AUTOMATIC CALIBRATION ELECTROMAGNETIC FLUXGATE AIRCRAFT SENSOR SYSTEM

KVH INDUSTRIES PROPOSES TO DEVELOP A TOP LEVEL DESIGN FOR AN ELECTROMAGNETIC FLUXGATE AIRCRAFT SENSOR, WITH AN AUTOMATIC CALIBRATION CAPABILITY. THE PROPOSED ELECTROMAGNETIC SENSOR WILL CONNECT TO AN INTERFACE BOX COMPATIBLE WITH MIL-STD 1553 REQUIREMENTS.IT WILL FUNCTIONALLY AND PHYSICALLY REPLACE THE MAGNETIC SENSORS ON THE U.S. NAVY'S MA-1, S/AHRS, EXISTING AIR FORCE SYSTEMS AND THE PROPOSED C/AHRS. THE MAGNETIC HEADING REFERENCE SYSTEM WILL HAVE A SYSTEM HEADING ACCURACY OF .5 DEGREES. THE SYSTEM WILL BE INHERENTLY DIGITAL IN DESIGN WITH BUILD-IN-TEST CAPABILITY AND A SENSOR CONCEPT WHICH INCORPORATES DUAL SIMULTANEOUS CIRCUITS FOR COMPENSATION; A HELMHOLTZ CAGE FOR HARD IRON FIELD COMPENSATION, AND SOFTWARE TO COMPENSATE FOR SOFT IRON AND OTHER EFFECTS. RESEARCH WILL FOCUS ON DETERMINING THE MAGNITUDE AND ORIENTATION OF COMPENSATION VECTORS FOR THE HELMHOLTZ CAGE AND SOFTWARE COMPENSATION CIRCUITS (1) FOR TOTALLY MAGNETIC COMPENSATION REQUIRING ONLY A 360 DEGREE TURN OF THE AIRCRAFT (2) THROUGH COMPARISON WITH THE AIRCRAFT'S PRIMARY INERTIAL NAVIGATION SYSTEM. A PRINCIPAL DESIGN OBJECTIVE OF THIS EFFORT WILL BE TO ELIMINATE THE REQUIREMENT FOR AN AIRCRAFT TO BE TAKEN TO A SURVEYED COMPASS ROSE TO ACCOMPLISH COMPENSATION.