Integrated Reduced Inertial Sensor System/GPS for Vehicle Navigation

GPS is being widely used in land vehicles to provide positioning information. However, in urban canyons, rural tree canopies, and tunnels, the GPS satellite signal may be blocked. To obtain positioning solution during GPS outages, GPS can be augmented with an inertial navigation system (INS). However, the utilization of full inertial measurement unit (IMU) containing three gyroscopes and three accelerometers in land vehicles could be quite expensive. This book discusses the new research trend that explores the utilization of the low cost reduced inertial sensor systems (RISS). The case study discussed in this book considers single-axis gyroscope and an odometer to be integrated with GPS to provide full 2D positioning solution. The optimal integration of RISS with GPS utilizes Kalman filtering which is also discussed. Finally, this book discusses the performance of the integrated RISS/GPS module with real filed test data obtained while conducting road tests trajectories using both micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) and tactical grade inertial sensors. Performance analysis and comparative studies are performed to assess the merits and limitations of the integrated RISS/GPS system.