2. Inertial Navigation Flashcards
What is Dead Reckoning?
Estimating one’s own position based on a previous position. You keep track of speed and time to determine your new position relative to the previous position.
Define Inertia
Resistance to change in velocity.
Newton’s 3 Laws
- Objects in motion stay in motion and objects at rest stay at rest unless acted upon by an external force.
- F = ma
- For every action, there is an equal and opposite force
How does a linear accelerometer work?
How does a gyroscope work?
A flywheel is spun, giving it angular momentum. The flywheel maintains its orientation IOT conserve its angular momentum.
When the flywheel is mounted in a frame which prevents one from imparting torque on the flywheel, it will remain in the same position while the frame moves around it. The movement of this frame is measured.
If torque is applied to the flywheel, the flywheel will rotate in a direction 90 degress to the applied force and the angular momentum.
What is Gimballed Stabilization?
Uses a system of gyroscopes in a gimbal frame and a platform servo system.
More expensive and may cause Gimbal Lock but more accurate.
Describe Strap Down Stabilization
Accelerometers and Gyro’s are strapped down to the fixed frame. It is cheaper but difficult to calibrate.
What are Carouselling and Indexing and why are they used?
Carouselling is rotating the gyro around an axis.
Indexing is changing the orientation by 90 degrees periodically.
Removes error and biasing.
What is a Gyrocompass?
A compass using gyro stabilization to point to true north.
Describe the Sagnac Effect in LRGs
The speed of light is independant of the velocity of the medium through which it travels. If you send a beam of light around a ring but the ring is rotated, the light will take slightly longer (or shorter depending on the direction of rotation) to come around the ring. We can measure that difference to determine the angular velocity.
The better way to look at it is that the two waves are send in opposite directions around the ring. They combine to form a standing wave with nodes and anti-nodes. When the ring moves, the fluid moves, but the standing wave does not move with it. There is a sensor in the ring which moves and to the sensor, it appears that the standing wave is moving past. The sensor counts the standing waves.
Describe how the LRG in the Mk-49 works
Polygon shape using mirrors instead of circular rings.
When the ring is stationary, it produces a standing wave.
When the path lengths are different due to rotation of the medium, there is a phase difference between the component waves, which is supplied to a photomultiplier tube which converts this into electrical signals.
Describe Electron Drift. How is it compensated?
The gas used inside the ring is ionized IOT ____
It is ionized using a voltage between the cathode and anode.
This causes electrons to drift towards the positive anode, causing the gas to flow, leading to error.
This is compensated by using one cathode and two anodes evenly spaced, and adjusting the voltages such that they are equal in each direction, eliminating flow of electrons and therefore the gas.
What is Frequency Locking and how is it compensated for?
At low rotation rates, the standing wave tends to lock ot the ring and move with it due to back scatter of photons at the mirrors.
This is compensated by mechanically rotating (dithering) the optical path back and forth at a high rate.
How do we ensure high quality reflection off the mirrors?
Dyanimically positioning the mirrors such that the laser hits the mirror surface ideally.
What are Systematic Errors?
Errors which can be calibrated and compensated
Gravitational Error
Gravity is not constant through the world
Hyperbolic Navigation
3 signaling ground stations allow you to triangulate your position based on the time stamp of the signal.
