That All-Important Interface

James L. Farrell, Frank van Graas

Abstract:	The goal of nav systems integration should include growth flexibility, to accommodate the future addition of data sources and operations not envisioned in original configurations or plans. That aim is seriously compromised when information available from extant sources is deficient in content, form, timeliness, or precision. Unfortunately this is a common occurrence, not an occasional oversight; information is typically conveyed in ways that became standard long before modernization. Prime examples are attitude (expressed in terms of the familiar roll-pitch-heading convention) and velocity components in single precision. These and other instances of accepted procedures are reviewed, along with an illustration of how various practices impose fundamental but completely unnecessary limitations on achievable integration performance. In accordance with available means of correcting all deficiencies, which have been widely known for years, straightforward measures are proposed whereby standards can be updated. The related issue of mounting location for critical elements on nonrigid structures is also briefly addressed. In all cases under consideration, the intent is to eliminate impediments to true system integration.
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:	457 - 460
Cite this article:	Farrell, James L., van Graas, Frank, "That All-Important Interface," 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. 457-460.
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