Recent Advances in Sensor Integrity Monitoring Methods—A Review

Abstract

In face of the high complexity of modern systems and the increasing reliance on technology, the strategies and methods to evaluate the integrity of systems and the information they provide are of great importance. The use of sensors to provide important information in various applications has become ubiquitous, which puts more pressure on the accuracy of sensor measurements. In the navigation field, in particular, the integrity of positioning information provided by sensors can be critical, as failures can lead to fatalities and catastrophic damages. Extensive research has been done into methods to assess and improve the integrity of positioning information provided by GNSS receivers, led by the high safety requirements in the aviation field. More recently, a shift into the research of integrity solutions suitable for the challenging positioning requirements of autonomous vehicles in urban environment has been a trend. There have been extensive advancements in developing integrity monitoring algorithms for GNSS and navigation in general. However, these methods have not been sufficiently extended into other types of sensors, and the development of integrity methods outside the navigation field have been scarce and scattered. This work aims to provide an overview of recent advances in the integrity monitoring field, including research outside the navigation domain. The goal is to give an introduction to the integrity monitoring concept to a broader audience, as these techniques have been highly specialized by GNSS experts and navigation related research, fostering multi-disciplinary approaches and creative use of existing methods in different areas and applications.