An adaptive Multiplicative Extened Kalman Filter for attitude estimation of Marine Satellite Tracking Antenna

Abstract

Satellite tracking is a challenging task for marine applications due to the disturbance from ocean waves. An Attitude Heading and Reference System (AHRS) for measuring ship attitude, based on Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) sensors, is a key part for satellite tracking. In this paper, an adaptive Multiplicative Extended Kalman Filter (MEKF) for attitude estimation of Marine Satellite Tracking Antenna (MSTA) is presented with the measurement noise covariance matrix adjusted according to the norm of accelerometer measurements, which can significantly reduce the slamming influence from waves in high sea states. The attitude estimator algorithm is implemented in designed AHRS hardware, whose performance is validated through hardware experiment.