GPS Mineclearing - An Interim Report

John Kelly, Kevin Hahn

Abstract:	The extensive use of anti-tank (ATM) and anti- personnel (APM) mines in countries such as Bosnia and Cambodia has heightened the necessity of enhancing existing minesweeping systems with precise positioning. Current methods of detecting, marking, and relocating mines and minefields are primarily manual in nature and suffer from the need to physically mark, manually keep track of, and personally avoid ordnance in the field. Attempts to reduce the personal risk in mine placement and recovery by developing autonomous vehicles require a means for precise navigation. No one technology or “silver bullet” [7,9] exists in enhancing the ability of the military to place and recover/avoid mines. The application of GPS to assist in the minetield equation of marking, locating, and navigating has recently been discussed and deemed not acceptable except in the positioning of general field locations [6,7]. This focus is on the accuracy of a sinale GPS receiver and taints the true benefit of GPS via assisted or augmented techniaues. This marriage of assisted GPS to the minefield application is a relatively new concept and should be examined in earnest. This paper presents an analysis of the benefits of GPS to the minefield equation by examining current minelaying and sweeping history, methodology, and techniques. Recommendations from this analysis are used to develop a position countering the concept that GPS is not precise enough for minefield use, with solutions to remaining limitations and future enhancement techniques in using assisted or even autonomous GPS presented. This analysis is supported by the development of a carrier phase based prototype system based on the standard DOD PLGR (Precision Lightweight GPS Receiver) architecture. The prototype demonstrates the ability to perform real-time rapid single centimeter to decimeter level static and kinematic surveys within a target minefield over varying baselines and satellite geometries. Accuracies and lessons learned from the system are presented in support of continuing study and to encourage the immediate application of GPS to the various components of the minefield equation.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 9th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1996) September 17 - 20, 1996 Kansas City, MO
Pages:	1563 - 1576
Cite this article:	Kelly, John, Hahn, Kevin, "GPS Mineclearing - An Interim Report," Proceedings of the 9th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1996), Kansas City, MO, September 1996, pp. 1563-1576.
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