MAGSPEED: Magnetic Anomaly Ground Speed Measurement

Exploitation of tiny anomalies in the Earth's Magnetic Field to provide navigational alternatives to satellite-based navigation is an active field of research. However, a major performance limitation remains: the lack of detailed anomaly maps to provide performance at the level of GPS. This proposal responds to the Navy solicitation for covert alternatives to current velocity over ground measurements marine surface or subsurface environments which either radiate energy, and thus remove the element of stealth, or rely on electromagnetic logs that cannot subtract unknown ocean currents to arrive a true velocity over ground. The proposed method uses anomaly fields but in a such a manner that a priori knowledge of the anomalies is not required. A basic numerical simulation of the method is presented that already falls within the target performance range. Phase I effort includes research into systematic effects of vessel-induced fields, further sophistication of the method including use of existing and future anomaly field to further improve performance, and preliminary field testing.