This paper reports on the potential application of interval Kalman filtering techniques in the design of a navigation system for an uninhabited surface vehicle named Springer. The interval Kalman filter (IKF) is investigated for this task since it has had limited exposure for such usage. A state-space model of the Springer steering dynamics is used to provide a framework for the application of the Kalman filter (KF) and IKF algorithms for estimating the heading angle of the vessel under erroneous modelling assumptions. Simulations reveal several characteristics of the IKF, which are then discussed, and a review of the work undertaken to date presented and explained in the light of these characteristics, with suggestions on potential future improvements.

Multiple global navigation satellite system (GNSS) constellations can dramatically improve the signal availability in dense urban environments. However, accuracy remains a challenge because buildings block, reflect and diffract the signals. This paper investigates three different techniques for mitigating the impact of non-line-of-sight (NLOS) reception and multipath interference on position accuracy without using additional hardware, testing them using data collected at multiple sites in central London. Aiding the position solution using a terrain height database was found to have the biggest impact, improving the horizontal accuracy by 35% and the vertical accuracy by a factor of 4. An 8% improvement in horizontal accuracy was also obtained from weighting the GNSS measurements in the position solution according to the carrier-power-to-noise-density ratio (C/N0). Consistency checking using a conventional sequential elimination technique was found to degrade horizontal positioning performance by 60% because it often eliminated the wrong measurements in cases when multiple signals were affected by NLOS reception or strong multipath interference. A new consistency checking method that compares subsets of measurements performed better, but was still equally likely to improve or degrade the accuracy. This was partly because removing a poor measurement can result in adverse signal geometry, degrading the position accuracy. Based on this, several ways of improving the reliability of consistency checking are proposed.

A novel autonomous positioning approach based on X-ray pulsars is proposed in this paper. First, the principles of the pulsar–based measurement model and the inter-satellite range model in the autonomous positioning of satellite constellations are presented. The observability of the pulsar-based measurement model is then shown. Second, the autonomous positioning algorithms, including measurement models and orbital dynamics models, are formulated using an unscented Kalman filter to estimate the position vectors of satellites. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed measurement scheme compared with an inter-satellite range scheme is illustrated by numerical simulation. The results show that the proposed approach can keep the satellite state convergent, and achieve position accuracies of 2 m. The proposed scheme provides a promising approach for autonomous absolute positioning of constellation systems by using X-ray pulsars.

In Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning, it is standard practice to apply the Fault Detection and Exclusion (FDE) procedure iteratively, in order to exclude all faulty measurements and then ensure reliable positioning results. Since it is often only necessary to consider a single fault in a Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (RAIM) procedure, it would be ideal if a fault could be correctly identified. Thus, fault detection does not need to be applied in an iterative sense. One way of evaluating whether fault detection needs to be reapplied is to determine the probability of a wrong exclusion. To date, however, limited progress has been made in evaluating such probabilities. In this paper the relationships between different parameters are analysed in terms of the probability of correct and incorrect identification. Using this knowledge, a practical strategy for incorporating the probability of a wrong exclusion into the FDE procedure is developed. The theoretical findings are then demonstrated using a GPS single point positioning example.

Beidou is the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) being developed in China, with the aim to provide a global navigation service that is similar to the Global Positioning System (GPS) and Galileo navigation systems. In this paper, it is demonstrated that through the flexibility and re-configurability of a PC-based software receiver in which the baseband operations are realized in terms of software, it is possible to acquire, track, and demodulate Beidou satellite signals even when only a limited amount of information is known. Further, with the Beidou interface control document now available, the proposed PC-based software receiver can be easily adapted to perform navigation functions. This research lays the foundation for the further development of navigation receivers and exploration of multi-GNSS applications.

Civil and military unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operations are currently subject to restrictions that put major limits on their use of airspace. There is considerable debate about how to develop the safe, secure and efficient integration of UAS into non-segregated airspace and aerodromes. This paper examines a necessary safety aspect. Airlines and their passengers would obviously ask, “Is it still safe with all these unmanned aircraft around?” The spotlight must be on Air Traffic Control Systems as High Reliability Organizations (HRO). That status comes from industry characteristics: focus on safety, effective use of technological improvements, learning from feedback from accidents/incidents, and an underpinning safety culture. The safety of ATC Systems has improved dramatically: accidents are now the product of rare and complex ‘messes’ of multiple failures. It is therefore a major challenge to preserve the HRO status by ensuring at least current safety performance. The analysis sketches feasible processes of policy decision-making and safety analyses. Key factors are policies on UAS equipage and airspace usage, implementation of a Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS)-variant appropriate for UAS, use of an ‘Equivalent Level of Safety’ philosophy, small datalink latencies, proven HRO safety and learning cultures, and stress testing of system resilience by real-time simulations.

This paper proposes an algorithm for the initial alignment method for rocket navigation systems. It uses the inertial freezing alignment to resolve the attitude matrix with respect to its fast and robust characteristics. Due to disturbances from the swaying base environment, such as people walking and wind effect, which would consequently result in a great lever arm effect, a Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filter is utilized to decrease the noise in the accelerometers' measurement. In addition, there are sensor errors in the system; the online estimation of gyroscopes' drift with a Kalman filter is adopted to achieve compensation. Numerical results from a simulated rocket initial alignment experiment are reported to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method.

Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) were large, heavy and expensive until the development of cost-effective inertial sensors constructed with Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). However, the large errors and poor error repeatability of MEMS sensors make them inadequate for application in many situations even with frequent calibration. To solve this problem, a systematic error auto-compensation method, Rotation Modulation (RM) is introduced and detailed. RM does no damage to autonomy, which is one of the most important characteristics of an INS. In this paper, the RM effects on navigation performance are analysed and different forms of rotation schemes are discussed. A MEMS-based INS with the RM technique applied is developed and specific calibrations related to rotation are investigated. Experiments on the developed system are conducted and results verify that RM can significantly improve navigation performance of MEMS-based INS. The attitude accuracy is improved by a factor of 5, and velocity/position accuracy by a factor of 10.

An algorithm of alignment calibration for Ultra Short Baseline (USBL) navigation systems was presented in the companion work (Part I). In this part (Part II) of the paper, this algorithm is tested on the sea trial data collected from USBL line surveys. In particular, the solutions to two practical problems referred to as heading deviation and cross-track error in the USBL line survey are presented. A field experiment running eight line surveys was conducted to collect USBL positioning data. The numerical results for the sea trial data demonstrated that the proposed algorithm could robustly and effectively estimate the alignment errors. Comparisons of the experimental result with the analytical prediction of roll misalignment estimation in Part I is drawn, showing good agreement. The experimental results also show that an inappropriate estimation of roll alignment error will significantly degrade the quality of estimations of heading and pitch alignment errors.

Computer Based Systems (CBS) and Integrated Bridge Systems (IBS) are being introduced. They provide enhanced navigation capabilities and promote ship safety. However, they are highly complex and are becoming the primary source of data/information used to navigate ships. CBS issues have arisen that challenge current safety assurance and certification practices. This paper explores the potential contribution of System Safety Engineering including technical, operational management and crew capability contributions to CBS/IBS safety. A six step roadmap for the production of best practice guidance for the safe development and operation of such systems is presented.