Strapdown inertial navigation systems readings correction based on navigational data of other sensors and systems with intelligent selection of the priority adjuster

Strapdown inertial navigation systems (SINS) are one of the main components of the navigation systems of the drones and aircraft (including autonomous ones), but their readings need to be instanly corrected due to the constant accumulation of errors. This paper comprises the review of existing approaches to using one or more sensors or systems to correct the navigation data of SINS algorithms (herein after – correctors) using integrated information processing. A common disadvantage of the analysed approaches is the lack of flexibility concerning the types and the number of SINS correctors used, as well as the growth of computational burden due to the use of the measurement vectors of all the correctors in the process of forming the state vector of the system. This article proposes the use of the original adaptive scheme based on the selection of the least noisy data, taking into account environmental conditions, for the integrated processing of the SINS and the correctos’ navigation parameters. The essence of the approach is that the state vector is estimated on the basis of the most reliable corrector. This allows reducing the correlation of errors in the correctors’ measurement of navigational parameters, since only the measurement vectors (or vector) with best navigational data signal/noise ratio (received from the corresponding correctors) are used in forming the state vector. Furthermore, the proposed navigational data fusion scheme has a modular structure and greater flexibility in comparison with the loosely coupled systems, and also implies the use of an arbitrary number of correction sensors and systems regardless of the physical nature of their measurements.