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Session C4: Military PNT User Equipment: Other

EGI-M 3rd Party Application Utilizing ALTNAV to Aid Navigation in GPS Denied Environments
Juan Carlos Oliveros and Neal Dahlen, Northrop Grumman
Location: Room 1-3
Date/Time: Monday, Jun. 3, 4:25 p.m.

This technical paper delves into the integration of a pioneering position estimation aid signal to bolster navigation capabilities in GPS (Global Positioning System) denied environments, with a focus on seamlessly incorporating this capability into existing navigation systems through a standardized interface and standardized data structures. The goal of the Navy ONR (Office of Naval Research) CAS (Common Application Space) demonstration program is for a 3rd party surrogate to develop, implement and test an EGI-M (Embedded GPS / Inertial Navigation System Modernization) CAS application that provides an alternate navigation solution based on a Northrop Grumman MAGNOM based ALTNAV receiver. Northrop Grumman allocates partitioned time and memory in the EGI-M software to support the installation of future capabilities. This allows creating, loading, and rapidly deploying new applications by a 3rd party. The CAS partition is the slice of the EGI-M software allocated to host such an application. CAS is an ARINC-653 Partition, with access to all data included in the EGI-M defined and approved FACE (Future Airborne Capability Environment) Data Model. Leveraging the FACE technical standard enhances the robustness, interrogability, portability, and security of safety-critical computing operations. The operating system provides memory access and processor utilization protections. This capability allows third party developers to write software that can work identically across EGI-M platforms.

The MAGNOM PNT (Position Navigation and Timing) card provides ALTNAV Satellite Line of Sight (LOS) aiding data to the EGI-M CAS partition which implements a tightly coupled navigation solution using all available aiding sources, including the EGI-M built in M-code GPS receiver and externally sourced ALTNAV PNT update. The application is based on Northrop Grumman’s ASPN 3.1 compliant NavCor software which implements free inertial and hybrid navigation solutions. NavCor is a model-based, multi-sensor fusion software, architected, designed, implemented, and tested to meet DO-178B requirements for safety critical navigation applications and is the product of 60+ years of navigation expertise at Northrop Grumman. The NavCor desktop environment allows the testing of the sensor software models through a variety of test vectors (scenarios) to ensure it meets specified project requirements. Once requirements are met, the source code can be generated from the simulation model and compiled on the target processor for HIL (hardware-in-the-loop) testing.

In this work, we outline the theoretical foundation, system architecture, requirements, hardware specific resources, and test case scenarios. This approach presents a promising avenue for upgrading existing technologies to thrive in challenging operational contexts, especially in GPS-denied environments. Tightly coupled ALTNAV aiding of the hybrid navigation solution is extremely beneficial in a GPS denied or spoofed environment. Future work includes the development and implementation of a real-time hardware demonstration, along with a final report detailing the benefits of this innovative method in a realistic GPS-denied scenario in an area of engagement. In addition to its focus on technological innovation, Northrop Grumman is dedicated to providing a level of agility to the military in the form of this 3rd party application partition to respond to provide a level of development independence to respond to the radio navigation evolving threat space. The tightly coupled hybrid navigation solution mentioned in the abstract reflects a commitment to overcoming obstacles in GPS-denied environments, showcasing its ability to provide reliable and resilient solutions for critical navigation needs.

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