Integrated Antenna for Receiving Satellite Navigation Signals with a Built-In Inertial Measuring Unit

Abstract

The present article proposes an approach to ensuring the stable position of an active satellite navigation antenna relative to the inertial measuring unit when installing an inertial navigation system on a vehicle. The task of determining the coordinates of the navigation antenna relative to the inertial unit is accomplished by integrating the two elements into a single structure – an integrated antenna. When manufacturing an integrated antenna, the described approach allows the required coordinates to be determined under factory conditions. As well as explaining the operating principles of individual integrated antenna units, the article considers practical aspects of the integrated antenna’s use in inertial GNSS navigation systems. A specific consideration of the two-way digital information exchange between the antenna and computing device is presented. It is shown that the use of single-type cable modems provides the opportunity for a half-duplex exchange of information between the integrated antenna and the navigation receiver. Various uses of this information exchange to perform common navigation tasks are proposed. The independent measurement basis of the integrated antenna is noted. Approaches to acccounting for the orientation of this basis in the practical application of integrated antennas in single-antenna and multi-antenna inertial GNSS navigation systems are discussed.