Using UWB Aided GNSS/INS Integrated Navigation to Bridge GNSS Outages Based on Optimal Anchor Distribution Strategy

This paper investigates into the feasibility of a combined use of Ultra-wideband (UWB) and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) / Inertial Navigation System (INS) for integrated navigation in GNSS challenged environments. The performance of the original integrated GNSS/INS navigation system deteriorated rapidly due to the GNSS signal outages. The position information provided by UWB is used as the observation quantity of Extend Kalman Filter (EKF) to make up for the influence of GNSS signal loss. Considering the positioning service performance provided by UWB is closely related to the geometric distribution of base station of UWB, an optimization searching based on maximum convex-hull (OSMC) method is adopted to establish the optimal base station layout scheme. The features of navigation have been investigated in vehicle test with the results showing clear evidence that the method can resist the impact of GNSS outages effectively and the positioning information are stable and reliable.