Martti Kirkko-Jaakkola is one of our brilliant mathematicians whose task is to provide clients with answers from the data produced by measuring equipment, together with the team. But how do albatrosses’ flight paths and indoor navigation relate to the work of this academic?
Kirkko-Jaakkola graduated from Tampere University of Technology as a Master of Science in Technology after studying mathematics and software engineering. After his second year in 2006, he took a summer job at the university department in a positioning-related role. That’s where he met Jussi Collin, the CEO of Nordic Inertial, who was, at the time, supervising a student group at the department. The journey to becoming a mathematician at Nordic Inertial had begun.
- Satellite positioning was mentioned in the job description, which sounded fascinating as a topic. It's still interesting nowadays when you think about it, that you just pick up your phone and your location literally drops from the sky, Kirkko-Jaakkola says.
From Albatross Flight Paths to Indoor Positioning
During his university years, Kirkko-Jaakkola was also involved in two projects abroad. At the Technical University of Munich, he participated in a project investigating albatrosses’ flight paths.
- A wandering albatross can glide a long time without flapping its wings – possibly even asleep – by following a special flight path which is known as dynamic soaring. The aim of the project was to measure this flight path precisely using satellite positioning, and the emeritus professor leading the project wanted to develop an algorithm for calculating the flight path. My task was to contribute to a component for identifying measurement errors.
Error identification correlates indirectly with Kirkko-Jaakkola's current job here at Nordic Inertial.
- Back then, error identification was applied to satellite measurements. Although the work at Nordic Inertial focuses mainly on motion sensors, the same logic can still be applied to detect outliers.
The second journey focused on indoor positioning systems at the European Space Agency's (ESA) research center in the Netherlands, where Kirkko-Jaakkola was a doctoral researcher. In the Netherlands, prototype-level satellite positioning receivers had been developed in previous projects, which were so sensitive that they functioned to some extent indoors as well.
- In the Netherlands, I also got to try my own algorithms on the receiver system. Time ran out before I was able to make the algorithm fully work, but I completed my dissertation.
Kirkko-Jaakkola’s dissertation was an article thesis which he describes in Finnish terms as a 'hodgepodge' (Fin: “sillisalaatti”), which means combining miscellaneous things into one cohesive entity.
- My dissertation was comprised of four different articles: one related to my work in Germany, focusing on error detection in flight path measurement; another article measured the Earth's rotation using a cost-effective sensor, which, amusingly enough, is a hot topic today and something we do in several projects at Nordic Inertial now. The only difference is that the sensors have had ten years to evolve. The third article pertained to indoor navigation and the use of satellite positioning, while the fourth was a slightly more theoretical article related to signal processing.
How did you manage to fit these topics into one cohesive entity?
- In positioning, everything is interconnected, he smiles.
Nordic Inertial: Home to Talented Mathematicians
In our previous Staff Introduction, Jarmo Puputti said Nordic Inertial provides an inspiring workplace for talented mathematicians capable of applying their mathematical prowess. Kirkko-Jaakkola has been working at Nordic Inertial full time since 2021, but the workplace was familiar to him from before.
- Previously, I worked full-time at the Finnish Geospatial Research Institute of the National Land Survey. And because a person must have some hobbies, I also did part-time work at Nordic Inertial at the same time, Kirkko-Jaakkola laughs.
So, I take it you liked working at Nordic Inertial. What is the most fascinating aspect of your work?
- At Nordic Inertial, we try to accomplish seemingly impossible tasks through problem-solving, or at least take a step in the right direction. Here, you get to explore new applications, and when you manage to make something work, it's a great feeling. The customer's problem might be something that we imagine has already been solved years ago, but inertial sensor technology could accomplish it with lower life-cycle costs, he notes.
- Also, I do a lot of research that is more customer-centric and aimed at solving customer problems. We carry out many quick and relatively small-budgeted projects to determine if something is possible; this would be unusual in an academic research institute where projects tend to be bigger. I have a great hope and belief that someday I will come across a product that I have been involved in developing myself.
Today, Kirkko-Jaakkola still works part-time at the National Land Survey of Finland, where he has contributed to pioneering research on Galileo's High Accuracy Service (HAS) and its integration with open-source tools HASlib and RTKLIB (take a look here).
What’s the future of inertial algorithms and motion sensing?
- For more than ten years now, it's been said that we can get more efficient sensors for the same money. Has the world become perfect in ten years? No, but inertia sensor technology is more commonly used in devices.
- Take, for example, a mobile phone. They contain inertial sensors to determine whether the device is held horizontal or vertical and can rotate the video you're watching on the screen to the correct orientation. This is a good example of how the technology has been used in simple things, and now that better ones can be made for the same price, they will be seen in a more diverse range of applications, including the automotive industry.
Fun facts!
It has been proven that at least Frigatebirds take ten second power naps while flying! Take a look at this article >>
About albatross’ flight paths here >> or a more of a scientific approach here >>