Trusted Inertial Terrain-Aided Navigation (TITAN)

Abstract

The vertical synthetic aperture radar (VSAR) is proposed as a navigation sensor, and a companion navigation algorithm – Trusted Inertial Terrain-Aided Navigation (TITAN) – is introduced. The TITAN algorithm consumes vector range-Doppler measurements produced by a VSAR and correlates them against a local digital terrain elevation map with an extended Kalman filter, enabling accurate navigation without the need for GPS. The navigation accuracy of the VSAR/TITAN combination is quantified with post-processed flight data, and shown to be within 15 meters.