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Inertial reference unit

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An inertial navigation system ( INS ; also inertial guidance system , inertial instrument ) is a navigation device that uses motion sensors ( accelerometers ), rotation sensors ( gyroscopes ) and a computer to continuously calculate by dead reckoning the position, the orientation, and the velocity (direction and speed of movement) of a moving object without the need for external references. Often the inertial sensors are supplemented by a barometric altimeter and sometimes by magnetic sensors ( magnetometers ) and/or speed measuring devices. INSs are used on mobile robots and on vehicles such as ships , aircraft , submarines , guided missiles , and spacecraft . Older INS systems generally used an inertial platform as their mounting point to the vehicle and the terms are sometimes considered synonymous.

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90-410: An inertial reference unit (IRU) is a type of inertial sensor which uses gyroscopes (electromechanical, ring laser gyro or MEMS ) and accelerometers (electromechanical or MEMS ) to determine a moving aircraft ’s or spacecraft ’s change in rotational attitude (angular orientation relative to some reference frame) and translational position (typically latitude , longitude and altitude ) over

180-453: A vibrating structure gyroscope to detect changes in heading and the odometer pickup to measure distance covered along the vehicle's track. This type of system is much less accurate than a higher-end INS, but it is adequate for the typical automobile application where GPS is the primary navigation system and dead reckoning is only needed to fill gaps in GPS coverage when buildings or terrain block

270-440: A flotation chamber to mount a gyrostabilized platform. These systems can have very high precisions (e.g., Advanced Inertial Reference Sphere ). Like all gyrostabilized platforms, this system runs well with relatively slow, low-power computers. The fluid bearings are pads with holes through which pressurized inert gas (such as helium) or oil presses against the spherical shell of the platform. The fluid bearings are very slippery and

360-784: A function of the distance to the origin with respect to time, and φ {\displaystyle \varphi } a function of the angle between the vector and the x axis. Then: d r d t = ( r ˙ cos ⁡ ( φ ) − r φ ˙ sin ⁡ ( φ ) , r ˙ sin ⁡ ( φ ) + r φ ˙ cos ⁡ ( φ ) ) , {\displaystyle {\frac {d\mathbf {r} }{dt}}=({\dot {r}}\cos(\varphi )-r{\dot {\varphi }}\sin(\varphi ),{\dot {r}}\sin(\varphi )+r{\dot {\varphi }}\cos(\varphi )),} which

450-694: A gimballed system. That is, it must integrate the vehicle's attitude changes in pitch, roll and yaw, as well as gross movements. Gimballed systems could usually do well with update rates of 50–60 Hz. However, strapdown systems normally update about 2000 Hz. The higher rate is needed to let the navigation system integrate the angular rate into an attitude accurately. The data updating algorithms ( direction cosines or quaternions ) involved are too complex to be accurately performed except by digital electronics. However, digital computers are now so inexpensive and fast that rate gyro systems can now be practically used and mass-produced. The Apollo lunar module used

540-455: A gyroscope system can sometimes also be inferred simply from its position history (e.g., GPS). This is, in particular, the case with planes and cars, where the velocity vector usually implies the orientation of the vehicle body. For example, Honeywell 's Align in Motion is an initialization process where the initialization occurs while the aircraft is moving, in the air or on the ground. This

630-488: A gyroscopic element (for maintaining an absolute angular reference). Angular accelerometers measure how the vehicle is rotating in space. Generally, there is at least one sensor for each of the three axes: pitch (nose up and down), yaw (nose left and right) and roll (clockwise or counter-clockwise from the cockpit). Linear accelerometers measure non-gravitational accelerations of the vehicle. Since it can move in three axes (up and down, left and right, forward and back), there

720-610: A mixture of the two remains. In the summer of 1952, Dr. Richard Battin and Dr. J. Halcombe "Hal" Laning, Jr. , researched computational based solutions to guidance and undertook the initial analytical work on the Atlas inertial guidance in 1954. Other key figures at Convair were Charlie Bossart, the Chief Engineer, and Walter Schweidetzky, head of the guidance group. Schweidetzky had worked with von Braun at Peenemünde during World War II. The initial Delta guidance system assessed

810-399: A period of time. In other words, an IRU allows a device, whether airborne or submarine, to travel from one point to another without reference to external information. Another name often used interchangeably with IRU is Inertial Measurement Unit . The two basic classes of IRUs/IMUs are "gimballed" and "strapdown". The older, larger gimballed systems have become less prevalent over the years as

900-408: A single transformer to power the platform. Some small missiles have powered the platform with light from a window or optic fibers to the motor. A research topic is to suspend the platform with pressure from exhaust gases. Data is returned to the outside world via the transformers, or sometimes LEDs communicating with external photodiodes . Lightweight digital computers permit the system to eliminate

990-528: A straight line from the origin. Since radial motion leaves the angle unchanged, only the cross-radial component of linear velocity contributes to angular velocity. The angular velocity ω is the rate of change of angular position with respect to time, which can be computed from the cross-radial velocity as: ω = d ϕ d t = v ⊥ r . {\displaystyle \omega ={\frac {d\phi }{dt}}={\frac {v_{\perp }}{r}}.} Here

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1080-458: A strapdown system in its backup Abort Guidance System (AGS). Strapdown systems are nowadays commonly used in commercial and military applications (aircraft, ships, ROVs , missiles , etc.). State-of-the-art strapdown systems are based upon ring laser gyroscopes , fibre optic gyrocopes or hemispherical resonator gyroscopes . They are using digital electronics and advanced digital filtering techniques such as Kalman filter . The orientation of

1170-411: A vector or equivalently as a tensor . Consistent with the general definition, the spin angular velocity of a frame is defined as the orbital angular velocity of any of the three vectors (same for all) with respect to its own center of rotation. The addition of angular velocity vectors for frames is also defined by the usual vector addition (composition of linear movements), and can be useful to decompose

1260-536: A wide range of applications. These products include "tuning fork gyros". Here, the gyro is designed as an electronically driven tuning fork, often fabricated out of a single piece of quartz or silicon. Such gyros operate in accordance with the dynamic theory that when an angle rate is applied to a translating body, a Coriolis force is generated. This system is usually integrated on a silicon chip. It has two mass-balanced quartz tuning forks, arranged "handle-to-handle" so forces cancel. Aluminum electrodes evaporated onto

1350-405: Is a linear accelerometer for each axis. A computer continually calculates the vehicle's current position. First, for each of the six degrees of freedom (x,y,z and θ x , θ y and θ z ), it integrates over time the sensed acceleration, together with an estimate of gravity, to calculate the current velocity. Then it integrates the velocity to calculate the current position. Inertial guidance

1440-445: Is a perpendicular unit vector. In two dimensions, angular velocity is a number with plus or minus sign indicating orientation, but not pointing in a direction. The sign is conventionally taken to be positive if the radius vector turns counter-clockwise, and negative if clockwise. Angular velocity then may be termed a pseudoscalar , a numerical quantity which changes sign under a parity inversion , such as inverting one axis or switching

1530-421: Is accomplished using GPS and an inertial reasonableness test, thereby allowing commercial data integrity requirements to be met. This process has been FAA certified to recover pure INS performance equivalent to stationary alignment procedures for civilian flight times up to 18 hours. It avoids the need for gyroscope batteries on aircraft. Less-expensive navigation systems, intended for use in automobiles, may use

1620-540: Is analogous to linear velocity , with angle replacing distance , with time in common. The SI unit of angular velocity is radians per second , although degrees per second (°/s) is also common. The radian is a dimensionless quantity , thus the SI units of angular velocity are dimensionally equivalent to reciprocal seconds , s , although rad/s is preferable to avoid confusion with rotation velocity in units of hertz (also equivalent to s ). The sense of angular velocity

1710-706: Is conventionally specified by the right-hand rule , implying clockwise rotations (as viewed on the plane of rotation); negation (multiplication by −1) leaves the magnitude unchanged but flips the axis in the opposite direction . For example, a geostationary satellite completes one orbit per day above the equator (360 degrees per 24 hours) has angular velocity magnitude (angular speed) ω = 360°/24 h = 15°/h (or 2π rad/24 h ≈ 0.26 rad/h) and angular velocity direction (a unit vector ) parallel to Earth's rotation axis ( ω ^ = Z ^ {\displaystyle {\hat {\omega }}={\hat {Z}}} , in

1800-521: Is difficult without computers. The desire to use inertial guidance in the Minuteman missile and Project Apollo drove early attempts to miniaturize computers. Inertial guidance systems are now usually combined with satellite navigation systems through a digital filtering system. The inertial system provides short term data, while the satellite system corrects accumulated errors of the inertial system. An inertial guidance system that will operate near

1890-852: Is equal to: r ˙ ( cos ⁡ ( φ ) , sin ⁡ ( φ ) ) + r φ ˙ ( − sin ⁡ ( φ ) , cos ⁡ ( φ ) ) = r ˙ r ^ + r φ ˙ φ ^ {\displaystyle {\dot {r}}(\cos(\varphi ),\sin(\varphi ))+r{\dot {\varphi }}(-\sin(\varphi ),\cos(\varphi ))={\dot {r}}{\hat {r}}+r{\dot {\varphi }}{\hat {\varphi }}} (see Unit vector in cylindrical coordinates). Knowing d r d t = v {\textstyle {\frac {d\mathbf {r} }{dt}}=\mathbf {v} } , we conclude that

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1980-510: Is held annually in October in Germany. The publications of all DGON ISA conferences over the last more than 60 years are accessible. All inertial navigation systems suffer from integration drift: small errors in the measurement of acceleration and angular velocity are integrated into progressively larger errors in velocity, which are compounded into still greater errors in position. Since

2070-405: Is necessary to uniquely specify the direction of the angular velocity; conventionally, the right-hand rule is used. Let the pseudovector u {\displaystyle \mathbf {u} } be the unit vector perpendicular to the plane spanned by r and v , so that the right-hand rule is satisfied (i.e. the instantaneous direction of angular displacement is counter-clockwise looking from

2160-449: Is not orthonormal and it is difficult to use, but now the velocity vector can be changed to the fixed frame or to the moving frame with just a change of bases. For example, changing to the mobile frame: where i ^ , j ^ , k ^ {\displaystyle {\hat {\mathbf {i} }},{\hat {\mathbf {j} }},{\hat {\mathbf {k} }}} are unit vectors for

2250-554: Is positive since the satellite travels prograde with the Earth's rotation (the same direction as the rotation of Earth). ^a Geosynchronous satellites actually orbit based on a sidereal day which is 23h 56m 04s, but 24h is assumed in this example for simplicity. In the simplest case of circular motion at radius r {\displaystyle r} , with position given by the angular displacement ϕ ( t ) {\displaystyle \phi (t)} from

2340-500: Is possible to track the position and orientation of a device. An inertial navigation system includes at least a computer and a platform or module containing accelerometers , gyroscopes , or other motion-sensing devices. The INS is initially provided with its position and velocity from another source (a human operator, a GPS satellite receiver, etc.) accompanied with the initial orientation and thereafter computes its own updated position and velocity by integrating information received from

2430-407: Is the direction of the angular velocity vector, and the magnitude of the angular velocity is consistent with the two-dimensional case. If we choose a reference point r 0 {\displaystyle {{\boldsymbol {r}}_{0}}} fixed in the rigid body, the velocity r ˙ {\displaystyle {\dot {\boldsymbol {r}}}} of any point in

2520-404: Is then where e ˙ i = d e i d t {\displaystyle {\dot {\mathbf {e} }}_{i}={\frac {d\mathbf {e} _{i}}{dt}}} is the time rate of change of the frame vector e i , i = 1 , 2 , 3 , {\displaystyle \mathbf {e} _{i},i=1,2,3,} due to

2610-452: Is usually used to supplement other navigation systems, providing a higher degree of accuracy than is possible with the use of any single system. For example, if, in terrestrial use, the inertially tracked velocity is intermittently updated to zero by stopping, the position will remain precise for a much longer time, a so-called zero velocity update . In aerospace particularly, other measurement systems are used to determine INS inaccuracies, e.g.

2700-428: Is very accurate. However it is still relatively expensive due to the cost of the precision ground and polished hollow quartz hemispheres. Northrop Grumman currently manufactures IMUs ( inertial measurement units ) for spacecraft that use HRGs. These IMUs have demonstrated extremely high reliability since their initial use in 1996. Safran manufactures large numbers of HRG based inertial navigation systems dedicated to

2790-534: Is vulnerable to gimbal lock . The primary guidance system of the Apollo spacecraft used a three-axis gyrostabilized platform, feeding data to the Apollo Guidance Computer . Maneuvers had to be carefully planned to avoid gimbal lock. Gimbal lock constrains maneuvering and it would be beneficial to eliminate the slip rings and bearings of the gimbals. Therefore, some systems use fluid bearings or

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2880-550: The Space Shuttle , open loop guidance was used to guide the Shuttle from lift-off until Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) separation. After SRB separation the primary Space Shuttle guidance is named PEG (Powered Explicit Guidance). PEG takes into account both the Q system and the predictor-corrector attributes of the original "Delta" System (PEG Guidance). Although many updates to the Shuttle's navigation system had taken place over

2970-417: The U.S. Army Research Laboratory reported a method to merge measurements from 10 pairs of MEMS gyroscope and accelerometers (plus occasional GPS), reducing the positional error by two thirds for a projectile. The algorithm can correct for systemic biases in individual sensors, using both GPS and a heuristic based on the gun-firing acceleration force. If one sensor consistently over or underestimates distance,

3060-440: The angular position or orientation of an object changes with time, i.e. how quickly an object rotates (spins or revolves) around an axis of rotation and how fast the axis itself changes direction . The magnitude of the pseudovector, ω = ‖ ω ‖ {\displaystyle \omega =\|{\boldsymbol {\omega }}\|} , represents the angular speed (or angular frequency ),

3150-443: The geocentric coordinate system ). If angle is measured in radians, the linear velocity is the radius times the angular velocity, v = r ω {\displaystyle {\boldsymbol {v}}=r{\boldsymbol {\omega }}} . With orbital radius 42,000 km from the Earth's center, the satellite's tangential speed through space is thus v = 42,000 km × 0.26/h ≈ 11,000 km/h. The angular velocity

3240-562: The pressure reference system was developed to use one numerical integration of the angular rate measurements. Estimation theory in general and Kalman filtering in particular, provide a theoretical framework for combining information from various sensors. One of the most common alternative sensors is a satellite navigation radio such as GPS , which can be used for all kinds of vehicles with direct sky visibility. Indoor applications can use pedometers , distance measurement equipment, or other kinds of position sensors . By properly combining

3330-832: The C-5A which utilized the triple INS configuration, similar to the 747. The KC-135A fleet was fitted with a single Carousel IV-E system that could operate as a stand-alone INS or can be aided by the AN/APN-81 or AN/APN-218 Doppler radar . Some special-mission variants of the C-135 were fitted with dual Carousel IV-E INSs. ARINC Characteristic 704 defines the INS used in commercial air transport. INSs contain Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) which have angular and linear accelerometers (for changes in position); some IMUs include

3420-870: The Delco Electronics Div. of General Motors Corp. were awarded the joint contract for design and production of the Apollo Guidance and Navigation systems for the Command Module and the Lunar Module. Delco produced the IMUs ( Inertial Measurement Units ) for these systems, Kollsman Instrument Corp. produced the Optical Systems, and the Apollo Guidance Computer was built by Raytheon under subcontract. For

3510-412: The Earth, since they did not know what direction the car was facing relative to the Earth when they felt the accelerations. However, by tracking both the current angular velocity of the system and the current linear acceleration of the system measured relative to the moving system, it is possible to determine the linear acceleration of the system in the inertial reference frame. Performing integration on

3600-515: The Honeywell LaseRefV inertial navigation systems uses GPS and air data computer outputs to maintain required navigation performance . The navigation error rises with the lower sensitivity of the sensors used. Currently, devices combining different sensors are being developed, e.g. attitude and heading reference system . Because the navigation error is mainly influenced by the numerical integration of angular rates and accelerations,

3690-554: The V2 provided many innovations as an integrated platform with closed loop guidance. At the end of the war von Braun engineered the surrender of 500 of his top rocket scientists, along with plans and test vehicles, to the Americans. They arrived at Fort Bliss, Texas in 1945 under the provisions of Operation Paperclip and were subsequently moved to Huntsville, Alabama , in 1950 where they worked for U.S. Army rocket research programs. In

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3780-429: The advent of spacecraft , guided missiles , and commercial airliners . Early German World War II V2 guidance systems combined two gyroscopes and a lateral accelerometer with a simple analog computer to adjust the azimuth for the rocket in flight. Analog computer signals were used to drive four graphite rudders in the rocket exhaust for flight control. The GN&C (Guidance, Navigation, and Control) system for

3870-435: The angular displacement, the system's current orientation is known at all times. This can be thought of as the ability of a blindfolded passenger in a car to feel the car turn left and right or tilt up and down as the car ascends or descends hills. Based on this information alone, the passenger knows what direction the car is facing, but not how fast or slow it is moving, or whether it is sliding sideways. Accelerometers measure

3960-464: The angular rate at which the object rotates (spins or revolves). The pseudovector direction ω ^ = ω / ω {\displaystyle {\hat {\boldsymbol {\omega }}}={\boldsymbol {\omega }}/\omega } is normal to the instantaneous plane of rotation or angular displacement . There are two types of angular velocity: Angular velocity has dimension of angle per unit time; this

4050-443: The body is given by Consider a rigid body rotating about a fixed point O. Construct a reference frame in the body consisting of an orthonormal set of vectors e 1 , e 2 , e 3 {\displaystyle \mathbf {e} _{1},\mathbf {e} _{2},\mathbf {e} _{3}} fixed to the body and with their common origin at O. The spin angular velocity vector of both frame and body about O

4140-449: The body. The components of the spin angular velocity pseudovector were first calculated by Leonhard Euler using his Euler angles and the use of an intermediate frame: Euler proved that the projections of the angular velocity pseudovector on each of these three axes is the derivative of its associated angle (which is equivalent to decomposing the instantaneous rotation into three instantaneous Euler rotations ). Therefore: This basis

4230-452: The car has turned and how it has accelerated and decelerated since, then they can accurately know the current orientation, position, and velocity of the car at any time. Inertial navigation is used in a wide range of applications including the navigation of aircraft, tactical and strategic missiles, spacecraft, submarines and ships. It is also embedded in some mobile phones for purposes of mobile phone location and tracking. Recent advances in

4320-460: The construction of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have made it possible to manufacture small and light inertial navigation systems. These advances have widened the range of possible applications to include areas such as human and animal motion capture . Inertial navigation systems are used in many different moving objects. However, their cost and complexity place constraints on the environments in which they are practical for use. To support

4410-549: The cross-radial speed v ⊥ {\displaystyle v_{\perp }} is the signed magnitude of v ⊥ {\displaystyle \mathbf {v} _{\perp }} , positive for counter-clockwise motion, negative for clockwise. Taking polar coordinates for the linear velocity v {\displaystyle \mathbf {v} } gives magnitude v {\displaystyle v} (linear speed) and angle θ {\displaystyle \theta } relative to

4500-413: The difference in capacitance between the two tines of a fork, the system can determine the rate of angular motion. Angular velocity In physics , angular velocity (symbol ω or ω → {\displaystyle {\vec {\omega }}} , the lowercase Greek letter omega ), also known as angular frequency vector , is a pseudovector representation of how

4590-519: The difference in position from a reference trajectory. A velocity to be gained (VGO) calculation is made to correct the current trajectory with the objective of driving VGO to zero. The mathematics of this approach were fundamentally valid, but dropped because of the challenges in accurate inertial guidance and analog computing power. The challenges faced by the Delta efforts were overcome by the Q system (see Q-guidance ) of guidance. The Q system's revolution

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4680-776: The early 1950s, the US government wanted to insulate itself against over-dependency on the German team for military applications, including the development of a fully domestic missile guidance program. The MIT Instrumentation Laboratory (later to become the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory , Inc.) was chosen by the Air Force Western Development Division to provide a self-contained guidance system backup to Convair in San Diego for

4770-488: The first production Carousel systems for the early models (-100, -200 and -300) of the 747 aircraft. The 747 utilized three Carousel systems operating in concert for reliability purposes. The Carousel system and derivatives thereof were subsequently adopted for use in many other commercial and military aircraft. The USAF C-141 was the first military aircraft to utilize the Carousel in a dual system configuration, followed by

4860-419: The forks and the underlying chip both drive and sense the motion. The system is both manufacturable and inexpensive. Since quartz is dimensionally stable, the system can be accurate. As the forks are twisted about the axis of the handle, the vibration of the tines tends to continue in the same plane of motion. This motion has to be resisted by electrostatic forces from the electrodes under the tines. By measuring

4950-545: The frame fixed in the moving body. This example has been made using the Z-X-Z convention for Euler angles. The angular velocity tensor is a skew-symmetric matrix defined by: The scalar elements above correspond to the angular velocity vector components ω = ( ω x , ω y , ω z ) {\displaystyle {\boldsymbol {\omega }}=(\omega _{x},\omega _{y},\omega _{z})} . This

5040-449: The gimbals, creating strapdown systems, so called because their sensors are simply strapped to the vehicle. This reduces the cost, eliminates gimbal lock , removes the need for some calibrations and increases the reliability by eliminating some of the moving parts. Angular rate sensors called rate gyros measure the angular velocity of the vehicle. A strapdown system needs a dynamic measurement range several hundred times that required by

5130-451: The inertial accelerations (using the original velocity as the initial conditions) using the correct kinematic equations yields the inertial velocities of the system and integration again (using the original position as the initial condition) yields the inertial position. In our example, if the blindfolded passenger knew how the car was pointed and what its velocity was before they were blindfolded, and if they are able to keep track of both how

5220-563: The information from an INS and other systems ( GPS ), the errors in position and velocity are stable . Furthermore, INS can be used as a short-term fallback while GPS signals are unavailable, for example when a vehicle passes through a tunnel. In 2011, GPS jamming at the civilian level became a governmental concern. The relative ease in ability to jam these systems has motivated the military to reduce navigation dependence on GPS technology. Because inertial navigation sensors do not depend on radio signals unlike GPS, they cannot be jammed. In 2012,

5310-515: The last 30 years (ex. GPS in the OI-22 build), the guidance core of the Shuttle GN&;C system had evolved little. Within a crewed system, there is a human interface needed for the guidance system. As astronauts are the customer for the system, many new teams were formed that touch GN&C as it is a primary interface to "fly" the vehicle. One example of a popular INS for commercial aircraft

5400-410: The linear acceleration and angular velocity applied to the system. Since it requires no external reference (after initialization), it is immune to jamming and deception. Gyroscopes measure the angular displacement of the sensor frame with respect to the inertial reference frame . By using the original orientation of the system in the inertial reference frame as the initial condition and integrating

5490-512: The linear acceleration of the moving vehicle in the sensor or body frame, but in directions that can only be measured relative to the moving system (since the accelerometers are fixed to the system and rotate with the system, but are not aware of their own orientation). This can be thought of as the ability of a blindfolded passenger in a car to feel themself pressed back into their seat as the vehicle accelerates forward or pulled forward as it slows down; and feel themself pressed down into their seat as

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5580-415: The linear velocity is v ( t ) = d ℓ d t = r ω ( t ) {\textstyle v(t)={\frac {d\ell }{dt}}=r\omega (t)} , so that ω = v r {\textstyle \omega ={\frac {v}{r}}} . In the general case of a particle moving in the plane, the orbital angular velocity is the rate at which

5670-413: The motion sensors. The advantage of an INS is that it requires no external references in order to determine its position, orientation, or velocity once it has been initialized. An INS can detect a change in its geographic position (a move east or north, for example), a change in its velocity (speed and direction of movement) and a change in its orientation (rotation about an axis). It does this by measuring

5760-537: The new Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile (Construction and testing were completed by Arma Division of AmBosch Arma). The technical monitor for the MIT task was engineer Jim Fletcher, who later served as NASA Administrator. The Atlas guidance system was to be a combination of an on-board autonomous system and a ground-based tracking and command system. The self-contained system finally prevailed in ballistic missile applications for obvious reasons. In space exploration,

5850-489: The new position is calculated from the previous calculated position and the measured acceleration and angular velocity, these errors accumulate roughly proportionally to the time since the initial position was input. Even the best accelerometers, with a standard error of 10 micro-g, would accumulate a 50-meter (164-ft) error within 17 minutes. Therefore, the position must be periodically corrected by input from some other type of navigation system. Accordingly, inertial navigation

5940-408: The performance of newer, smaller strapdown systems has improved greatly via the use of solid-state sensors and advanced real-time computer algorithms. Gimballed systems are still used in some high-precision applications where strapdown performance may not be as good. This technology-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Inertial guidance system Integrals in

6030-401: The platform keep the same orientation while the vehicle rotates around it). There are two gyroscopes (usually) on the platform. Two gyroscopes are used to cancel gyroscopic precession , the tendency of a gyroscope to twist at right angles to an input torque. By mounting a pair of gyroscopes (of the same rotational inertia and spinning at the same speed in opposite directions) at right angles

6120-502: The platform uses similar strip-shaped transformers to read the varying magnetic fields produced by the transformers wrapped around the spherical platform. Whenever a magnetic field changes shape, or moves, it will cut the wires of the coils on the external transformer strips. The cutting generates an electric current in the external strip-shaped coils and electronics can measure that current to derive angles. Cheap systems sometimes use bar codes to sense orientations and use solar cells or

6210-710: The position vector relative to a chosen origin "sweeps out" angle. The diagram shows the position vector r {\displaystyle \mathbf {r} } from the origin O {\displaystyle O} to a particle P {\displaystyle P} , with its polar coordinates ( r , ϕ ) {\displaystyle (r,\phi )} . (All variables are functions of time t {\displaystyle t} .) The particle has linear velocity splitting as v = v ‖ + v ⊥ {\displaystyle \mathbf {v} =\mathbf {v} _{\|}+\mathbf {v} _{\perp }} , with

6300-492: The precessions are cancelled and the platform will resist twisting. This system allows a vehicle's roll, pitch and yaw angles to be measured directly at the bearings of the gimbals. Relatively simple electronic circuits can be used to add up the linear accelerations, because the directions of the linear accelerometers do not change. The big disadvantage of this scheme is that it uses many expensive precision mechanical parts. It also has moving parts that can wear out or jam and

6390-440: The radial component v ‖ {\displaystyle \mathbf {v} _{\|}} parallel to the radius, and the cross-radial (or tangential) component v ⊥ {\displaystyle \mathbf {v} _{\perp }} perpendicular to the radius. When there is no radial component, the particle moves around the origin in a circle; but when there is no cross-radial component, it moves in

6480-482: The radial component of the velocity is given by r ˙ {\displaystyle {\dot {r}}} , because r ^ {\displaystyle {\hat {r}}} is a radial unit vector; and the perpendicular component is given by r φ ˙ {\displaystyle r{\dot {\varphi }}} because φ ^ {\displaystyle {\hat {\varphi }}}

6570-650: The radius vector; in these terms, v ⊥ = v sin ⁡ ( θ ) {\displaystyle v_{\perp }=v\sin(\theta )} , so that ω = v sin ⁡ ( θ ) r . {\displaystyle \omega ={\frac {v\sin(\theta )}{r}}.} These formulas may be derived doing r = ( r cos ⁡ ( φ ) , r sin ⁡ ( φ ) ) {\displaystyle \mathbf {r} =(r\cos(\varphi ),r\sin(\varphi ))} , being r {\displaystyle r}

6660-535: The rotation as in a gimbal . All components of the vector can be calculated as derivatives of the parameters defining the moving frames (Euler angles or rotation matrices). As in the general case, addition is commutative: ω 1 + ω 2 = ω 2 + ω 1 {\displaystyle \omega _{1}+\omega _{2}=\omega _{2}+\omega _{1}} . By Euler's rotation theorem , any rotating frame possesses an instantaneous axis of rotation , which

6750-407: The rotation. This formula is incompatible with the expression for orbital angular velocity as that formula defines angular velocity for a single point about O, while the formula in this section applies to a frame or rigid body. In the case of a rigid body a single ω {\displaystyle {\boldsymbol {\omega }}} has to account for the motion of all particles in

6840-623: The satellite signals. If a standing wave is induced in a hemispheric resonant structure and then the resonant structure is rotated, the spherical harmonic standing wave rotates through an angle different from the quartz resonator structure due to the Coriolis force. The movement of the outer case with respect to the standing wave pattern is proportional to the total rotation angle and can be sensed by appropriate electronics. The system resonators are machined from fused quartz due to its excellent mechanical properties. The electrodes that drive and sense

6930-409: The spherical platform can turn freely. There are usually four bearing pads, mounted in a tetrahedral arrangement to support the platform. In premium systems, the angular sensors are usually specialized transformer coils made in a strip on a flexible printed circuit board . Several coil strips are mounted on great circles around the spherical shell of the gyrostabilized platform. Electronics outside

7020-404: The standing waves are deposited directly onto separate quartz structures that surround the resonator. These gyros can operate in either a whole angle mode (which gives them nearly unlimited rate capability) or a force rebalance mode that holds the standing wave in a fixed orientation with respect to the gyro housing (which gives them much better accuracy). This system has almost no moving parts and

7110-433: The surface of the earth must incorporate Schuler tuning so that its platform will continue pointing towards the center of the Earth as a vehicle moves from place to place. Some systems place the linear accelerometers on a gimballed gyrostabilized platform. The gimbals are a set of three rings, each with a pair of bearings initially at right angles. They let the platform twist about any rotational axis (or, rather, they let

7200-400: The system can adjust the corrupted sensor's contributions to the final calculation. Inertial navigation systems were originally developed for rockets . American rocketry pioneer Robert Goddard experimented with rudimentary gyroscopic systems. Goddard's systems were of great interest to contemporary German pioneers including Wernher von Braun . The systems entered more widespread use with

7290-402: The tangential velocity as: Given a rotating frame of three unit coordinate vectors, all the three must have the same angular speed at each instant. In such a frame, each vector may be considered as a moving particle with constant scalar radius. The rotating frame appears in the context of rigid bodies , and special tools have been developed for it: the spin angular velocity may be described as

7380-583: The time domain implicitly demand a stable and accurate clock for the quantification of elapsed time. 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. Inertial measurement units (IMUs) typically contain three orthogonal rate-gyroscopes and three orthogonal accelerometers, measuring angular velocity and linear acceleration respectively. By processing signals from these devices it

7470-417: The top of u {\displaystyle \mathbf {u} } ). Taking polar coordinates ( r , ϕ ) {\displaystyle (r,\phi )} in this plane, as in the two-dimensional case above, one may define the orbital angular velocity vector as: where θ is the angle between r and v . In terms of the cross product, this is: From the above equation, one can recover

7560-472: The two axes. In three-dimensional space , we again have the position vector r of a moving particle. Here, orbital angular velocity is a pseudovector whose magnitude is the rate at which r sweeps out angle (in radians per unit of time), and whose direction is perpendicular to the instantaneous plane in which r sweeps out angle (i.e. the plane spanned by r and v ). However, as there are two directions perpendicular to any plane, an additional condition

7650-504: The use of inertial technology in the best way, already in 1965 a technical working group for Inertial Sensors had been established in Germany to bring together the users, the manufacturers and the researchers of inertial sensors. This working group has been continuously developed and today it is known as DGON ISA Inertial Sensors and Application Symposium, the leading conference for inertial technologies for more than 60 years. This Symposium DGON / IEEE ISA with about 200 international attendees

7740-420: The vehicle accelerates up a hill or rise up out of their seat as the car passes over the crest of a hill and begins to descend. Based on this information alone, they know how the vehicle is accelerating relative to itself; that is, whether it is accelerating forward, backward, left, right, up (toward the car's ceiling), or down (toward the car's floor), measured relative to the car, but not the direction relative to

7830-478: The x-axis, the orbital angular velocity is the rate of change of angle with respect to time: ω = d ϕ d t {\textstyle \omega ={\frac {d\phi }{dt}}} . If ϕ {\displaystyle \phi } is measured in radians , the arc-length from the positive x-axis around the circle to the particle is ℓ = r ϕ {\displaystyle \ell =r\phi } , and

7920-553: Was presented at the first Technical Symposium on Ballistic Missiles held at the Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation in Los Angeles on 21 and 22 June 1956. The Q system was classified information through the 1960s. Derivations of this guidance are used for today's missiles. In February 1961 NASA awarded MIT a contract for preliminary design study of a guidance and navigation system for the Apollo program . MIT and

8010-486: Was the Delco Carousel , which provided partial automation of navigation in the days before complete flight management systems became commonplace. The Carousel allowed pilots to enter 9 waypoints at a time and then guided the aircraft from one waypoint to the next using an INS to determine aircraft position and velocity. Boeing Corporation subcontracted the Delco Electronics Div. of General Motors to design and build

8100-420: Was to bind the challenges of missile guidance (and associated equations of motion) in the matrix Q. The Q matrix represents the partial derivatives of the velocity with respect to the position vector. A key feature of this approach allowed for the components of the vector cross product (v, xdv, /dt) to be used as the basic autopilot rate signals—a technique that became known as cross-product steering . The Q-system

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