IMPACT OF USING DISPERSED SENSORS FOR NAVIGATION

THE NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND HAS REQUESTED AN INVESTIGATION OF THE SHARING OF THE INERTIAL INSTRUMENTS FROM WITHIN MULTIPLE DISPERSED INERTIAL SYSTEMS. THE SHARING OF REDUNDANT HARDWARE TO PROVIDE FAULT TOLERANCE IS COMMON ON FLIGHT CRITICAL AND LIFE THREATENING AVIONICS APPLICATIONS. THE DIFFERENCE IN THIS INVESTIGATION IS TO EXPLORE THE SHARING OF THE INERTIAL INSTRUMENTS FROM WITHIN MULTIPLE DISPERSED INERTIAL SYSTEMS. ABACUS PROGRAMMING CORPORATION IS PROPOSING TO INVESTIGATE THE DEGRADATION OF NAVIGATION PERFORMANCE IN A DISPERSED INERTIAL NAVIGATION SYSTEM (BEFORE AND) AFTER FAILURE OF NAVIGATION INSTRUMENTS. ABACUS IS PROPOSING A BROAD SYSTEMS ENGINEERING APPROACH TO DIENTIFY THE DRIVING PARAMETERS INVOLVED IN A DISPERSED SENSOR SYSTEM. CONSIDERATION IS MADE NOT ONLY OF THE DISPERSAL OF CONVENTIONAL INS BOXES, BUT THE ABACUS INNOVATIVE APPROACH ALSO INCLUDES THE BROADER QUESTION OF THE ORIENTATION OF DISPERSED/PACKAGED SENSORS TO BALANCE THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS TO MINIMIZE THE PERFORMANCE DEGRADATION. THE TYPES OF DEGRADATION CONSIDERED INCLUDE NAVIGATION ACCURACY AND THE SENSITIVITY TO FAILURE DETECTION/CORRECTION AND FALSE ALARMS. THE INVESTIGATION WILL INCLUDE BOTH PLATFORM AND STRAPDOWN INS CONFIGURATIONS. THERE WILL BE INSTANCES WHERE THERE ARE IMPORTANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PLATFORM AND STRAPDOWN CONFIGURATIONS.