BasicPrinciplesofInertial Navigation

Seminaroninertialnavigation systems TampereUniversityofTechnology

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Thefivebasicformsofnavigation
Pilotage,whichessentiallyreliesonrecognizinglandmarkstoknow whereyouare.Itisolderthanhumankind. Deadreckoning,whichreliesonknowingwhereyoustartedfrom plussomeformofheadinginformationandsomeestimateofspeed. Celestialnavigation,usingtimeandtheanglesbetweenlocalvertical andknowncelestialobjects(e.g.,sun,moon,orstars). Radionavigation,whichreliesonradiofrequencysourceswith knownlocations(includingGNSSsatellites,LORANC,Omega,Tacan, USArmyPositionLocationandReportingSystem) Inertialnavigation,whichreliesonknowingyourinitialposition, velocity,andattitudeandthereaftermeasuringyourattituderates andaccelerations.Theoperationofinertialnavigationsystems(INS) dependsuponNewtonslawsofclassicalmechanics.Itistheonly formofnavigationthatdoesnotrelyonexternalreferences. Theseformsofnavigationcanbeusedincombinationaswell.The subjectofourseminaristhefifthformofnavigation inertial navigation. 2

Afewdefinitions

Inertia isthepropertyofbodiestomaintainconstanttranslationalandrotational velocity,unlessdisturbedbyforcesortorques,respectively(Newtonsfirstlawof motion). Aninertialreferenceframe isacoordinateframeinwhichNewtonslawsofmotion arevalid.Inertialreferenceframesareneitherrotating noraccelerating. Inertialsensors measurerotationrate andacceleration,bothofwhicharevector valuedvariables. Gyroscopes aresensorsformeasuringrotation:rategyroscopes measurerotation rate,andintegratinggyroscopes (alsocalledwholeanglegyroscopes)measure rotationangle. Accelerometers aresensorsformeasuringacceleration.However,accelerometers cannot measuregravitationalacceleration.Thatis,anaccelerometerinfreefall(or inorbit)hasnodetectableinput. Theinputaxis ofaninertialsensordefineswhichvectorcomponentitmeasures. Multiaxissensors measuremorethanonecomponent. Aninertialmeasurementunit (IMU) orinertialreferenceunit (IRU) containsa clusterofsensors:accelerometers (threeormore,butusuallythree)and gyroscopes (threeormore,butusuallythree).Thesesensorsarerigidlymounted toacommonbasetomaintainthesamerelativeorientation.
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Basicprincipleofinertialnavigation
Giventheabilitytomeasuretheaccelerationofvehicleit wouldbepossibletocalculatethechangeinvelocityand positionbyperformingsuccessivemathematical integrationsoftheaccelerationwithrespecttotime. Inordertonavigatewithrespecttoourinertialreference frame,itisnecessarytokeeptrackofthedirectioninwhich theaccelerometersarepointing. Rotationalmotionofthebodywithrespecttoinertial referenceframemaybesensedusinggyroscopicsensors thatareusedtodeterminetheorientationofthe accelerometersatalltimes.Giventhisinformationitis possibletoresolvetheaccelerationsintothereference framebeforetheintegrationprocesstakesplace.
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WhatdoesanINSconsistof?
Aninertialnavigation usesgyroscopesandaccelerometersto maintainanestimateoftheposition,velocity,andattituderatesof thevehicleinoronwhichtheINSiscarried,whichcouldbealand vehicle,aircraft,spacecraft,missile,surfaceship,orsubmarine. AnINSconsistsofthefollowing:
AnIMU Instrumentsupportelectronics Navigationcomputers(oneormore)calculatethegravitational acceleration(notmeasuredbyaccelerometers)anddoublyintegrate thenetaccelerationtomaintainanestimateofthepositionofthe hostvehicle.

StabilizedPlatformandStrapdown Technologies
TherearemanydifferentdesignsofINSwithdifferentperformance characteristics,buttheyfallgenerallyintotwocategories:
gimbaledorstabilizedplatformtechniques,and strapdown

TheoriginalapplicationsofINStechnologyusedstableplatform techniques.Insuchsystems,theinertialsensorsaremountedona stableplatformandmechanicallyisolatedfromtherotational motionofthevehicle.Platformsystemsarestillinuse,particularly forthoseapplicationsrequiringveryaccurateestimatesof navigationdata,suchasshipsandsubmarines. Modernsystemshaveremovedmostofthemechanicalcomplexity ofplatformsystemsbyhavingthesensorsattachedrigidly,or strappeddown,tothebodyofthehostvehicle.Thepotential benefitsofthisapproacharelowercost,reducedsize,andgreater reliabilitycomparedwithequivalentplatformsystems.Themajor disadvantageisasubstantialincreaseincomputingcomplexity.
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Gimbaledinertialplatform

Gimbaledsystems
Agimbalisarigidwithrotationbearingsfor isolatingtheinsideoftheframefromexternal rotationsaboutthebearingaxes.Atleastthree gimbalsarerequiredtoisolateasubsystemfrom hostvehiclerotationsaboutthreeaxes,typically labeledroll,pitch,andyaw axes. ThegimbalsinanINSaremountedinsideone another.Gimbalsandtorqueservosareusedto nullouttherotationofstableplatformonwhich theinertialsensorsaremounted.

HowdoesgimbaledINSwork?
Thegyrosofatypeknownasintegratinggyrosgivean outputproportionaltotheanglethroughwhichtheyhave beenrotated Outputofeachgyroconnectedtoaservomotordrivingthe appropriategimbal,thuskeepingthegimbal inaconstant orientationininertialspace Thegyrosalsocontainelectricaltorquegeneratorswhichcan beusedtocreateafictitiousinputratetothegyros Applicationsofelectricalinputtothegyrotorquegenerators causethegimbal torquemotors/servostonullthedifference betweenthetruegyroinputrateandtheelectricallyapplied biasrate.Thisformsaconvenientmeansofcancellingoutany drifterrorsinthegyro.

GimbaledINSexample

StrapdownINS

Strapdown inertialnavigationconcept
Accelerometersmounteddirectlytoairframe (strapdown)andmeasurebodyacceleration Horizontal/verticalaccelerationscomputed analyticallyusingdirectioncosinematrix (DCM)relatingbodycoordinatedandlocal levelnavigationcoordinates DCMcomputedusingstrapdownbody mountedgyrooutputs

RLGinstrumentcluster(Marconi FIN3110strapdownINS)

Twodimensionalnavigationfor stabilizedplatform

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Twodimensionalnavigationfor strapdown system

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Strapdowninertialnavigationunit blockdiagram

Strapdown INSbuildingblocks

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Accuracyvs.price

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AdvantagesofINS
Itisautonomousanddoesnotrelyonanyexternalaids orvisibilityconditions.Itcanoperateintunnelsor underwateraswellasanywhereelse. Itisinherentlywellsuitedforintegratednavigation, guidance,andcontrolofthehostvehicle.ItsIMU measuresthederivativesofthevariablestobe controlled(e.g.,position,velocity,andattitude). Itisimmunetojammingandinherentlystealthy.It neitherreceiversnoremitsdetectableradiationand requiresnoexternalantennathatmightbedetectable byradar.
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DisadvantagesofINS
Meansquarednavigationerrorsincreasewithtime. Cost,including:
Acquisitioncost,whichcanbeanorderofmagnitude(ormore)higherthan GPSreceivers. Operationscost,includingthecrewactionsandtimerequiredforinitializing positionandattitude.TimerequiredforinitializingINSattitudeby gyrocompassalignmentismeasuredinminutes.TTFFforGPSreceiversis measuredinseconds. Maintenancecost.Electromechanicalavionicssystems(e.g.,INS)tendtohave higherfailureratesandrepaircostthanpurelyelectronicavionicssystems (e.g.,GPS).

Sizeandweight,whichhavebeenshrinking Powerrequirements,whichhavebeenshrinkingalongwithsizeand weightbutarestillhigherthanthoseforGPSreceivers. Heatdissipation,whichisproportionaltoandshrinkingwithpower requirements.

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SynergismwithGPS
GPSintegrationhasnotonlymadeinertialnavigation platformbetter,itmadeitcostless Sensorerrorsthatwereunacceptableforstandalone INSoperationbecameacceptableforintegrated operation Manufacturingandcalibrationcostsforremovingthese errorscouldbeeliminated NewlowcostMEMSsensortechnologiescouldbe applied INSalsobenefitsGPSperformancebycarryingthe navigationsolutionduringlossofGPSsignalsand allowingrapidreaquisition
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Relationtoguidanceandcontrol
Navigation isconcernedwithdeterminingwhereyou arerelativetowhereyouwanttobe. Guidance isconcernedwithgettingyourselftoyour destination. Control isconcernedwithstayingontrack. Therehasbeenquiteabitofsynergismamongthese disciplines,especiallyinthedevelopmentofmissile technologieswhereallthreecoulduseacommonset ofsensors,computingresources,andengineering talent.Asaconsequence,thehistoryofdevelopment ofinertialnavigationtechnologyhasalotofoverlap withthatofguidanceandcontrol.
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