Ultra-wideband (UWB) ranging radios, an emerging technology that offers precise, short distance range measurements are investigated as a method to augment carrier-phase GPS positioning. A commercially available UWB ranging system is used in a tightly-coupled GPS and UWB real-time kinematic (RTK) system. The performance of the tightly-coupled system is evaluated in static and kinematic testing. This work demonstrates that UWB errors can be successfully estimated in a real-time filter. The results of static testing show that the integrated solution provides better accuracy, better ability to resolve integer ambiguities and enhanced fixed ambiguity solution availability compared with GPS alone. In kinematic testing in a degraded GPS environment, sub-decimetre accuracy was maintained.

Vector tracking of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) signals and deeply integrating GNSS with an inertial navigation system (INS) improve robustness and accuracy in poor GNSS signal-to-noise environments. Both require a dedicated interface between the GNSS receiver and the navigation processor to enable the GNSS receiver to output the correlator measurements and input numerically-controlled oscillator (NCO) commands. This paper investigates the requirements for such an interface. Data latency is analysed for a range of different stand-alone GNSS vector tracking and deep INS/GNSS integration architectures. Suitable latency compensation techniques are identified. It is shown that, for the majority of applications, an NCO command update rate of 50 Hz with latency compensation and 100 Hz without is sufficient. An approach to interface standardisation which can handle a wide range of different GNSS signals and receiver designs is proposed.

Two distinct methods have been proposed and used to derive the required performance for CAT-II and III precision approaches: the “ILS (Instrument Landing System) Look-Alike Method” and the “Autoland Method”. The former is based on the concept of matching the performance of the ILS at the Navigation System Error (NSE) level through linearization of current specifications at a given height. The latter is based on the need to protect the safety of a landing operation using the current specification for the probability to land in a given landing box. Fundamentally, both methods assume the same safety targets and type of distribution, and are independent of specific navigation architectures. Therefore, they should deliver the same performance requirements. However, the requirements from the two methods for CAT-III approach are different. This paper reviews the two methods in detail, highlighting the key differences, and proposes ways to reconcile the methods and the requirements.

The present paper is concerned with the solution of a series of practical problems relevant to great circle navigation, including the determination of the true course at any point on the great circle route and the determination of the lateral deviation from a desired great circle route. Intersection between two great circles or between a great circle and a parallel is also analyzed. These problems are approached by means of vector analysis, which yields solutions in a very compact form that can be computed numerically in a very straightforward manner. This approach is thus particularly appealing for performing computer-aided great circle navigation.

This paper pertains to the reduction of the effects of measurement errors in rate gyros used for tracking, recording, or monitoring the position of persons walking indoors. In such applications, bias drift and other gyro errors can degrade accuracy within minutes. To overcome this problem we developed the Heuristic Drift Elimination (HDE) method, that effectively corrects bias drift and other slow-changing errors. HDE works by making assumptions about walking in structured, indoor environments. The paper explains the heuristic assumptions and the HDE method, and shows experimental results. In typical applications, HDE maintains near-zero heading errors in walks of unlimited duration.

Enhanced Loran (eLoran) is currently being implemented to provide back up to global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) in many critical and essential applications. In order to accomplish this, eLoran needs to provide a high level of availability throughout its desired coverage area. While the current Loran system is generally capable of accomplishing this, worldwide, there remain a number of known areas where improved coverage is desirable or necessary. One example is in the middle of the continental United States where the transmitter density is not adequate for providing the desired availability for applications such as aviation in some parts. This paper examines the use of lower power, existing assets such as differential GPS (DGPS) and Ground Wave Emergency Network (GWEN) stations to enhance coverage and fill these gaps. Two areas covered by the paper are the feasibility and performance benefits of using the antennas at these sites.

Using DGPS, GWEN or other existing low frequency (LF) broadcast towers requires the consideration of several factors. The first is the ability of the transmitting equipment to efficiently broadcast on these antennas, which are significantly shorter than those at a Loran station. Recent tests at the US Coast Guard Loran Support Unit (LSU) demonstrated the performance of a more efficient transmitter. This technology allows for the effective use of smaller antennas at lower power levels. Second is the ability to broadcast a navigation signal that is compatible with the Loran system and the potential DPGS broadcast (when using a DGPS antenna). The paper examines some possibilities for navigation signals. The goal is to develop a suitable low power signal that enhances navigation and is feasible for the transmission system.

The second part of the paper examines the benefits of using these stations. The benefits depend on the location of the stations and the ability seamlessly to integrate them within the existing Loran infrastructure. Analysis of these factors is presented and the coverage benefits are examined.

In this paper, the author analyses piracy at sea in Somalia, to provide a general up-to-date vision of the problem which threatens the security of ships sailing in the Gulf of Aden. The pirates' modus operandi, the existing factors behind these punishable acts and the prevailing international response are analysed. Finally the paper reviews how the international community could act in order to tackle the problem with a view to its possible eradication.

James Cook's expeditious crossings of the north Atlantic each year, 1764–7, are discussed, in the light of modern advice that direct westerly passages are impractical for a sailing vessel.

Statistics and information from the maritime industry show that the continuous advances in the safety of navigation do not reduce the occurrence of shipping casualties. This controversial fact leads the authors to analyse the applicability of the risk homeostasis theory to maritime transportation. With the aim of investigating this matter 2,584 ship incidents, which took place during the years 2005 and 2006, have been recorded and examined. The same variables which the Paris MOU usually employs to identify substandard ships (flag, classification society, age, type and size) have been used in this research to establish their level of safety in an effort to determine the relationship between that level and the occurrence of maritime incidents in the world cargo carrying fleet with appropriate statistical methods.

Recent work has revealed that increasing numbers of drivers now receive driving instructions using a portable navigation system. A 2×2×2 (position×display decrease mode×voice) factorial experiment was executed to compare driving performance when using a portable navigation system (PNS). Thirty-two subjects were paid to participate in this field study, and a smart phone was adopted as the portable navigation device. The results indicated that drivers using the PNS under the conditions up position and with voice instruction performed better in terms of trip duration, mean speed, and the standard deviation of speed.

In recent years, there have been strategy changes in international and European policies and procedures about the environment and sustainable development. The focus has been on the agents and activities that exhaust natural resources and harm the environment. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) and shipping companies' international organisations are trying to reduce the polluting emissions and greenhouse gases generated by vessels. This article looks at various alternative energy sources that can be used to power vessels and their auxiliary equipment, as well as at their economic and environmental repercussions on the transport of goods by sea.

With the rapid developments in computer technology, the particle filter (PF) is becoming more attractive in navigation applications. However, its large computational burden still limits its widespread use. One approach for reducing the computational burden without degrading the system estimation accuracy is to combine the PF with other filters, i.e., the extended Kalman filter (EKF) or the unscented Kalman filter (UKF). In this paper, the a posteriori estimates from an adaptive unscented Kalman filter (AUKF) are used to specify the PF importance density function for generating particles. Unlike the sequential importance sampling re-sampling (SISR) PF, the re-sampling step is not required in the algorithm, because the filter does not reuse the particles. Hence, the filter computational complexity can be reduced. Besides, the latest measurements are used to improve the proposal distribution for generating particles more intelligently. Simulations are conducted on the basis of a field-collected 3D UAV trajectory. GPS and IMU data are simulated under the assumption that a NovAtel DL-4plus GPS receiver and a Landmark™ 20 MEMS-based IMU are used. Navigation under benign and highly reflective signal environments are considered. Monte Carlo experiments are made. Numerical results show that the AUPF with 100 particles can present improved system estimation accuracy with an affordable computational burden when compared with the AEKF and AUKF algorithms.

Privacy is an increasingly important aspect surrounding the introduction of road pricing in the Netherlands. Different systems for monitoring vehicles result in different consequences for privacy. This contribution describes the privacy aspects in the different scenarios used by the Dutch government. It is often suggested that privacy is a hindrance for road pricing, but if smart choices are made, this does not necessarily have to be the case. In this contribution, we suggest several concrete technological, legal and organizational (partial) solutions, that could be useful in implementing privacy-friendly road pricing.

The concept of Relative Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (RRAIM) using time differential carrier phase measurements is investigated in this paper. The precision of carrier phase measurements allows for mitigation of integrity hazards by implementing RRAIM monitors with tight thresholds without significantly affecting continuity. In order to avoid the need for cycle ambiguity resolution, time differences in carrier phase measurements are used as the basis for detection. In this work, we examine RRAIM within the context of the GNSS Evolutionary Architecture Study (GEAS), which explores potential architectures for aircraft navigation utilizing the satellite signals available in the mid-term future with GPS III. The objectives of the GEAS are focused on system implementations providing worldwide coverage to satisfy LPV-200 operations, and potentially beyond. In this work, we study two different GEAS implementations of RRAIM. General formulas are derived for positioning, fault detection, and protection level generation to meet a given set of integrity and continuity requirements.

We develop a new frequency-domain dynamic response method to model integrated Inertial Navigation System (INS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) architectures and provide an accurate impulse-response-based INS-only navigation solution when GPS signals are denied (GPS outages). The input to such a dynamic system is the INS-only solution and the output is the INS/GPS integration solution; both are used to derive the transfer function of the dynamic system using Least Squares Frequency Transform (LSFT). The discrete Inverse Least Squares Frequency Transform (ILSFT) of the transfer function is applied to estimate the impulse response of the INS/GPS system in the time domain. It is shown that the long-term motion dynamics of a DQI-100 IMU/Trimble BD950 integrated system are recovered by 72%, 42%, 75%, and 40% for north and east velocities, and north and east positions respectively, when compared with the INS-only solution (prediction mode of the INS/GPS filter). A comparison between our impulse response model and the current state-of-the-art time-domain feed-forward neural network shows that the proposed frequency-dependent INS/GPS response model is superior to the neural network model by about 26% for 2D velocities and positions during GPS outages.

A number of automated decision support tools will be required in the future air traffic management system to enable continued provision of safe and efficient services in increasingly congested skies. In particular, Conflict Detection and Resolution (CDR) tools should allow for early detection of possible conflicts and propose safe and efficient resolution manoeuvres to avoid loss of separation. However, current approaches in the open literature not only use different levels of aircraft intent information but also make a number of assumptions on models of aircraft motion. Furthermore, information relevant to aircraft performance is often not considered with the consequence of the resulting resolution strategies being potentially unreliable. This paper presents an enhanced, strategic, pairwise, performance-based and distributed CDR algorithm. It accounts for the weaknesses of current approaches by using the maximum level of aircraft intent information together with a novel trajectory prediction model. Numerical results for representative conflict scenarios show that the proposed CDR method is able to generate conflict-free trajectories for participating aircraft while taking into account the actual aircraft capabilities to perform the recommended resolution manoeuvres.

This paper presents the thoughts and experiences of marine navigators of the mid-20th century in their use of compasses during the transition from magnetic to gyro compasses.

This paper deals with the problem of determining the baseline vector between two GPS receivers in single frequency (L1) using the basic principles of interferometric Differential GPS, therefore using the interferometric relations between the two receivers and the satellites visible to both receivers. As a preliminary step, ambiguity identification was solved using the results provided by the Kalman filter; these results were optimized by evaluating the Dilution Of Precision indexes for satellites in view of the receivers. Results achieved by applying this first procedure to data collected are discussed. To increase the accuracy of the results, a new, computationally fast algorithm for carrier phase ambiguity resolution on data collected from static and dynamics acquisitions was developed, implemented and tested. The new algorithm permitted an increase of accuracy of about two orders of magnitude with respect to results given by filtered Double Difference in the resolution of baseline vector.

Previous research by the authors has investigated the application of nature inspired search strategies and particle swarm optimisation to the guidance of autonomous vehicles in search roles. Findings suggest that nature inspired search strategies are beneficial under a wide range of search conditions. However, that research did not consider the potential for reacquisition of lost targets, which is especially of interest where the targets are travelling faster than the searching agents or in environments that allow for some means of visual or other sensory occlusion. This work investigates whether behaviours observed in nature can be applied to scenarios where target detection is lost. Through employing a variety of reacquisition strategies against a range of target movement types it is demonstrated that the overall effectiveness of the system can be improved in a variety of scenarios by incorporating nature inspired reacquisition strategies.