Comparison of geomagnetic aided navigation algorithms for hypersonic vehicles

Abstract

In this paper, we simulate, verify, and compare the performance of three classical geomagnetic matching aided navigation algorithms to assess their applicability to hypersonic vehicle navigation. Firstly, we introduce the various sources of the geomagnetic field. Secondly, we describe the principles and processes of the geomagnetic contour matching (MAGCOM) algorithm, iterative closest contour point (ICCP) algorithm, and Sandia inertial magnetic aided navigation (SIMAN) algorithm. Thirdly, we discuss the principles of inertial/geomagnetic integrated navigation, and propose the state and observation equations of integrated navigation. Finally, we perform a simulation of inertial/geomagnetic integrated navigation on the hypersonic boost-glide vehicle trajectory. The simulation results indicate that the real-time performance of the SIMAN algorithm can be optimized such that the matching accuracy is higher than that of the other two algorithms. At the same time, the SIMAN algorithm can achieve better stability, and though the amount of measurement noise can be larger, it can still achieve good positioning accuracy.