Modern Inertial Technology

Automatic navigation makes ocean-going and flying safer and less expensive: Safer because machines are tireless and always vigilant; inexpensive because it does not use human navigators who are, unavoidably, highly trained and thus expensive people. What is more, unmanned deep space travel would be impossible without automatic navigation. Navigation can be automated with the radio systems Loran, Omega, and the Global Positioning System (GPS) of earth satellites, but its most versatile form is completely self-contained and is called inertial navigation. It uses gyroscopes and accelerometers (inertial sensors) to measure the state of motion of the vehicle by noting changes in that state caused by accelerations. By knowing the vehicle's starting position and noting the changes in its direction and speed, one can keep track of the vehicle's present position. Mankind first used this technology in World War n, in guided weapons where cost was unimportant; only 20-30 years later did it become cheap enough to be used commercially. The electronics revolution, in which vacuum tubes were replaced by integrated circuits, has dramatically altered the field of inertial navigation. Early inertial systems used complex mechanical gimbal structures and mechanical gyroscopes with spinning wheels. The gimbals allowed the gyroscopes to stabilize a mass (called a "platform") so that it remained in a fixed attitude relative to a chosen coordinate frame, even as the vehicle turned around any or all of its three major axes.

A description of the inertial technology used for guidance, control, and navigation, discussing in detail the principles, operation, and design of sensors, gyroscopes, and accelerometers, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of particular systems. An engineer with long practical experience in the field, the author elucidates such recent developments as fibre-optic gyroscopes, solid-state accelerometers, and the global positioning system. This will be of interest to researchers and practising engineers involved in systems engineering, aeronautics, space research, and navigation on both land and sea.

Modern inertial sensors and systems cover more than five decades of continuous research and development involving various branches of science and engineering. Various technologies have emerged in an evolutionary manner surpassing the earlier ones in performance and reliability. The subject is still growing with proliferation in newer cost effec-tive applications, while its wider usage in aerospace systems continues. This book exposes the readers to the subject of inertial navigation, the inertial sensors and inertial systems in a unified manner while emphasizing the growth areas in emerging technologies such as micro-electromechanical inertial sensors, satellite navigation, satellite navigation integrated inertial navigation, hemispherical resonator gyro, vibrating beam accelerometer, interferometric fibre optic gyro, inertial sensor signal processing, redundant inertial systems and the quite recent emergence of cold atom interferometer based inertial sensors. The contents are imaginatively designed that will of interest to a wide spectrum of readers. The book has been written with utmost lucidity and clarity and explanations provided with a large number of illustrative figures. Besides being an ideal introduction to the principles of inertial sensors and systems for undergraduate and postgraduate students of aerospace engineering, the topics dealt with will also be of benefit to practising engineers and can assist the researchers to locate excellent references for research work. The authors have had three decades of design and application research experience in premier research institutions and have made use of their experience in giving a user-friendly shape to the book.

Inertial navigation is widely used for the guidance of aircraft, missiles ships and land vehicles, as well as in a number of novel applications such as surveying underground pipelines in drilling operations. This book discusses the physical principles of inertial navigation, the associated growth of errors and their compensation. It draws current technological developments, provides an indication of potential future trends and covers a broad range of applications. New chapters on MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) technology and inertial system applications are included.

Navigation fundamentally provides information on position, velocity and direction which are needed for travel in ocean, land, air and in space. The myriad forms of navigation developed so far are collectively called modern navigation. This recent text discusses new promising developments that will assist the students when they enter their future professional career. It is the outcome of authors’ wide experience in teaching, research and development in the field of navigation and inertial sensors. The content of the book is designed to impart adequate knowledge to the students in the area of navigation and related sensors. The text discusses inertial navigation, inertial sensors, MEMS based inertial sensors, satellite navigation, integrated inertial navigation, signal processing of inertial sensors and their applications. The chapters introduce all the topics in an easy to understand manner so that an appreciative understanding of the text matter can be made without resorting to equations and mathematics. Considerable references have been provided to enable both the students and the professors to dwell and learn more on the topics of their interest. This textbook is primarily intended to meet the academic needs of undergraduate and postgraduate students of aerospace engineering and avionics.

Covers the latest developments in PNT technologies, including integrated satellite navigation, sensor systems, and civil applications Featuring sixty-four chapters that are divided into six parts, this two-volume work provides comprehensive coverage of the state-of-the-art in satellite-based position, navigation, and timing (PNT) technologies and civilian applications. It also examines alternative navigation technologies based on other signals-of-opportunity and sensors and offers a comprehensive treatment on integrated PNT systems for consumer and commercial applications. Volume 1 of Position, Navigation, and Timing Technologies in the 21st Century: Integrated Satellite Navigation, Sensor Systems, and Civil Applications contains three parts and focuses on the satellite navigation systems, technologies, and engineering and scientific applications. It starts with a historical perspective of GPS development and other related PNT development. Current global and regional navigation satellite systems (GNSS and RNSS), their inter-operability, signal quality monitoring, satellite orbit and time synchronization, and ground- and satellite-based augmentation systems are examined. Recent progresses in satellite navigation receiver technologies and challenges for operations in multipath-rich urban environment, in handling spoofing and interference, and in ensuring PNT integrity are addressed. A section on satellite navigation for engineering and scientific applications finishes off the volume. Volume 2 of Position, Navigation, and Timing Technologies in the 21st Century: Integrated Satellite Navigation, Sensor Systems, and Civil Applications consists of three parts and addresses PNT using alternative signals and sensors and integrated PNT technologies for consumer and commercial applications. It looks at PNT using various radio signals-of-opportunity, atomic clock, optical, laser, magnetic field, celestial, MEMS and inertial sensors, as well as the concept of navigation from Low-Earth Orbiting (LEO) satellites. GNSS-INS integration, neuroscience of navigation, and animal navigation are also covered. The volume finishes off with a collection of work on contemporary PNT applications such as survey and mobile mapping, precision agriculture, wearable systems, automated driving, train control, commercial unmanned aircraft systems, aviation, and navigation in the unique Arctic environment. In addition, this text: Serves as a complete reference and handbook for professionals and students interested in the broad range of PNT subjects Includes chapters that focus on the latest developments in GNSS and other navigation sensors, techniques, and applications Illustrates interconnecting relationships between various types of technologies in order to assure more protected, tough, and accurate PNT Position, Navigation, and Timing Technologies in the 21st Century: Integrated Satellite Navigation, Sensor Systems, and Civil Applications will appeal to all industry professionals, researchers, and academics involved with the science, engineering, and applications of position, navigation, and timing technologies. pnt21book.com

This book introduces typical inertial devices and inertial-based integrated navigation systems, gyro noise suppression, gyro temperature drift error modeling compensation, inertial-based integrated navigation systems under discontinuous observation conditions, and inertial-based brain integrated navigation systems. Integrated navigation is the result of the development of modern navigation theory and technology. The inertial navigation system has the advantages of strong autonomy, high short-term accuracy, all-day time, all weather, and so on. And it has been applied in most integrated navigation systems. Among them, the information processing of inertial-based integrated navigation system is the core technology. Due to the effect of the device mechanism and working environment, there are errors in the output information of the inertial-based integrated navigation system, including gyroscope noise, temperature drift, and discontinuous observations, which will seriously reduce the accuracy and robustness of the system. And the book helps readers to solve these problems. The intelligent information processing technology involved is equipped with simulation verification, which can be used as a reference for undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. students, and also scientific researchers or engineers engaged in navigation-related specialties.