title: An efficient method for tracking a magnetic target using scalar magnetometer array.
abstract: The position of a magnetic target can be obtained through magnetic anomaly which is measured by a magnetic sensor. Comparing with vector magnetic sensor, the measurement value of the scalar magnetic sensor is almost not influenced by its orientation in measurement coordinate axes. Therefore, scalar magnetic sensors can be easily assembled into an array. Based on analysis of the total scalar magnetic anomaly measured by scalar magnetometer, we present an efficient method for tracking a magnetic target using scalar magnetometer array. In this method, we separate the position information and magnetic moment information of magnetic target by matrix transformation. Then, we can obtain the position of the magnetic target in real time by a scalar magnetometer array and a particle swarm optimization algorithm. In addition, the magnetic moment of the target can be estimated when the target's position had been calculated. The simulation shows that the position of the target can be calculated accurately and the relative error of the position is <5 %. The calculated magnetic moment of the target is close to the theoretical value. In addition, execution time of each calculation is <1 s. Thus, the position of the magnetic target can be obtained in real-time through this method.
authors.affiliation: College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, 150001 China ; College of Science, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, 150001 China.
authors.forename: Liming
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, 150001 China ; College of Science, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, 150001 China.
authors.forename: Chong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: College of Science, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, 150001 China.
authors.forename: Xiaojun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Science, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, 150001 China.
authors.forename: Quan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, 150001 China.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
keywords: Geomagnetic field intensity; Magnetic anomaly; Real-time; Scalar magnetometer array; Tracking