Exploitation of tiny anomalies in the Earth's Magnetic Field to provide navigational alternatives to satellite-based navigation is an active field of research. However, a major performance limitation remains: the lack of detailed anomaly maps to provide performance at the level of GPS. This proposal responds to the Navy solicitation for covert alternatives to current velocity over ground measurements marine surface or subsurface environments which either radiate energy, and thus remove the element of stealth, or rely on electromagnetic logs that cannot subtract unknown ocean currents to arrive a true velocity over ground. The proposed method uses anomaly fields but in a such a manner that a priori knowledge of the anomalies is not required. A basic numerical simulation of the method is presented that already falls within the target performance range. Phase I effort includes research into systematic effects of vessel-induced fields, further sophistication of the method including use of existing and future anomaly field to further improve performance, and preliminary field testing.
Benefit: The resulting system, which already appears to be imminently feasible, satisfies the Navy requirement of a 100% covert velocity of ground input to correct drifts in inertial navigation systems. In addition to providing fully functioning systems to DoD prime contractors to fulfill the Navy requirement, Navigationis seeks to develop applications in other sectors, primarily commercial air transportation, and autonomous drone delivery systems in environments where GPS signal integrity is a known weakness.
Keywords: Navigation, Navigation, magnetometer, Ground Speed, Magnetic Anomaly
