Assignment – 2

Subject – Avionics

Submitted by: Submitted to:

Pramod Kumar Yadav Mr. Anshul Bansal
Roll no – 16/206 Assistant Professor
Batch – A2 Aeronautical Engineering
UTD, RTU KOTA
Q.1 (a) How is the inertial navigation system aligned?

Ans. - Alignment is the process whereby the orientation of the axes of an inertial navigation
system is determined with respect to the reference axis system. The basic concept of aligning an
inertial navigation system is quite simple and straight forward. There are two fundamental types
of alignment process: self-alignment, using gyro compassing techniques, and the alignment of a
slave system with respect to a master reference. The basic principle is.

The inertial system to be aligned contains an instrument cluster in which the gyroscopes and
accelerometers are arranged to provide three axes of angular rate information and three axes of
specific force data in three directions, which are usually mutually perpendicular.

In a conventional sensor arrangement, the sensitive axes of the gyroscopes are physically aligned
with the accelerometer axes. Essentially, the alignment process involves the determination of the
orientation of the orthogonal axis set defined by the accelerometer input axes with respect to the
designated reference frame. Ideally, we would like the navigation system to be capable of aligning
itself automatically following switch-on, without recourse to any external measurement
information.

Q.1 (b) Explain the functioning of differential global positioning system?

Ans. – A Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) is an enhancement to the Global

Positioning System (GPS) which provides improved location accuracy, in the range of operations
of each system, from the 15-meter nominal GPS accuracy to about 1-3 cm in case of the best
implementations.
Each DGPS uses a network of fixed ground-based reference stations to broadcast the difference
between the positions indicated by the GPS satellite system and known fixed positions. These
stations broadcast the difference between the measured satellite pseudo ranges and actual
(internally computed) pseudo ranges, and receiver stations may correct their pseudo ranges by the
same amount. The digital correction signal is typically broadcast locally over ground-based
transmitters of shorter range.
Differential correction techniques are used to enhance the quality of location data gathered using
global positioning system (GPS) receivers. Differential correction can be applied in real-time
directly in the field or when post processing data in the office. Although both methods are based
on the same underlying principles, each accesses different data sources and achieves different
levels of accuracy. Combining both methods provides flexibility during data collection and
improves data integrity.
The underlying premise of differential GPS (DGPS) requires that a GPS receiver, known as the
base station, be set up on a precisely known location. The base station receiver calculates its
position based on satellite signals and compares this location to the known location. The difference
is applied to the GPS data recorded by the roving GPS receiver.
Q.2 (a) – Explain the requirement and process of integration of GPS and INS.?
Ans. – Requirement of GPS
 To determine position locations; for example, you need to radio a helicopter pilot the
coordinates of your position location so the pilot can pick you up.
 To navigate from one location to another; for example, you need to travel from a lookout
to the fire perimeter.
 To create digitized maps; for example, you are assigned to plot the fire perimeter and hot
spots.
 To determine distance between two different points

Process - The basic principle of position determining using the GPS system is to measure the
spherical ranges of the user from a minimum of four GPS satellites. The orbital positions of these
satellites relative to the Earth’s surface are known to extremely high accuracy and each satellite
transmits its orbital position data. Each satellite transmits a signal which is modulated with the
C/A pseudo-random code in a manner which allows the time of transmission to be recovered.

Each GPS satellite carries an atomic clock which provides the time reference for the satellite data
transmission. Assume that the time is perfect, given a perfect time reference in the user equipment,
measurement of the spherical ranges of the three satellites would be sufficient to determine the
user’s position.

Requirement of INS. - for individuals and industries with lots of money, plenty of space and a
genuine need to know where they were, their salvation frequently came in the form of an INS
(inertial navigation system). it gives us an absolute position using a known co-ordinate system.
Inertial navigation systems don’t work like that GPS. In their case, the measurement they generate
is relative to their last known position.
Process - An inertial navigation system comprises two-distinct parts; the first is the IMU (inertial
measurement unit)—sometimes called the IRU (inertial reference unit). This is the collective name
for the accelerometers and gyros that provide acceleration and angular velocity measurements. The
second part is the navigation computer. The navigation computer takes measurements from the
IMU and uses them to calculate the relative position, orientation and velocity of the INS.

There are essentially two kinds of navigation computers in use; stabilized platforms and strap-
down navigators. Stabilized platforms use real, spinning mechanical gyroscopes to stabilize a
platform that rotates independently to the INS. So, as the inertial navigation system rotates, the
stabilized platform inside it does not. In this way, the system learns about its orientation and can
make use of the measurements from the accelerometers. The downsides of this type of system are
gimbal lock (see the section on gyros for a full explanation), the high cost and complexity.

Q.2 (b) - What is the purpose of INS and GPS integration?

Ans. - GPS/INS is commonly used on aircraft for navigation purposes. Using GPS/INS allows for
smoother position and velocity estimates that can be provided at a sampling rate faster than the
GPS receiver. This also allows for accurate estimation of the aircraft attitude (roll, pitch, and yaw)
angles. In general, GPS/INS sensor fusion is a nonlinear filtering problem, which is commonly
approached using the extended Kalman filter(EKF) or the unscented Kalman filter (UKF). The use
of these two filters for GPS/INS has been compared in various sources, including a detailed
sensitivity analysis. The EKF uses an analytical linearization approach using Jacobian matrices to
linearize the system, while the UKF uses a statistical linearization approach called the unscented
transform which uses a set of deterministically selected points to handle the nonlinearity. The UKF
requires the calculation of a matrix square root of the state error covariance matrix, which is used
to determine the spread of the sigma points for the unscented transform. There are various ways to
calculate the matrix square root, which have been presented and compared within GPS/INS
application. From this work it is recommended to use the Cholesky decomposition method.

Q.2 (c) - Explain the purpose of gyro and accelerometer in inertial system?
Ans. - Inertial navigation is a self-contained navigation technique in which measurements
provided by accelerometers and gyroscopes are used to track the position and orientation of an
object relative to a known starting point, orientation and velocity.

Gyroscope- It is a device that uses earth’s gravity to help determine orientation, its design consists
of a freely rotating disk called a rotor, mounted onto a spinning axis in the center of a larger and
more stable wheel.

Accelerometer - An Accelerometer is a compact device designed to measure non-gravitational

acceleration. When the object it’s integrated into goes from a standstill to any velocity, the
accelerometer is designed to respond to the vibrations associated with such movement. It uses
microscopic crystals that go under stress when vibrations occur, and from that stress voltage is
generated to create a reading on any acceleration. Accelerometers are important components to
devices that track fitness and other measurements in the quantified self-movement.
Q.3 (a) – Differentiate between strap-up and strap-down inertial navigation system?
Ans. – Difference between Strap Up and Strap Down are -
Strap Down Strap Up
 In a strap down INS the accelerometer  It is a different form of strap down INS
is rigidly mounted parallel to the body because the frame of reference is
axis of the vehicle. change as compared to strap down.
 In this application the gyroscope do not
provide a stable platform.

Q.3 (b) – What do you mean by gyro compassing with respect to inertial navigation system?
Ans. – Gyro compassing is used for measuring the degree of rotation. It used an inertial frame of
reference, which is a means of providing a fixed point from which measurement can be made. All
sensors have common base.
The concept of finding North by measuring the direction of Earth's axis of rotation relative to
inertial space–Earth rotation is measured by means of gyros an optimally designed AINS
inherently gyrocompasses optimally when getting position or velocity measurements (better than
a dedicated gyrocompass/motion sensor.

Q.3 (c) - Discuss various errors in inertial systems?

Ans. – Various error in inertial system are –
1. INS Error - Inertial navigation system operating independently would exhibit large
position errors that increase with time and are unbounded. This behavior is largely due to
the dead reckoning nature of an inertial navigation system, and the contamination of the
inertial measurements by systematic and random errors, and imperfections in data
processing such as initial alignment errors, gravity modelling error, linearization error and
other numerical processing errors
2. Sensor Error - Due to the dead-reckoning nature of an inertial navigation system, a very
small bias error at the raw sensor output will eventually be integrated into a large
positioning error. This places very high demands on sensor manufacturing accuracy, which
is so high that often additional sensor calibration is necessary in order to reach the required
performance. Normally. different type of sensors would exhibit different error
characteristics due to their working mechanism and the method used to manufacture them.
However, there are some common types of errors which represent the major error sources
in an inertial navigation system, which will be briefly discussed.
• Fixed bias is the senor output which is present even without external applied inputs of
acceleration or rotation. It may be due to a variety of effects, including residual torques
from flexible leads, temperature influences.
• Scale factor error is the error in the ratio between the change in the output signal and the
change in the input, which includes bias, non-linearity, and asymmetry.
 • Cross-coupling error is resulted from non-orthogonality of the sensor mounting axis.

3. Alignment Errors - Initial position, velocity and attitude measurements are required for
an inertial navigation system to perform successive integrations of the acceleration
measurements. Initial position and velocity is relatively easy to determine from external
aiding sources like GPS, however finding a precise angular alignment often poses a certain
difficulty.

4. Error models - Investigation of the error propagation behavior in the navigation

mechanism of an inertial navigation system is of great importance since with an accurate
error propagation model, the impact of each error source can be investigated accordingly.
When the navigation output has any discrepancy from the truth, the error sources can be
traced back using mathematical methods like estimation techniques used in signal
processing.

Q.4 - With the help of neat diagram explain the principle and various segments of a global
positioning system?
Ans. - GPS is basically a radio navigation system which derives the user’s position from the radio
signals transmitted from a number of orbiting satellites. GPS provides a superior navigation
capability to all previous radio navigation systems. Civilians use of GPS is now wide spread, for
example, GPS receivers are fitted in many cars, vans and lorries. Equipment required by the GPS
user is entirely passive and requires a GPS receiver only. Electronic miniaturization has enabled
very compact and light weight GPS receivers to be produced. The full positional accuracy of 16m
(3D) and velocity accuracy of 0.1 m/s is now available to civil users (previously, only military
users were able to achieve this accuracy). Precise time to within a few billionths of a second is also
available. The use of GPS in conjunction with ground station system which transmits corrections
to the user system, known as Differential GPS, has enabled a positional accuracy of 1 m to be
achieved.
GPS System Description. The overall GPS system comprises three segments, namely the
space segment, the control segment and the user segment and is shown in fig.
Space segment. This comprises 24 GPS satellites placed in six orbital planes at 55° to the equator
in geo-synchronous orbits at 20,000 km above the Earth. The orbit tracks over the Earth, forming
an ‘egg beater’ type pattern. 21 satellites are required for full worldwide coverage and three
satellites act as orbiting spares. The GPS satellites use two frequency transmission, L1 at 1575.42
MHz and L2, at 1227.6 MHz for transmitting the digitally encoded navigation messages data at 50
Hz modulation on both L1 and L2 channels.

Control Segment - The control segment tracks the satellites and predicts their future orbital
position data and the required satellite clock correction parameters, and the updates each satellite
on the uplink as it goes overhead. The GPS full system accuracy is only available when the
operational control segment is functioning properly and navigation messages are uploaded on a
daily basis. The GPS satellites are, however, designed to function with the control system
inoperable for a period of 180 days with gradually degraded accuracy. This gives the GPS system
a high degree of robustness.

User Segment - The operator first enters the estimated present position and the time. The GPS
receiver then starts to search for and track satellites. The data coming in identifies the satellite
number, locates the satellite in space and establishes the system time. The GPS receiver needs to
track the signals from at least four satellites to determine the user’s position. The user’s 3 D
position is determined to an accuracy of 16 m RMS, 3D velocity to 0.1 m/s RMS by measuring
the Doppler shifts, and time to within 100 ns (1 sigma).

Basic Principles of GPS - The basic principle of position determining using the GPS system is to
measure the spherical ranges of the user from a minimum of four GPS satellites. The orbital
positions of these satellites relative to the Earth’s surface are known to extremely high accuracy
and each satellite transmits its orbital position data. Each satellite transmits a signal which is
modulated with the C/A pseudo-random code in a manner which allows the time of transmission
to be recovered. The spherical range of the user from the individual transmitting satellite can be
determined by measuring the time delay for the satellite transmission to reach the user. Multiplying
the time delay by the velocity of light then gives the spherical range, R, of the user from the
transmitting satellite. The user’s position lies on the surface of a sphere of radius, R, as shown in
figure.
Q.5 (a) - How are the angular rate and acceleration corrections provided in inertial navigation
system?

Ans. – Angular rate is measured by using gyroscopic sensors in inertial navigation system. It
uses an inertial frame of reference, which is a means of providing a fixed point from which
measurement can be made
For Angular rate.
ωx = (1+ Sx) ωx + My ωy + Mz ωz + Bf + Bgx ax + Bgy ay + nx
where ωx, ωy, ωz measurements of the angular rate in three axes;
Bf -------------- g-insensitive bias;
Sx---------------- Scale factor error;
Bgx, Bgz------- g-sensitive bias coefficients;
My, Mz --------- cross-coupling coefficients;
nx---------------- random bias.

For acceleration correction

ax = (1+ Sx) ax + My ay + Mz az + Bf + nx
where ax, ay, az measurements of the angular rate in three axes;
Bf---------------- g-insensitive bias;
Sx----------------- Scale factor error;
My, Mz------ cross-coupling coefficients;
nx---------------- random bias.

Q.5 (b) - Discuss the basic principle and attributes of inertial navigation?
Ans. – Basic principle of INS
Inertial navigation technology has been used in an increasing number of civil applications for the
guidance of aircraft, ships and land vehicles, as well as in other applications like robotic control,
vibration detection etc. The principles of this technology are based on the laws of mechanics
formulated by Sir Isaac Newton, namely that a vehicle continues to move with the same
velocity unless an external force is exerted and generates a proportional acceleration of the
body.

Normally, an inertial navigation system (INS) comprises three accelerometers and three
gyroscopes (often referred as gyro) mounted in three orthogonal axes in order to carry out
navigation tasks. This is due to the fact that three orthogonal acceleration measurements have to
be resolved in the chosen navigation reference frame, and the gravity force has to be extracted
before they can be used for positioning.

Attributes of INS –
 The INS can work independently to provide navigation solution.
 Low grade INS can achieve higher performance.
 The INS provides continue attitude solutions.
 The initial alignment of Inertial Navigation System can be carried out much quicker, and
partially on-line.
 An INS estimate a vehicles positions, attitude and velocity as a function of time in a
specified navigation frame using the output of an IMU, a reference clock and a model of
gravitational field.
 It is self-contained and can generate measurement update very frequently.