Application of RAJPO GPS Equipment for Target Drone Control

Sultan Mahmood, Jim Luse, Frank Ducharme

Abstract:	The Range Application Joint Program Office (RAJPO) GPS High Dynamics Instrumentation Set (HDIS) and the five-channel Position Location Module (PLMJ) will be demonstrated to control target drones at the Gulf Range Drone Control System (GRDCUS) facility in Florida. The downlinked navigation data (TSPI) from the GPS receiver unit on-board the drone will replace the existing DME-multilateration TSPI that is subsequently used as inputs to the ground-based control loops. The control commands that are next derived from the along-track, cross-track, and altitude control laws will be uplinked using the existing operational scheme. The bit-error-rate (BER) and dropouts in the data link and the GPS signals are important considerations in the overall control system design. The performance implications of integrating the IRU-aided/unaided HDIS (log dynamics) and the Ll-only PLM-5 (4g dynamics) on drone formation control are discussed. A method of propagating the 1Hz PLM-5 data at a 1OHz rate using the drone inertial measurement unit (IMU) is presented along with the associated error analysis. The concepts of autonomous and semi- autonomous drone control are analyzed and compared. Finally, the details and benefits of an optimal dual-loop control scheme (with a primary loop in the drone and a secondary loop on the ground) are discussed.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 3rd International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1990) September 19 - 21, 1990 The Broadmoor Hotel Colorado Spring, CO
Pages:	355 - 360
Cite this article:	Mahmood, Sultan, Luse, Jim, Ducharme, Frank, "Application of RAJPO GPS Equipment for Target Drone Control," Proceedings of the 3rd International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1990), Colorado Spring, CO, September 1990, pp. 355-360.
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