Multilateration Software Development.

Abstract : This report documents the initial results of a software development directed at identifying a common navigation system data processor which would be more or less equally applicable--with appropriate tailoring--to any radio-inertial, radio-autonomous, radio-dead reckoning, or barometric-inertial navigation system. A functional processor has been defined which is potentially applicable for use for any of a wide class of military and civil missions, and radio and inertial equipment types. To achieve this generality and flexibility, algorithms were selected primarily on the basis of their (1) system-to-system generality, (2) mutual commonality, (3) functional modularity and (4) compactness of expression. These qualities will facilitate the eventual realization of easily programmable, interchangeably common, navigation system software units. In particular, vector-matrix formulations were identified and used for a very large percentage of the processor algorithms, including a central Kalman filter, which was incorporated in the processor to enable near-optimal mixing of the available radio, inertial, and other navigation data. A set of basic navigation and navigation error equations were also identified and incorporated in the processor; these equations can be used unchanged for navigation and with respect to either a global or a local-tactical corrdinate reference frame.