Redundant Vehicle Navigation for Sensor Fault Detection and Drift Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional inertial navigation systems (INSs) in aircraft are prone to error accumulation due to drift in dead-reckoning calculations and rely on unreliable air data sources, which can negatively impact aircraft control functions.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle navigation system (VNS) that integrates a voting module, prediction module, fault detection module, and update module to fuse sensor data, detect measurement faults, and correct errors, utilizing redundant sensors and computational redundancy to enhance accuracy and resilience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional inertial navigation systems use dead-reckoning calculations without external references, then the system operates independently and maintains navigation functionality, but error accumulation occurs due to drift in calculations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the system continuously compares dead-reckoning position estimates with actual position data from GPS and other external sources. When discrepancies are detected, the system adjusts the navigation calculations to correct drift accumulation, maintaining both independence and accuracy over time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple navigation sources including inertial sensors, GPS receivers, and other position sources into a unified navigation system. This integration allows the system to leverage the strengths of each source while compensating for their individual weaknesses, reducing error accumulation while maintaining operational independence.
2Measurement precision
If air data sources are used to enhance navigation accuracy, then measurement precision improves, but system reliability deteriorates due to potential sensor failures from icing, poor maintenance, and other environmental factors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements fault detection and isolation mechanisms that prepare the system in advance for potential sensor failures. When air data sensors are at risk of failure or actually fail, the system has pre-established alternative calculation methods and data sources ready to compensate, cushioning against the impact of sensor unreliability while maintaining navigation accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent dynamically adjusts system parameters and sensor weighting based on detected sensor health and environmental conditions. When air data sources show signs of degradation or failure, the system changes operational parameters to reduce reliance on affected sensors, maintaining measurement precision while adapting to reliability concerns.
3Reliability
If multiple redundant sensors and computational modules are integrated to detect faults and improve accuracy, then system reliability and measurement precision improve, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the navigation system into distinct functional modules including fault detection modules, data processing modules, and navigation calculation modules. Each module has a specific function and can operate semi-independently, making the complex system more manageable and easier to maintain while preserving reliability benefits of redundancy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary processing layers that manage communication between redundant sensors and the main navigation system. These intermediaries filter, validate, and coordinate data from multiple sources, reducing the complexity burden on the core navigation logic while maintaining the reliability advantages of multiple sensors.
Data Source
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Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A system and method that function to generate an updated vehicle state based on a previous vehicle state and a set of sensor measurements. The previous vehicle state can be selected from a set of redundant prior vehicle state candidates. The system and method can optionally detect and correct for sensor measurement faults or failures, prior to updating the vehicle state.