Methodology for Determining the Delays in Sensor Measurements in Navigation Systems

The main purpose of this work is to present a method for accurate determination of the time delays of inertial navigation system (INS) sensors in order to minimize systematic errors in orientation or navigation tasks. The proposed algorithm can be used for various applications, including autonomous navigation, flight control, guidance systems, robotic system orientation, etc. The investigation of time delays can be useful in tasks such as synchronization of inertial sensor measurements, in assessment of delay stability, as well as evaluation of temperature drifts of a determined value. The investigation is based on testing marine systems for roll/pitch motion. During the research, it was found that the time delays of INS accelerometers exceed the measurement information detection time. The causes of time delays in the accelerometer signal conversion circuits were investigated, which proved the viability of the proposed methodology.