pace of technological development in the fields of mapping, tracking and navigation for the public safety community and remove barriers to adopting these technologies,” he said.
Shkel is a leading expert in the development of microchip-scale gyroscopes – the key devices that measure rotation for navigation, positioning and stabilization. Wang, a former doctoral student, worked with Shkel on a DARPA-funded project to fabricate a tiny gyroscope as part of a self-contained inertial measurement unit (IMU). The IMUs can work alone or in conjunction with GPS – taking over during a GPS outage, for example – to provide interference-free navigation. Shkel’s lab is also studying placing mini gyroscopes and accelerometers in the shoe soles of first responders so their whereabouts can be known at all times whether they are indoors or in covered outdoor environments. And he is developing a location-based service that provides path guidance for emergency responders to help them arrive at a goal destination, such as an emergency exit from a building.
The Wiley-IEEE Press Professional Book Award recognizes authors of an outstanding professional book published by Wiley-IEEE Press during the past three years, in a field relevant to the IEEE. The recipients will receive the award, a plaque and $1,000, at the IEEE International Symposium on Inertial Sensors and Systems in Germany in May 2025.
– Lori Brandt
