Automobile Navigation: Where is it Going?

Automobile navigation systems based on dead reckoning, map matching, satellite positioning and other navigation technologies are under active development. ``Map intelligent' systems achieve high relative accuracy by matching dead-reckoned paths with road geometry encoded in a digital map data base that may also serve other functions such as vehicle routing and geocoding. Satellite-based navigation systems achieve high absolute accuracy but require dead reckoning augmentation because of signal aberrations in the automotive environment. Future systems will probably include multiple navigation technologies. Issues influencing the design of future systems include safety concerns regarding the driver interface, and the future availability of comprehensive map data bases, real-time traffic data, and mobile data communication links necessary for on-board generation of optimum routes.     

Use of MOBITEX wireless wide area networks as a solution toland-based positioning and navigation

The emergence of land-based positioning and navigation systems is the direct result of advancements in technologies relating to geographic information, wireless data communication, and navigation. The increasing demand for these systems has stimulated their rapid development. This paper identifies the wide variety of land-based positioning and navigation systems and classifies them into five groups. The basic system elements that are required in all land-based positioning and navigation systems are also discussed. A proposed system infrastructure that supports the five types of land-based positioning and navigation systems is described. The specific technologies integrated in this proposed infrastructure include the Global Positioning System (GPS), differential GPS, and the MOBITEX wireless wide area packet data networks. Real-time wireless mobile data communication is a key component of any land-based positioning and navigation system. Finally, the evaluation criteria necessary for field testing a pilot land-based positioning and navigation system are presented. This pilot system is used to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed system design     

Hybrid Simulation System Study of SINS/CNS Integrated Navigation

In flight tests, to demonstrate the performance of integrated navigation systems, which are strapdown inertial navigation systems/celestial navigation systems (SINS/CNS), will involve a lot of effort and a heavy financial budget. So, it is important to design a functional self-contained hardware in a loop simulation system on the ground for solving the verification of SINS/CNS integrated navigation systems. Aiming at solving the main program, a high precision, versatile and better real-time performance hybrid simulation system of SINS/CNS integrated navigation is presented. The system adopts the design of hardware-functional modularization and software-flow integration, and makes use of a trajectory generator to produce simulated nominal trajectory data which is a uniform reference to signal process, and employs unique time synchronization algorithms to collect actual errors data of inertial sub-system and celestial sub-system. By combining with nominal trajectory data, the data smoothing, all-sky autonomous star map identification and integrated navigation algorithm based on unscented Kalman filtering (UKF), this system can accomplish a lot of system performance testing. It has the features of flexibility and extensibility and can be used to effectively reduce the experimental expense and shorten the development time of integrated navigation system, which is significant for studying algorithm performance, system speciality, and practical application of integrated navigation system.     

New Developments in Radar and Radio Sensors for Aircraft Navigation

Recent developments in airborne Doppler and ground mapping navigation radars and ground and satellite based radio systems are described. Simultaneous lobing and slope tracking techniques can remove the well-known Doppler sea bias error in fast and slowly moving vehicles. Doppler velocity information can be extracted from coherent forward-looking mapping radars, and high position fixing accuracy can be achieved by synthetic aperture radars. In radio navigation systems, such as Loran, Omega, and satellite systems, direct-ranging and differential techniques greatly reduce the geometric dilution and propagation effects which have plagued conventional radio navigation systems. The advantages gained by mixing of the data from these and other navigation sensors in a digital multisensor system are discussed and approaches for processing these data are suggested.     

A Digital Map Set for the Night Attack Aircraft

There has been much interest recently in applying cartographic digital data bases to advanced avionics systems as a solution to specific problems associated with night attack aircraft missions. The tremendous computer horsepower required to accomplish this task in real-time in an airborne environment is well documented. Hardware implementation of complex algorithms traditionally has produced custom devices which accomplish a specific function on a specific data structure. Historically, this has resulted in powerful but inflexible systems incapable of adapting to the changing requirements of military missions. In an age of evolving technology, these pitfalls must be avoided by incorporating expected changes into the design of digital map systems. If they are made to accommodate a variety of cartographic data bases and allow for programmable manipulation of those bases, this new class of digital map sets can be reconfigured at the software level to meet the changing requirements of aircraft missions. This paper addresses current design concepts for such a map system on a Night Attack aircraft. The focus is on issues concerning the development and handling of existing map data products to meet current system requirements. This system, called the Digital Map Set (DMS), is being designed to accomplish the classical manipulations of Defense Mapping Agency Digital Land Mass System data. Additionally, aeronautical charts, aerial reconnaissance photos, flight plan data, and other two-dimensional bit mapped graphics also are accommodated. Mission requirements relating to the cartographic data bases shall be discussed along with ground support station and airborne system design issues.     

Autonomous airborne navigation in unknown terrain environments

We address the issue of autonomous navigation, that is, the ability for a navigation system to provide information about the states of a vehicle without the need for a priori infrastructure such as GPS, beacons, or a map. The algorithm is known as simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM) and it is a terrain aided navigation system (TANS) which has the capability for online map building, and simultaneously utilising the generated map to bound the errors in the navigation solution. Since the algorithm does not require any a priori terrain information or initial knowledge of the vehicle location, it presents a powerful navigation augmentation system or more importantly, it can be implemented as an independent navigation system. Results are first provided using computer simulation which analyses the effect of the spatial density of landmarks as well as the quality of observation and inertial navigation data, and then finally the real time implementation of the algorithm on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).     

对低轨导航系统发展趋势的思考CSCD

全球卫星导航系统成熟的产业推广和技术应用极大地牵引了卫星导航发展需求,使相关学者愈来愈关注恶劣电磁环境下的抗干扰技术以及分米、厘米级高精度导航定位服务。低轨星座优越的平台/轨道特性使其被誉为未来极具潜力的卫星导航手段。特别是近十年商业航天的蓬勃发展,带动卫星平台技术及火箭运载技术突飞猛进,大大降低了低轨卫星制造与发射成本,使得面向低轨星座的导航定位技术成为研究热点和发展方向。首先深入地剖析了不同历史阶段低轨导航的应用方向和技术体制,梳理归纳了低轨卫星星座独立定位及低中高轨卫星联合定位两种应用模式的技术特点,然后分析了未来低轨导航在整个卫星导航系统体系中的应用前景和技术挑战,为未来低轨导航系统建设和发展提供设计参考与技术借鉴。     

An overview of a Global Positioning System Mission Plannerimplemented on a personal computer

The Global Positioning System (GPS) Mission Planner (GMP) program, which has been implemented on an IBM PC, is described in terms of its features and architecture, and sample outputs are presented. The GMP was written to permit operational units to plan missions and to accomplish survivability and navigation assessments based on realistic trajectories, GPS almanac data, broadband jammer specifications, and digital terrain elevation data (DTED). GMP supports trajectory generation for generic air, land, or naval vehicles and has `sanity' checks for altitude acceleration, terrain slope, and velocity limits. A survivability measure is computed based on exposure time to various threat types. Yuma-type almanac data are used to support the GMP to define GPS satellite orbits. Jammers, threats, and trajectory wavepoints may be defined by either keyboard entry (e.g. longitude, latitude, and altitude) or via mouse and cursor on a displayed pseudo-color DTED map on the PC monitor. Satellite visibility and best dilution-of-precision (DOP) are computed using DTED. jammer visibility and power levels at the vehicle are similarly computed. A realistic body masking and antenna gain model is used to compute carrier-to-noise densities for each visible satellite. A navigation assessment program emulates a multichannel receiver to generate position and velocity measurement uncertainties. An integrated Kalman filter generates position and velocity navigation estimates. Results are graphically displayed to the operator     

地形辅助制导系统

本文叙述一种地形辅助制导系统,用来修正惯性系统或其它导航系统的误差,以提高飞行器的制导精度。这种辅助系统含有一个卡尔曼滤波器,它将飞行器所飞过的实际地形信息与预存的地图进行比较和处理,从而估计出导航系统的误差。对于一般的丘陵地形,辅助制导后的精度可达到数十米的范围。它适用于飞机、巡航导弹、弹道导弹和其它武器运载系统,而且所需的设备简单,易于实现。     

Automotive-grade MEMS sensors used for general aviation

The attitude heading reference system (AHRS) provides data for primary flight instruments, head-up displays, autopilots, and moving map navigation systems. Advances in solid-state MEMS rate sensors, coupled with Kalman filter algorithms designed to mitigate high drift rates, provide the basis for low-cost, high-performance AHRS for general aviation. This paper describes the performance of a low cost, miniaturized AHRS using automotive-grade MEMS sensors. The performance of the system is detailed. The implications for certification of this class of system and fault tolerance are discussed.     

基于车载平台的飞行管理系统DR/GPS 导航试验验证

飞行管理系统是民用飞机的关键航空电子系统。飞行管理系统制造商有责任对飞行管理系统开展大 量的试验以验证飞行管理系统功能和性能的符合性。考虑数字验证的局限性和飞行试验验证的巨大代价,本文 利用车载平台开展飞行管理系统综合导航功能的验证,试验结果表明设计的飞行管理系统DR/GPS 导航方法能 够满足95% 的飞行时间水平方向达到0.1 海里的导航精度要求,为实际的飞行测试提供了试验数据参考。     

Future NASA spaceborne SAR missions

Two Earth-orbiting radar missions are planned for the near future by NASA-Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and LightSAR. The SRTM will fly aboard the Shuttle using interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR) to provide a global digital elevation map. SRTM is jointly sponsored by NASA and the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA). The LightSAR will utilize emerging technology to reduce mass and life-cycle costs for a mission to acquire SAR data for Earth science and civilian applications and to establish commercial utility. LightSAR is sponsored by NASA and industry partners. The use of IFSAR to measure elevation is one of the most powerful and practical applications of radar. A properly equipped spaceborne IFSAR system can produce a highly accurate global digital elevation map, including cloud-covered areas, in significantly less time and at significantly lower cost than other systems. For accurate topography over a large area, the interferometric measurements can be performed simultaneously in physically separate receive systems. Since LightSAR offers important benefits to both the science community and US industry, an innovative government-industry teaming approach is being explored, with industry sharing the cost of developing LightSAR in return for commercial rights to its data and operational responsibility. LightSAR will enable mapping of surface change. The instrument's high-resolution mapping, along with its quad polarization, dual polarization, interferometric and ScanSAR modes will enable continuous monitoring of natural hazards, Earth's surface deformation, surface vegetation change, and ocean mesoscale features to provide commercially viable and scientifically valuable data products. Advanced microelectronics and lightweight materials will increase LightSAR's functionality without increasing the mass. Dual frequency L/X-band designs have been examined     

舰载机惯导动基座传递对准基准系统技术研究

根据舰载机惯导动基座高精度对准的需求,从系统顶层设计的角度,引入数字停机位空间坐标系概念,建立了舰载机惯导动基座传递对准的基准。在此基础上,分析了杆臂效应和船体挠曲变形对基准精度的影响,并给出了相应的处理模型和方法。舰载机可直接引入该基准坐标系下的导航信息进行对准,无须关注舰船性能参数和主导航安装位置等,有利于减少惯导动基座对准技术难度,提高对准效率。     

基于非导航随机信号的组合导航技术研究

目前,卫星导航系统已成为无处不在的导航和授时信息源,但是其自身存在固有的缺陷,如信号功率低、易被敌方压制或欺骗等。为了弥补卫星导航系统的不足,开展了基于地面数字电视广播(DTMB)和接收信号强度指示(RSSI)移动终端等非导航随机信号的导航信息提取技术研究和组合导航技术研究。根据DTMB时域PN帧头序列的良好时域相关性,联合频域传输信令,完成了数字电视信号的高精度测距;根据RSSI移动终端的无线信号传播模型和代表性实测数据,通过线性回归等数学手段对距离衰减公式进行优化,以完成移动终端相对基站的精确距离测量;根据非导航随机信号提取的导航信息,完成基于非导航随机信号的组合导航技术研究。经理论研究和试验验证,通过DTMB和RSSI移动终端等非导航随机信号可以提取高精度导航信息,组合导航技术研究能够满足高精度导航定位的应用需求,具有良好的工程应用价值。     

Robotic Air Vehicle: A Pilot's Perspective

This paper focuses on concepts and technologies required to develop a robotic air vehicle (RAV). A vehicle of this type has the capability to be a launch and forget weapon system. The authors are engineers and pilots so they view both the technical approach and piloting issues with equal importance. RAV must have the machine intelligence to make decisions within the mission and battlefield constraints. This requires a piloting expert system and route planner to perform passive terrain following, terrain avoidance, obstacle avoidance, and autonomous navigation based on low cost sensor inputs such as a multifunction FLIR, digital terrain map, and directional reference systems. RAV is a cost effective way to fight in a threat environment where aircrew loss rates would be unacceptable. RAV provides the Air Force a means to expand its combat capabilities.     

基于视觉SLAM的飞机模拟座舱三维地图构建

针对飞机座舱副驾驶的研究需要,为使得机械臂能够在飞机座舱完成导航任务,旨在构建一个可用于机械臂导航的飞机模拟座舱三维地图。 针对特征点分布情况对即时定位与地图构建( simultaneous localization and mapping,简称 SLAM)的建图精度的影响,通过实验对比,验证了 ORB-SLAM 改进的 ORB( oriented FAST and rotated BRIEF)特征检测算法相对于 OpenCV 库中 SIFT,SURF 和 ORB 算法检测提取的特征点分布更加均匀,更适用于 SLAM。 采用 Kinect V2. 0 作为深度信息图像和彩色图像的数据采集设备,在飞机模拟座舱真实的环境下,结合 ROS 系统和 ORBSLAM2 系统框架,构建了飞机座舱内的三维稠密点云地图。 针对点云地图存在数据大和难以实现导航等问题,采用了 OctoMap 数据模型,该数据模型能够压缩点云,调节分辨率和判断空间是否被占据,将点云地图转化为八叉树地图,最终获得数据小和适用于导航的三维八叉树地图。     

基于嵌入式NT的电子导航系统的软件开发

阐述了基于ETX-CE300主板自主实现的一个嵌入式NT操作系统,在该系统下基于Microsoft驱动开发软件DDK、SDK开发的接收GPS数据、惯导数据的模块驱动及自定义键盘驱动,以及在此基础上开发的电子地图应用软件.电子导航系统不仅可以显示飞行所需要的全部航行参数,诸如经纬度位置、应飞航向、待飞距离、到达预定目标的剩余时间、偏离预定航线的偏航角和偏航距、地速、气压高度及北京时间等,而且可以通过与飞行控制系统的交联,使整个航行过程实现自动化控制.     

卫星授时与时间传递技术进展

近年来,卫星导航技术发展迅速.卫星导航系统以精密时间测量技术为基础,实现了伪距测量,进而实现定位.同时,卫星导航系统还提供了高精度授时功能.综述了卫星导航系统的授时和时间频率传递技术、基于通信卫星的授时技术以及双向卫星时间频率传递(TWSTFT)技术等.随着我国北斗卫星导航系统(BDS)的建成和提供服务,BDS授时应用研究正在快速发展.基于BDS/GNSS多系统的精密单点定位(PPP)时间传递技术已成为重点研究方向,未来将会应用于国际时间比对.同时,随着卫星通信技术尤其是低轨通信卫星技术的快速发展,低轨通信卫星授时会成为一个有潜力的研究方向.     

基于管道-过滤器模式的机载导航数据库格式化技术研究

针对飞行管理系统机载导航数据库应用需求,以管道-过滤器模式的软件架构体系为基础,设计了机载导航数据库格式化软件,实现标准导航数据格式到机载导航数据库格式的转换,生成适用于飞行管理系统的机载导航数据库文件系统。在分析机载导航数据库格式化的需求上,采用一种改进的管道-过滤器模式,通过裁剪和筛选导航数据的方法,降低数据容量。利用Access数据库作为中间数据库,建立不同类别的数据表,实现数据的快速查询和对比。通过实际的验证和应用表明机载导航数据库格式化软件是可行的,生成的机载导航数据库文件系统符合飞行管理系统要求,格式化后的数据是正确的。     

Application of the Concept of Referenced Radio Navigation

This paper discusses referenced radio navigation, the concept whereby monitoring stations at known locations are used to calibrate out systematic errors in a navigation system. This concept is implemented by broadcasting calibration data to the navigating user for application as real-time corrections to the position fixes made by the user's basic navigation equipment. A method is suggested for the automatic transmission and receiver processing of the correction data. Referenced radio navigation overcomes many of the shortcomings generally associated with long-distance navigation systems, and can increase accuracy and repeatability significantly. The concept is particularly applicable to global navigation systems such as OMEGA, in which propagation or synchronization errors can contribute substantially to the system error budget.