Terrain aided navigation using maximum a posteriori estimation

The theoretical development of the maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation technique is presented along with the application of the algorithm to terrain-aided navigation. This technique makes more complete use of the information content of the stored elevation data, the a priori knowledge of the errors in the stored elevation data, and the elevation measurements. Simulation results are presented which show that this technique provides a significant performance improvement relative to both a mean absolute difference batch algorithm and an extended Kalman filter recursive algorithm. In addition, this algorithm has been flight tested in a 1750A embedded processor to demonstrate the throughput compatibility.<>