Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Airborne Laser Scanner Aided Inertial for Terrain Referenced Navigation in Unknown Environments

Vadlamani, Ananth Kalyan

Abstract Details

2010, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Electrical Engineering (Engineering and Technology).

A dead-reckoning terrain referenced navigation (TRN) system that uses airborne laser ranging sensors to aid an aircraft inertial navigation system (INS) is presented. Improved navigation performance is achieved through estimation of vehicle velocity and position using terrain measurements. The system only uses aircraft sensors and simultaneously performs the dual functions of mapping and navigation in unknown environments. The theory, algorithms and results of the system performance are presented using simulations and flight test data.

This dissertation focuses primarily on the use of dual airborne laser scanners (ALS) for aiding an INS. Dual ALS measurements are used to generate overlapping terrain models, which are then used to estimate the INS velocity and position errors and constrain its drift. By keeping track of its errors, a navigation-grade INS is aided in a feed-forward manner. This dead-reckoning navigation algorithm is generic enough to be easily extendable to use other optical sensors. Data integrity, sensor alignment and the effects of vegetation noise, attitude and heading accuracy are analyzed. Furthermore, a feedback coupled aiding scheme is presented in which a tactical-grade inertial measurement unit (IMU) is aided with dual ALS measurements by feeding the estimated velocity back into the IMU computations.

The proposed system can potentially serve as a backup during temporary Global Positioning System (GPS) signal outages, or it can be used to coast for extended periods of time. Although it has elements of conventional TRN, this system does not require a terrain database since its in-flight mapping capability generates the terrain data for navigation. Hence, the system can be used in both non-GPS as well as unknown terrain environments. The navigation system is dead-reckoning in nature and errors accumulate over time, unless the system can be reset periodically by geo-referenced terrain data or a position estimate from another navigation aid.

Maarten Uijt de Haag (Advisor)
142 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Vadlamani, A. K. (2010). Airborne Laser Scanner Aided Inertial for Terrain Referenced Navigation in Unknown Environments [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1268410840

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Vadlamani, Ananth. Airborne Laser Scanner Aided Inertial for Terrain Referenced Navigation in Unknown Environments. 2010. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1268410840.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Vadlamani, Ananth. "Airborne Laser Scanner Aided Inertial for Terrain Referenced Navigation in Unknown Environments." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1268410840

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)