Evaluation of a DGPS/IMU Integrated Navigation System

Telmo Cunha, Phillip Tomé
2000
Conference paper

Abstract

The development of efficient systems for precise attitude and position determination of airborne sensor platforms is having a huge impact in different remote sensing applications, resulting in higher productivity levels and lower exploitation costs. This technology is also being successfully applied to different mobile mapping systems. Being aware of this fact, the authors have developed a navigation system that can be used either in real time or in post-processing mode, depending on the requirements of the user. The system is modular and can have different configurations. In the case reported here the airborne segment consists of a low cost IMU, two double frequency GPS receivers, an industrial PC and a radio communication link to allow real time DGPS. As a complement, a mini TV is used to display graphical information, such as the position of the aircraft over a map and a simulated Horizontal Situation Indicator (HSI) that the pilots use to follow pre-programmed flight profiles. The ground segment is based on a GPS reference station, a PC that compresses the GPS corrections (and also displays data that is being sent by the aircraft) and a set of radio transceivers that are spread over the surveying area. In July/August 1999 the system was subject to final testing on board a Portuguese Air Force aircraft. In order to evaluate the attainable accuracy, a photogrammetric camera was also installed and rigidly fixed to the aircraft's structure. More than 400 photos were taken and the triggering instants registered. Ground control was performed for image georeferencing, which allowed the determination of the position and attitude of the camera at the instant the shot was taken. Because the camera is coupled to the aircraft body, this information can be compared to the obtained with the navigation system and its accuracy assessed. In this paper, besides a general description of the system implementation and algorithmic structure, the real time and post-processing results obtained during these test flights are presented and compared to the photogrammetric results. To conclude, general remarks regarding the system performance and its sootiness to different remote sensing applications are discussed.

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https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/63826?ln=en

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Telmo Cunha, Phillip Tomé
2000
Conference paper

Abstract

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/63826?ln=en

About this result

Related concepts (23)

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Related publications

Contribution à l'étude des modes de rayonnement acoustique d'une structure

Olivier Schevin

Noise radiated by different industrial structures that surround us in daily life are more and more considered as environmental pollution. Standards defining a tolerable sound level for each of these noise sources are regularly called into question and respecting them becomes an additional constraint for manufacturers. The last decades have seen the increasing development of means used to fight these noise disturbances. The wide diversity of noises perceived as harmful has contributed to the progressive increase in specificity and efficiency of solutions proposed to reduce the disturbances. For some applications, passive solutions, based on the use of materials capable of absorbing or deviating acoustic or vibratory waves, have progressively been replaced by "active" solutions, based on the generation of an acoustic wave of opposite phase to the disturbing one radiated by the noise source. Power transformers are sources for which passive solutions (anti-noise walls) are usually expensive and not very efficient, particularly at low frequency. Furthermore, characteristics of noise radiated by transformers (low frequency tone noise) are such that they are particularly well suited for the implementation of an active solution. Typically, an active control system dedicated to transformers (feedforward) is composed of actuators, used to generate the anti-noise and usually located near the tank, sensors, used to measure the attenuation obtained and to provide a reference signal, and a controller used to drive the actuators as a function of the information collected by the sensors. When the sensors are microphones, they are usually moved away from the noise source, in such a way that they pick up acoustic pressure that is representative of the noise propagated far away. In the vicinity of the source, local acoustic phenomena can occur which are not propagated far away. A microphone located near the noise source would therefore pick up an acoustic pressure that did not necessarily represent the one that effectively exists far away, the area where we are in fact seeking to reduce the noise. These phenomena, frequently grouped under the term "nearfield" tend to decrease the performance of the control system, owing to the fact that the controller seeks in this case to reduce an acoustic pressure which is not representative of the noise to be reduced. In practice, the significant amount of wiring required as a result of the positioning of the microphones in the far field, has a non-negligible effect on the cost of the system. The possibility of bringing the sensors closer to the source is sufficiently advantageous to envisage to studying the feasibility and the resulting consequences. The present approach consists in representing the primary field radiated by a vibrating structure in terms of a set of "acoustic radiation modes". The use of radiation modes to characterise the behaviour of a structure has received increasing attention since the beginning of 90's, especially for active control applications. Usually, this approach consists in representing the radiated power in terms of a set of surface velocity distributions, called radiation modes, that have the property of radiating independently of each other. Radiation modes result from diagonalization of a discrete expression of the radiation operator. We propose here to study the consequences on the radiation modes of a structure from bringing the microphones closer to it. We will study how the acoustic field varies with the distance and how this can be used to obtain a model, the complexity of which is adapted to the observation distance.

EPFL2001

Real Time Aircraft Position+Attitude of Airborne Sensors

Telmo Cunha, Phillip Tomé

The determination of instantaneous positions with high accuracy using differential GPS techniques is of great importance for several applications, like airborne topographic mapping, airborne gravimetry and altimetry. In some of these applications long baselines are involved creating additional problems in the correct determination of the position of the sensors. The determination of the attitude of the aircraft is also of great importance in this context. This paper presents a technique that, taking advantage of the integration of GPS and inertial measurements, produces real time positions. The demand for real time positioning introduces some more constraints, which must be taken into account from the start of the algorithm development to the end of its implementation. A methodology for processing GPS and raw data from an inertial measurement unit (IMU) was implemented in a feedback integrated structure. The position determination is based on real time DGPS with L1 and L2 carrier phase ambiguity fixing, using on-line IMU processed data to validate and increase the positions reliability, especially during GPS outages and when the aircraft is far away from the nearest GPS reference station. By processing L1 and L2 carrier phase measurements in differential mode between a pair of the aircraft GPS antennas (without resorting to ground reference station data), a partial estimate of the aircraft attitude is obtained. This is critical to align the low cost inertial platform in heading either when the aircraft is stopped or in flight. In addition, the DGPS absolute positions are used to update the IMU data in real time. By using the proposed methodology it was possible to explore the entire potential of a low cost IMU/GPS system. The position and attitude values are obtained from all the measurements through an extended Kalman filter. Decimeter accuracy was achieved for the positions. For the orientation of the aircraft an accuracy of 0.01º (1) for roll and pitch and 0.1º (1 sigma) for heading was achieved. The performance and the results obtained with this system using data from an airborne campaign that took place in Portugal are discussed.

1999

Efficient systems for determining the precise position and orientation of airborne sensors will have a great impact in different remote sensing activities, with consequences in their productivity and therefore substantially increasing their cost effectiveness. In the scope of national and international projects, the authors have developed and tested an airborne system built with multiple GPS receivers and a low cost inertial unit. The methodology is based on the integrated processing of raw inertial measurements and GPS data collected from two receivers on board the aircraft and one, or possibly more, reference stations. The algorithm for processing GPS and IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) raw data was implemented in an integrated feedback loop. The position determination is based on DGPS with OTF ambiguity fixing, using on-line processed inertial data to validate and increase position reliability, especially during GPS outages and when the aircraft is far away from the nearest GPS reference station. For the attitude angles, the IMU raw data is processed using absolute GPS position/velocity updates for continuous alignment. Also, by processing L1 and L2 carrier phase measurements in differential mode between two GPS antennas on the aircraft (without resorting to ground reference station data), a partial estimate of the aircraft attitude is obtained. This is critical to align the low cost inertial platform in heading either when the aircraft is stopped or in stable flight. The inertial system also provides high rate (DGPS filtered) position and velocity estimates that can be valuable during GPS signal outages and for the robustness of the ambiguity fixing procedures. By using the proposed methodology it was possible to explore the entire potential of a low cost GPS/IMU system. The position and attitude values are obtained from all the measurements through an Extended Kalman Filter. Decimeter accuracy was achieved for the positions, while the estimated accuracy for the aircraft orientation is 0.01º for roll and pitch and 0.05º for heading (maximum values). The basic idea was to develop a low cost system that can supply position and attitude with a level of accuracy and reliability similar to more expensive systems, such us gimbaled and ring laser gyro based inertial systems. The final tests of this GPS/IMU system took place during this summer. The inclusion of a radio link between a reference station and the aircraft enabled the system to operate in real time. It proved to be successful in navigating the aircraft during all flight phases, including runway approach and landing. Furthermore, aerial photographs were taken in order to have an independent evaluation of the system accuracy. Results from the airborne campaigns and the performance of this system are presented. Its potential for different applications is discussed.

1999

Real Time Aircraft Position+Attitude of Airborne Sensors

Telmo Cunha, Phillip Tomé

1999

Contribution à l'étude des modes de rayonnement acoustique d'une structure

Olivier Schevin

EPFL2001