Optically-Aided, Non-Global Positioning System (GPS) for Aircraft Navigation Over Water

To extend vision-aided capabilities to navigation of manned and unmanned aerial platforms over water, QuNav proposes to develop a technological approach of navigation and feature-state tracking (NavTrack). To reduce drift in inertial navigation outputs, NavTrack derives relative position updates by utilizing navigation-related features that are extracted from video images. To accommodate water movements, estimation of feature motion is explicitly included into the navigation mechanization.The proposed approach (i) builds on our mature feature-aided navigation mechanization in unknown environments; and, (ii) extends it to non-stationary features by augmenting the state-space formulation with modeling of water disturbances. The algorithmic approach is formulated as a joint estimation of INS error states, feature locations and their displacement over time.Main goals of the Phase I effort are set forth as follows:1) Fully develop the navigation mechanization of NavTrack;2) Initially validate the system functionality using simulations; 3) Collect initial experimental data with UAV flying over the water in order to assess behavior of vision features;4) Demonstrate the feasibility of navigation mechanization with experimental results.