A Dual-Mode Kalman Filter for Vehicle Tracking With Translated GPS

Allen J. Kanyuck

Abstract:	The translated GPS concept for high accuracy, cost-effective tracking of dynamic vehicles has been providing excellent position, velocity, and acceleration estimates in near real-time for missile flights since 1984. The first generation implementation is presently providing range safety tracking of Trident missile flights on the Eastern Test Range. A second generation version, the Translator Processing System (TPS), has been deployed at the USAKA installation (Kwajalein) in the Marshall Islands and is currently tracking a variety of target vehicles. Planning is now underway for the development of a third-generation system. This paper concentrates on the design and tuning of the Kalman filter installed in the TPS. This filter is unique in that it has two modes of operation; one for tracking dynamic vehicles, and a special mode for tracking ballistic vehicles. Mode switching logic selects the ballistic mode when the filter is confident that the vehicle acceleration is close to ballistic. The filter then switches back to the dynamic mode whenever non-ballistic acceleration is sensed. A brief survey of tracking data from recent missions will be presented to define the exceptional tracking accuracies being achieved with this dual-mode filter.
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:	335 - 344
Cite this article:	Kanyuck, Allen J., "A Dual-Mode Kalman Filter for Vehicle Tracking With Translated GPS," 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. 335-344.
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