Incorporation of a Differential Global Positioning System (DPGS) in the control of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for precise navigation in the Local Tangent Plane (LTP)

• Main Author: Allen, Peyton M
• Other Authors: Kaminer, Isaac
• Language: English
• Published: Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School 2012
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/8522

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited === The purpose of this thesis is to incorporate the Global Positioning System (UPS) and Inertial Navigation System (INS), for the guidance of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) seeking precise navigation in a Local Tangent Plane (LTP). By applying the Differential Positioning technique, UPS position data becomes more accurate. This position can then be referenced to a known location on the ground in order to give the aircraft's position in the Local Tangent Plane. The FOG-R UAV at the Naval Postgraduate School will be used for autonomous flight testing using a Texas Instruments TMS320C30 Digital Signal Processor (DSP). This DSP is hosted on an IBM compatible PC, and is controlled via Integrated System's AC100 control system design and implementation software package. The UPS receiver used throughout this thesis is a Motorola PVT-6 OEM. Another identical UPS receiver is used as a reference station, thus providing the Differential capability. The objectives of this thesis are: the system must be able to accept current location from the UPS and convert it to LTP, display the LTP coordinates, numerically and graphically, and be able to easily change the origin coordinates. Finally, the achieved accuracy of the differential setup is examined