No abstract

The Small Aircraft Transportation (SAT) segment represented mainly by helicopters, piston fixed-wing aircraft, turboprop aircraft, and business jets requires a reliable source of navigation information with an appropriate price. This paper describes the research and development activity funded by Clean Sky 2 Cost Optimized Avionic Systems (COAST) development program targeting affordable hybrid navigation solutions. The affordability is driven by size, weight, and power consumption (SWAP) requirements. The desired level of accuracy, integrity, and availability is being achieved by a hybrid navigation solution based on GPS/INS fusion extended by other navigation sensors. The hybrid core of the systems uses GPS with SBAS augmentation to outperform standard tightly coupled GPS-based hybrid systems. The purpose of this article is to describe the current state, algorithmic structure, and hardware maturity of the navigation system prototype. The paper describes individual hardware components, points to the resulting prototype, and summarizes tests in a representative environment. The ultimate goal is to demonstrate the overall performance of the hybrid system based on a low-cost micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). The low-cost inertial sensor is one of the key components securing the affordability of the proposed system, so its testing plays important role. Another assumption considered in the system design was integration of standardly-used onboard sensors. For this purpose, the hardware prototype was tested in a demonstrative and outdoor environment. The results of this exercise are summarized in this paper.

Modern navigation systems represent an inherent part of avionic equipment onboard all aircraft categories. The standard navigation performance typically defined by accuracy, integrity, availability, and continuity is now complemented by the system’s ability to reduce CO2 emissions and fuel consumption. This article describes current navigation system development executed by Honeywell International for SAT (Small Aircraft Transportation) segment defined by CS-MMEL ATA 34 Navigation. The proposed solution is based on INS/GNSS hybridization extended by other aiding sensors available onboard the aircraft. To create a technological solution that meets the system operational requirements of the segment and at the same time comply with SWAP-C (Size, Weight, And Power Consumption Related to Cost) requirements is the aim of this research activity. The article describes proposed integration architecture based on hybridized core and other aiding sensors, such as radar altimeter and magnetometer. The assessment of previously mentioned aiding sensors was performed and impact on navigation performance was determined. The emphasis was mainly put on Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) meeting the low-cost requirement for the overall architecture. The IMU error model definition and long-term thermal chamber measurements are the main tools for understanding the stochastic behaviour of the IMU’s. The accuracy improvement is further supported by implementing SBAS corrections in INS/GNSS hybridization. This is not a usual navigation solution for SAT segment, since, typically, standalone GNSS receiver with SBAS is used instead. The Monte Carlo simulations were performed to compare the performance of the proposed solution against system and operational requirements. A proprietary Honeywell tool for these large-scale simulations is capable to simulate the navigation exercise anywhere on the Earth using pre-defined trajectories with specific duration and simulated GNSS constellation to reflect the impact of the satellite geometry.

No abstract

No abstract