Expert Opinions: Promising aspects of inertial integration with GNSS

Q: What is the most promising new aspect of inertial integration with GNSS that product developers and end users should be aware of?

Tony Rios, director, engineering systems, Systron Donner Inertial

A: Integration with GNSS and other sensors in most every military vehicle or weapon-control system will enable inertial sensor developers to focus on driving improvements in performance for the two fundamental parameters that a sensor-fusion INS filter cannot estimate: noise and in-run bias stability. Ultra-tightly coupled sensor fusion of GNSS with range-, speed- and video position-sensing, with tactical and navigation grade inertial sensors optimized for noise and in-run, will enable design of robust GPS chip-level solutions for high-dynamic, high-performance navigation for nearly any military environment or engagement.

Michael Whitehead, chief technology officer, Hemisphere GNSS

A: Previously used for military applications, inertial technology has become mainstream as performance-to-cost has improved with the emergence of low-cost microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Precise point positioning (PPP) advancements have driven GNSS accuracies to 4 cm or better, but long PPP initialization times are problematic in challenging environments where reconvergence is often required. Tightly coupled integration of PPP and navigation-quality MEMS will overcome limitations of both technologies, yielding high accuracy with high availability, even in challenging environments.

Chris Wheeler, manager, telematics and connected sites, Trimble Navigation

A: The availability of multi-frequency GNSS receivers with inertial components on a small lightweight board can now deliver centimeter-accurate INS/GNSS solutions, so that OEMs and integrators can significantly improve reliability and robustness in harsh or GNSS-denied applications or for solutions such as UAVs. The advances provided by MEMS inertial components increase overall efficiency by reducing the number of ground control points while still meeting the needs for a low weight and power consumption solution.