Relative Navigation System Flexure Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current navigation systems face challenges in achieving high accuracy for relative position and velocity measurements between inertial sensor units on moving platforms, such as aircraft, due to flexure and vibration, which degrades the performance of onboard systems relying on these measurements.
Innovation Solution
A relative navigation system is implemented with a processor unit and inertial measurement units (IMUs) at each antenna or node on the platform, processing data from a high-performance master navigator system to compute and transmit relative navigation solutions in real-time, using compensated sensor information and baseline data to correct for flexure-induced errors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a single processor is used to execute both relative and master navigation processing, then centimeter-level relative motion determination accuracy is achieved, but the system becomes difficult to implement in applications requiring multiple relative navigation solutions
Solution Approach 1:
The navigation processing system is segmented into multiple independent processing units, each capable of executing both relative and master navigation algorithms. This allows multiple relative navigation solutions to be computed simultaneously without requiring a single complex centralized processor, thereby maintaining high accuracy while improving scalability and ease of implementation.
Solution Approach 2:
Each processing unit computes not only the relative navigation solution but also a full master navigation solution, performing slightly more computation than strictly necessary for the relative solution alone. This partial redundancy enables multiple independent processing units to operate in parallel, simplifying the overall system architecture while maintaining centimeter-level accuracy.
2Ease of operation
If inertial sensor units are located at different points on a moving platform, then relative navigation information can be obtained, but flexure and vibration cause the baseline vector to deviate from nominal values
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically updates the baseline vector between inertial sensor units using real-time data from accelerometers and gyroscopes. Instead of relying on static nominal baseline values, the system continuously computes the actual baseline vector by integrating sensor measurements, thereby compensating for flexure and vibration effects and maintaining centimeter-level accuracy throughout platform motion.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs feedback mechanisms where the computed relative navigation solutions are used to continuously update and correct the baseline vector estimates. This closed-loop approach allows the system to adapt to changing platform conditions, compensating for flexure and vibration by feeding back the actual measured positions to refine the baseline vector in real-time.
Data Source
AI summary
A relative navigation system and method are disclosed. The relative navigation system includes a first sensor unit responsive to a motion of a first position, a second sensor unit responsive to a motion of a second position, and a first processing unit associated with at least one of the first sensor unit and the second sensor unit and communicatively coupled to the first sensor unit and the second sensor unit. The first processing unit is configured to generate relative navigation solution information associated with first sensor unit information and second sensor unit information.