Light Detection and Ranging-Based Terrain Navigation - A Concept Exploration

J. Campbell, M. Uijt de Haag, F. van Graas, S. Young

Abstract:	This paper discusses the use of Airborne Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) equipment for terrain navigation. Airborne LiDAR is a relatively new technology used primarily by the geo-spatial mapping community to produce highly accurate and dense terrain elevation maps. In this paper, the term LiDAR refers to a scanning laser ranger rigidly mounted to an aircraft, as opposed to an integrated sensor system that consists of a scanning laser ranger integrated with Global Positioning System (GPS) and Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) data. Data from the laser range scanner and IMU will be integrated with a terrain database to estimate the aircraft position and data from the laser range scanner will be integrated with GPS to estimate the aircraft attitude. LiDAR data was collected using NASA Dryden's DC-8 flying laboratory in Reno, NV and was used to test the proposed terrain navigation system. The results of LiDAR-based terrain navigation shown in this paper indicate that airborne LiDAR is a viable technology enabler for fully autonomous aircraft navigation. The navigation performance is highly dependent on the quality of the terrain databases used for positioning and therefore high-resolution (2 m post-spacing) data was used as the terrain reference.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 16th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS/GNSS 2003) September 9 - 12, 2003 Oregon Convention Center Portland, OR
Pages:	461 - 469
Cite this article:	Campbell, J., de Haag, M. Uijt, van Graas, F., Young, S., "Light Detection and Ranging-Based Terrain Navigation - A Concept Exploration," Proceedings of the 16th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS/GNSS 2003), Portland, OR, September 2003, pp. 461-469.
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