Relative Global Positioning System/ Inertial Navigation System (GPS/INS) Innovations for Autonomous Unmanned Air Systems (UAS)
Navy SBIR FY2008.2


Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2008.2
Topic No.: N08-145
Topic Title: Relative Global Positioning System/ Inertial Navigation System (GPS/INS) Innovations for Autonomous Unmanned Air Systems (UAS)
Proposal No.: N082-145-0985
Firm: NAVSYS Corporation
14960 Woodcarver Road
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921
Contact: Benjamin Mathews
Phone: (719) 481-4877
Web Site: www.navsys.com
Abstract: The Navy Unmanned Combat Air System (N-UCAS) vision is to develop a weapon delivery system that expands tactical mission options and provides revolutionary new air power and penetrating surveillance capability. Key to the N-UCAS mission is the ability to perform precision autonomous navigation, even in GPS-denied environments. Under a current contract with the Navy, NAVSYS is developing a method of improving the existing Relative Navigation (RELNAV) functionality in Link-16 terminals to operate with near-GPS quality by embedding a virtual atomic reference clock that is common across all "Server" terminals. These Server terminals can then provide Precision-RELNAV (P-RELNAV) services to "Client" terminals in jammed environments. Under this SBIR effort, we propose to develop a P-RELNAV application suitable for use with other tactical data links that will be used by N-UCAS. Leveraging our recent work GPS-NAP and RELNAV work, an integrated GPS/TOA/INS Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (GTI-RAIM) algorithm and navigation filter will also be developed that will gracefully integrate RELNAV measurements with existing GPS-INS measurements to provide a robust navigation solution.
Benefits: The P-RELNAV capability will enable precision navigation in GPS-denied environments, allowing N-UCAS and other airborne platforms to continue with their missions. The use of Software Defined Radio (SDR) beacons with RELNAV capability also has commercial applications for indoor navigation.

Return