Multi-sensor Attitude Estimation using Quaternion Constrained GNSS Ambiguity Resolution and Dynamics-Based Observation Synchronization

Abstract

Recently, high accuracy and low-cost navigation hardware is becoming increasingly available that can be efficiently used for the control of autonomous vehicles. We present a sensor fusion method providing tightly coupled integration of pseudorange, carrier phase, and Doppler satellite measurements taken at multiple vehicle-mounted GNSS antennas with onboard inertial sensor observations. The key of accurate GNSS position and orientation estimation is the successful integer ambiguity resolution. We propose a method that uses the quaternion states as constraints to improve ambiguity resolution and to increase the accuracy of the GNSS based attitude determination. Generally, the low-cost hardware neither allows a hardware-level time synchronization between the GNSS receivers due to a lack of a common external oscillator nor provides the clock steering function available in geodetic GNSS receivers. The lack of observation synchronization causes several degrees of error in attitude estimation. To eliminate this effect, a dynamics-based solution is presented that synchronizes the observations by taking the dynamics of the moving platform into account. Compared to common external oscillator based sensor setups, our solution allows to increase both the number of rover receivers on the platform and the baselines between them easily, thus it opens up new possibilities in the attitude determination of large vehicles. We validate our approach against a tactical grade inertial navigation system. The results show that our approach using low-cost sensors provides the ambiguity success rate of 100% for the moving baselines, and the positioning and attitude error reached the centimeter and half a degree level, respectively.