"In phase one of the Maintain Accurate Geo-registration via Image-nav Compensation (MAGIC) program, Northrop Grumman integrated geo‑registration algorithms in a vision-aided inertial navigation system that can even operate in GPS-denied conditions. In phase two, the contractor will flight-test the integrated system as well as incorporate additional improvements such as highly detailed 3-D map generation in the algorithm."
| Unfortunately, GPS can be jammed (My solution? An anti-radiation missile). Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) use an inertial navigation system (INS) to navigate but sensor errors can quickly lead to degradation of position. Fusion models are used to update the INS states using GPS data. MAGIC uses an array of camera sensors to determine ground images which are compared to a library of geo-registered images using Visual odometery to determine distance offsets. The accuracy is unlikely to be as good as real-time GPS fusion but the degradation is smooth. |