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Operating principles
This section gives some background information on the components in the xNAV650 and how they
work together to give the outputs. A short overview of the algorithm is given and some explanation of
how the software works. This
section is provided as “interesting information” and is not required for
normal operation.
Strapdown navigator
The outputs of the system are derived directly from the strapdown navigator. The role of the strapdown
navigator is to convert the measurements from the accelerometers and angular rate sensors to position.
Velocity and orientation are also tracked and output by the strapdown navigator.
Figure 11 shows a basic overview of the strapdown navigator. Much of the detail has been left out and
only the key elements are shown here.
Figure 11: Schematic of the strapdown navigator
The angular rates have their bias and scale factor corrections (from the Kalman filter) applied. Earth
rotation rate is also subtracted to avoid the 0.25° per minute rotation of the Earth. The transport rate is
also corrected; this is the rate that gravity rotates by due to the
vehicle moving across the earth’s surface
and it is proportional to horizontal speed. Finally, the angular rates are integrated to give heading, pitch
and roll angles.
The accelerations have their bias corrections (from the Kalman filter) applied. Then they are rotated to
give accelerations in the earth’s co-ordinate frame (north, east, down). Gravity is subtracted and Coriolis
acceleration effects removed. The accelerations are integrated to give velocity. This is integrated to
give position.
The strapdown navigator uses a WGS 84 model of the earth, the same as GPS uses. This is an elliptical
model of the earth rather than a spherical one. The position outputs are in degrees latitude, degrees
longitude and altitude. The altitude is the distance from the mo
del’s earth sea level.
Summary of Contents for xNAV650
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