Multi-Sensor Integration for Autonomous Vehicle Relative Navigation

Arun Vydhyanathan, Michael S. Braasch, and Maarten Uijt de Haag

Abstract:	Highly precise relative navigation is the core technology required for many applications such as automated aerial refueling (AAR), sea-based Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS), station-keeping, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarming and formation flight, and unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) convoys. Current relative navigation efforts have centered on carrier-phase differential global positioning system (GPS) integrated with inertial measurement data. Carrier-phase differential GPS may not be available in certain tactical environments and low-cost inertial measurement units (IMUs) may not be able to bridge GPS outages with sufficient accuracy. This paper explores the use of additional sensors (ranging, angular, or combination of both) to improve the integrity and availability of relative navigation solutions. For example, in an AAR scenario there is a possibility of partial GPS signal blockages due to the tanker aircraft; furthermore, there is also a possibility of GPS signal unavailability due to jamming (intentional /unintentional). The additional sensor can be an active and/or passive sensor such as a laser detection and ranging (LADAR) sensor, a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) or a scene correlation electro-optical (EO) sensor. The effectiveness of using relative vehicle position and attitude measurements from various sensors is assessed. For example, active sensors may provide accurate range measurements while some passive sensors may only provide relative attitude of the vehicles. The utility of different sensor measurements and integration strategies with baseline GPS/INS are evaluated to meet the requirements for a relative navigation formation flight scenario.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 20th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS 2007) September 25 - 28, 2007 Fort Worth Convention Center Fort Worth, TX
Pages:	587 - 595
Cite this article:	Vydhyanathan, Arun, Braasch, Michael S., de Haag, Maarten Uijt, "Multi-Sensor Integration for Autonomous Vehicle Relative Navigation," Proceedings of the 20th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS 2007), Fort Worth, TX, September 2007, pp. 587-595.
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