Document Type

Thesis

Date of Award

5-31-1987

Degree Name

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering - (M.S.)

Department

Electrical and Computer Engineering

First Advisor

Ira Cochin

Second Advisor

William N. Carr

Third Advisor

Jacob Klapper

Abstract

This thesis describes a self-contained inertial navigation system for commercial vehicles. It is low cost miniature system employing some of the newest techniques in micromechanical and microelectronic hardware.

The system employes an array of vibrating tuning fork gyros, a number of feedback force-balance accelerometers, and a central processing unit, all fabricated on a silicon wafer using integrated circuit fabrication technology. A miniature platform (size of a golf ball) driven by gearless torque motors is used to provide a quiet environment for the gyros and accelerometers. There are radio links between components that are on and off the platform (eliminating need for slip rings or flex wires). The output is in the form of an LED which indicate the vehicle location in both terrestrial coordinates (latitude and longitude) and cartesian (downrange and crossrange). The system also indicates distance and time to reach the preset destination.

The micromechanical devices required for the proposed system are not as yet commercially available. However, the component hardware and overall concept have been tested in both the laboratory and the field by several independent investigators.

Assuming vehicle speeds in the range 50 to 100 mph, the expected system error after two hours is 1.4 miles.

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.