Improved Kalman-based attitude estimation framework for UAVs via an antenna array

Abstract Accurate attitude estimation is crucial for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in order to facilitate automated activities such as landing or trajectory tracking. Recently antenna array based communication systems have been installed in UAVs. This array structure can also be applied for attitude estimation by computing the line-of-sight (LOS) path between the base station and UAV. In this paper, we propose a complete framework for attitude estimation by exploiting 3D LOS vector obtained from the antenna array system. We present all the steps to incorporate the estimated LOS vector into the TRIaxial Attitude Determination (TRIAD), QUaternion ESTimator (QUEST) and Kalman algorithms. As an additional contribution, the error covariance matrix of the LOS vector is analytically calculated by first finding the phase shift mean squared error using the known perturbation model from Singular Value Decomposition and assuming that the antenna array measured data error can be modeled as a circularly symmetric white noise. We evaluate five array configurations via Monte Carlo simulations. We show that array configurations that provide orthogonal components of the LOS vector achieve a better performance. The usage of more than three pairs of antennas to improve the estimation of the LOS vector is also proposed for low and intermediate signal-to-noise ratio regimes.

[1]  Florian Roemer,et al.  Multi-dimensional model order selection , 2011, EURASIP J. Adv. Signal Process..

[2]  Xiaoming Hu,et al.  Drift-free attitude estimation for accelerated rigid bodies , 2001, Proceedings 2001 ICRA. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.01CH37164).

[3]  André Lima Férrer de Almeida,et al.  Multidimensional Array Interpolation Applied to Direction of Arrival Estimation , 2015, WSA.

[4]  Carl D. Meyer,et al.  Matrix Analysis and Applied Linear Algebra , 2000 .

[5]  Ronan Arraes Jardim Chagas,et al.  Observability Analysis for the INS Error Model with GPS/Uncalibrated Magnetometer Aiding , 2012 .

[6]  Thomas B. Schön,et al.  Calibration of a magnetometer in combination with inertial sensors , 2012, 2012 15th International Conference on Information Fusion.

[7]  Seyed Alireza Zekavat,et al.  A Novel Wireless Local Positioning System via a Merger of DS-CDMA and Beamforming: Probability-of-Detection Performance Analysis Under Array Perturbations , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology.

[8]  Ossama Abdelkhalik,et al.  Spacecraft Relative Attitude Determination , 2010, 2010 IEEE Aerospace Conference.

[9]  Yaakov Oshman,et al.  Asymptotic Behavior of the Estimation Error Covariance of Quaternion Estimators , 2008 .

[10]  John L. Crassidis,et al.  Deterministic Relative Attitude Determination of Three-Vehicle Formations , 2009 .

[11]  Thomas Kailath,et al.  ESPRIT-estimation of signal parameters via rotational invariance techniques , 1989, IEEE Trans. Acoust. Speech Signal Process..

[12]  Jeffrey K. Uhlmann,et al.  A non-divergent estimation algorithm in the presence of unknown correlations , 1997, Proceedings of the 1997 American Control Conference (Cat. No.97CH36041).

[13]  E. J. Lefferts,et al.  Kalman Filtering for Spacecraft Attitude Estimation , 1982 .

[14]  Frank L. Lewis,et al.  Aircraft Control and Simulation , 1992 .

[15]  M. Shuster.  Constraint in attitude estimation part II: Unconstrained estimation , 2003 .

[16]  Florian Roemer,et al.  Comparison of model order selection techniques for high-resolution parameter estimation algorithms , 2009 .

[17]  Timothy W. McLain,et al.  Implementing Dubins Airplane Paths on Fixed-wing UAVs , 2014 .

[18]  Brian Hamilton,et al.  The US/UK World Magnetic Model for 2010-2015 , 2010 .

[19]  Shing-Chow Chan,et al.  Direction finding in partly calibrated uniform linear arrays with unknown gains and phases , 2015, IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems.

[20]  Bin Yang,et al.  Projection approximation subspace tracking , 1995, IEEE Trans. Signal Process..

[21]  Ossama Abdelkhalik,et al.  Spacecraft Formation Orbit Estimation Using WLPS-Based Localization , 2011 .

[22]  Hing Cheung So,et al.  IMPROVED ATTITUDE DETERMINATION FOR UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES WITH A CROSS-SHAPED ANTENNA ARRAY , 2012 .

[23]  Jacques Waldmann,et al.  A Novel Imaging Measurement Model for Vision and Inertial Navigation Fusion with Extended Kalman Filtering , 2012 .

[24]  J. Crassidis,et al.  Relative Navigation of Air Vehicles , 2008 .

[25]  F. Landis Markley,et al.  Attitude Determination Using Two Vector Measurements , 1998 .

[26]  R. Michael Buehrer,et al.  Handbook of Position Location: Theory, Practice and Advances , 2011 .

[27]  Florian Roemer,et al.  3-D Unitary ESPRIT: Accurate attitude estimation for unmanned aerial vehicles with a hexagon-shaped ESPAR array , 2013, Digit. Signal Process..

[28]  N. A. Carlson,et al.  Federated filter for fault-tolerant integrated navigation systems , 1988, IEEE PLANS '88.,Position Location and Navigation Symposium, Record. 'Navigation into the 21st Century'..

[29]  Florian Roemer,et al.  Analytical Performance Assessment of Multi-Dimensional Matrix- and Tensor-Based ESPRIT-Type Algorithms , 2014, IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing.

[30]  João Paulo Carvalho Lustosa da Costa,et al.  Unscented Transformation based array interpolation , 2015, 2015 IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing (ICASSP).

[31]  Kefei Liu,et al.  Kalman-based attitude estimation for an UAV via an antenna array , 2014, 2014 8th International Conference on Signal Processing and Communication Systems (ICSPCS).

[32]  A. Chulliat,et al.  The US/UK World Magnetic Model for 2015-2020 , 2015 .

[33]  Jing Liu,et al.  Survey of Wireless Indoor Positioning Techniques and Systems , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, Part C (Applications and Reviews).

[34]  Shing-Chow Chan,et al.  A New Robust Kalman Filter-Based Subspace Tracking Algorithm in an Impulsive Noise Environment , 2010, IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs.

[35]  M. Shuster,et al.  Three-axis attitude determination from vector observations , 1981 .

[36]  Yoko Watanabe.  Stochastically optimized monocular vision-based navigation and guidance , 2007 .

[37]  Ossama Abdelkhalik,et al.  Differential Geometric Estimation for spacecraft formations orbits via a cooperative wireless positioning , 2010, 2010 IEEE Aerospace Conference.

[38]  Lei Huang,et al.  Subspace techniques for multidimensional model order selection in colored noise , 2013, Signal Process..

[39]  R. O. Schmidt,et al.  Multiple emitter location and signal Parameter estimation , 1986 .

[40]  Salah Sukkarieh,et al.  A vision based relative navigation framework for formation flight , 2014, 2014 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA).

[41]  Ossama Abdelkhalik,et al.  A Weighted Measurement Fusion Kalman Filter implementation for UAV navigation , 2013 .

[42]  Salah Sukkarieh,et al.  Guidance and Navigation for UAV Airborne Docking , 2015, Robotics: Science and Systems.

[43]  Brian Hamilton,et al.  International Geomagnetic Reference Field: the 12th generation , 2015, Earth, Planets and Space.

[44]  I. Bar-Itzhack,et al.  Attitude Determination from Vector Observations: Quaternion Estimation , 1985, IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems.

[45]  João Paulo Carvalho Lustosa da Costa,et al.  Attitude determination for unmanned aerial vehicles via an antenna array , 2012, 2012 International ITG Workshop on Smart Antennas (WSA).

[46]  Dora Pancheva,et al.  Fast and ultrafast Kelvin wave modulations of the equatorial evening F region vertical drift and spread F development , 2014, Earth, Planets and Space.