Mike of Ohio University

Inertial navigation systems (INS) are modern technologically sophisticated implementations of the age-old concept of dead reckoning. The basic philosophy is to begin with a knowledge of initial position, keep track of speed and direction, and thus be able to determine position continually as time progresses. Perhaps surprisingly, the rise of GNSS has actually expanded the need for inertial-based systems. Accelerometers and gyroscopes are the basic sensors utilized and since INS are essentially self-contained, they do not suffer from interference or unavailability that can affect radio-based systems such as GNSS. Furthermore, INS are highly complementary to GNSS since they provide high data rates, low data latencies and attitude-determination along with position and velocity. This lecture will start by highlighting the basic principles of operation of an inertial navigation system. We will focus initially on the concepts underlying the algorithms used to determine position, velocity and attitude from inertial sensor measurements. Key error characteristics will then be described as well such as the Schuler oscillation and vertical channel instability. We will also consider the impact of various sensor errors on system performance.

Biography:

Michael (Mike) Braasch holds the Thomas Professorship in the Ohio University School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and is a Principal Investigator with the Ohio University Avionics Engineering Center (AEC). He has been performing navigation system research for over 30 years and has served as a technical advisor both to the U.S. FAA and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Mike is internationally recognized for his work in characterizing the effects of GPS multipath. In addition, Mike’s research in the application of phased-array techniques to differential GPS ground reference stations laid the foundation for the development of the first generation prototype antennas for the FAA’s Ground-Based Augmentation System (GBAS). In the mid 1990s, Mike led the Ohio University research group that pioneered the GPS software-defined receiver. He has also conducted research in the design, development and flight-testing of peripheral vision display systems for general aviation aircraft. Mike has extensive flight-testing experience with Ohio University’s fleet of research aircraft. Mike has served as a visiting scientist at the Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands and has lectured for NATO AGARD in Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. He has also given invited talks in Canada, China, France and New Zealand. Mike has served as an associate editor for navigation and technical editor for navigation for the IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems. Since 2014 he has served as the IEEE/AESS liaison to the ION/IEEE Position, Location and Navigation Symposium (PLANS). Since 2015, he has served as the associate editor for navigation for the IEEE AESS SYSTEMS magazine. Since 2017, he has served as the founding Chair of the AESS Navigation Systems Panel.

Email: