Engineering Research and Design
Modern integrated navigation and guidance systems are typically implemented as software programs that run on general purpose computer hardware. Depending on the application, the software programs represent hundreds of thousands of Source Lines of Code (SLOC) implementing complex algorithms.
This website contains technical resources to assist in the understanding of some of the underlying algorithms employed in navigation systems. The information is organized into four parts:
Coordinate Systems - Defines the coordinate frames typically used in navigation systems and how the coordinate systems are used to locate a position on the earth and track the motion of a body on or near the earth's surface.
Integrated Navigation - Describes the method of determining position using commonly available sensors and multi-sensor integration methods.
Route Planning - Identifies the approach used to define a path along the surface of the earth, with an emphasis on defined a route in an airborne system, and guidance and control queues to follow the defined path.
Autonomous Systems - Provides a brief outline of the design approach often used in the development of autonomous or semi-autonomous navigation systems.