Showing papers on "Guidance system published in 2005"

Personal Guidance System for People with Visual Impairment: A Comparison of Spatial Displays for Route Guidance

Abstract: This article reports on a study of route guidance using a navigation system that receives location information from a Global Positioning System receiver. Fifteen visually impaired participants traveled along 50-meter (about 164-foot) paths in each of five conditions that were defined by the type of display interface used. One of the virtual displays—virtual speech—led to the shortest travel times and the highest subjective ratings, despite concerns about the use of headphones.

PhoneGuide: museum guidance supported by on-device object recognition on mobile phones

Abstract: We present PhoneGuide -- an enhanced museum guidance system that uses camera-equipped mobile phones and on-device object recognition.Our main technical achievement is a simple and light-weight object recognition approach that is realized with single-layer perceptron neuronal networks. In contrast to related systems which perform computationally intensive image processing tasks on remote servers, our intention is to carry out all computations directly on the phone. This ensures little or even no network traffic and consequently decreases cost for online times. Our laboratory experiments and field surveys have shown that photographed museum exhibits can be recognized with a probability of over 90%.We have evaluated different feature sets to optimize the recognition rate and performance. Our experiments revealed that normalized color features are most effective for our method. Choosing such a feature set allows recognizing an object below one second on up-to-date phones. The amount of data that is required for differentiating 50 objects from multiple perspectives is less than 6KBytes.

Move Guidance Device, Portable Move Guidance Device, Move Guidance System, Move Guidance Method, Move Guidance Program and Recording Medium on which the Program is Recorded

Abstract: Based on a transfer request from a portable terminal though an input operation or communication, a two-dimensional code is generated, the code containing information of a scale rate of map information for guidance displayed on the in-vehicle terminal and a current position of a vehicle. The two-dimensional code is displayed on a terminal display unit together with a region of the map information corresponding to a region to be displayed on the portable terminal. When the portable terminal captures the two-dimensional code with an image pickup unit, the portable terminal recognizes the scale rate and the current position with a code analyzer, receives a region of the map information corresponding to the scale rate and containing at least the current position from the server unit and displays the information on the portable terminal display unit. The map information can be continuously displayed on a separate terminal in a similar manner without giving a user a feeling of strangeness, so that the user can obtain guidance well.

Adaptive guidance system and method

Abstract: An adaptive guidance system for a vehicle includes an on-board GPS receiver, an on-board processor adapted to store a preplanned guide pattern and a guidance device. The processor includes a comparison function for comparing the vehicle GPS position with a line segment of the preplanned guide pattern. The processor controls the guidance device for guiding the vehicle along the line segment. Various guide pattern modification functions are programmed into the processor, including best-fit polynomial correction, spline correction, turn-flattening to accommodate minimum vehicle turning radii and automatic end-of-swath keyhole turning.

Guidance-based path following for autonomous underwater vehicles

Abstract: This paper addresses the problem of path following for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) by utilizing a novel guidance-based approach. Termed guidance-based path following, the proposed approach is equally applicable for sea, land and air vehicles. This relates to the fact that the core guidance laws are developed at an ideal, dynamics-independent level, entailing generally valid laws uninfluenced by the particularities of any specific dynamics case. The laws can subsequently be tailored to specific target systems like AUVs. A nonlinear, model-based velocity and attitude controller, which depends fully on the guidance system reference signals in order to fulfil the guidance-based path following task objectives, is proposed for the purpose of controlling both fully actuated and underactuated AUVs. The resulting guidance and control scheme renders all regular paths feasible, and simulation results successfully demonstrate its capability.

Semi-autonomous guidance system for a vehicle

Abstract: A system (and corresponding method) by which a number of trailing vehicles follows (more or less in line, one behind the other) a lead vehicle, and so forms a convoy, with each of the trailing vehicles receiving a guidance signal from the vehicle ahead of it in order to determine its course (although in case of emergency, the trailing vehicles can each receive commands from the lead vehicle to alter the path indicated by the guidance signal from the vehicle ahead of it).

Implementation and Flight Test Results of MILP-based UAV Guidance

Abstract: This paper discusses the implementation of a guidance system based on mixed integer linear programming (MILP) on a modified, autonomous T-33 aircraft equipped with Boeing's UCAV avionics package. A receding horizon MILP formulation is presented for safe, real-time trajectory generation in a partially-known, cluttered environment. Safety at all times is guaranteed by constraining the intermediate trajectories to terminate in a loiter pattern that does not intersect with any no-fly zones and can always be used as a safe backup plan. Details about the real-time software implementation using CPLEX and Boeing's OCP platform are given. A test scenario developed for the DARPA-sponsored software enabled control capstone demonstration is outlined, and simulation and flight test results are presented

Medical device guidance system

Abstract: The medical device guidance system include a magnetic guidance device which generates a guidance field in an arbitrary direction to guide a capsular medical device and carry out movement and posture control, a position detection device which detects the present position by a magnetic field generated by the capsular medical device and a position calculating and correcting section which forms an estimation equation of an undesired magnetic field generated from a guidance coil and subtracts an estimation equation result from the detection result of the magnetic field detecting section, according to the present position of the capsular medical device that controls the position and posture by a guidance field relative to the position detection device, and corrects the present position by excluding a desired magnetic field generated from a guidance coil.

New Approach to Guidance Law Design

Abstract: The proposed new guidance law design approach enables us to create laws that improve the effectiveness of the proportional navigation law. This new class of the guidance laws is developed based on the Lyapunov method. The new laws will augment the proportional navigation law which is a part of these laws; additional components are selected based on the negative definiteness of the derivative of the Lyapunov function. The guidance law components are determined based on the partial stability of the guidance system dynamics under consideration and only with respect to the line-of-sight derivative. The comparative analysis of the modified proportional navigation algorithms with the traditional proportional navigation law showed that the new guidance laws guarantee shorter homing time requirements and larger capture area.

Evaluation of Airborne Precision Spacing in a Human-in-the-Loop Experiment

Abstract: A significant bottleneck in the current air traffic system occurs at the runway. Expanding airports and adding new runways will help solve this problem; however, this comes with significant costs: financially, politically and environmentally. A complementary solution is to safely increase the capacity of current runways. This can be achieved by precisely spacing aircraft at the runway threshold, with a resulting reduction in the spacing bu er required under today s operations. At NASA's Langley Research Center, the Airspace Systems program has been investigating airborne technologies and procedures that will assist the flight crew in achieving precise spacing behind another aircraft. A new spacing clearance allows the pilot to follow speed cues from a new on-board guidance system called Airborne Merging and Spacing for Terminal Arrivals (AMSTAR). AMSTAR receives Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) reports from an assigned, leading aircraft and calculates the appropriate speed for the ownship to fly to achieve the desired spacing interval, time- or distance-based, at the runway threshold. Since the goal is overall system capacity, the speed guidance algorithm is designed to provide system-wide benefits and stability to a string of arriving aircraft. An experiment was recently performed at the NASA Langley Air Traffic Operations Laboratory (ATOL) to test the flexibility of Airborne Precision Spacing operations under a variety of operational conditions. These included several types of merge and approach geometries along with the complementary merging and in-trail operations. Twelve airline pilots and four controllers participated in this simulation. Performance and questionnaire data were collected from a total of eighty-four individual arrivals. The pilots were able to achieve precise spacing with a mean error of 0.5 seconds and a standard deviation of 4.7 seconds. No statistically significant di erences in spacing performance were found between in-trail and merging operations or among the three modeled airspaces. Questionnaire data showed general acceptance for both pilots and controllers. These results reinforce previous findings from full-mission simulation and flight evaluation of the in-trail operations. This paper reviews the results of this simulation in detail.

Adjoint Method for Missile Performance Analysis on State-Space Models

Abstract: The adjoint method is a method widely used in the preliminary design of guidance loops to obtain quick estimates of the performance of a guided weapon while avoiding time consuming Monte Carlo simulation experiments. Traditionally, the adjoint method is presented as a set of rules for transforming the original (linearized) model of the guidance loop to an adjoint model that is used to obtain the performance estimate for the original model in a single simulation run. An attempt is made to derive the adjoint method in the general setting of state-space models. This does not only lead to an elegant and clear exposition of the adjoint method, but it also extends the area of application of the adjoint method to more general situations that were not previously covered in the literature. One possible extension is illustrated with the analysis of the performance of a rolling missile against a target that performs a maneuver with a random start time. I. Introduction T HE adjoint method has a well-established place in the arsenal of tools available for guidance-loop performance analysis, in particular in preliminary phases of guided missile design. The success of the method is mainly because it is relatively simple to use and because it enables a quick performance assessment for a wide range of engagement conditions. The method as a general analysis method for control systems under stochastic disturbances was introduced by Laning and Battin. 1 However, some authors, such as Zarchan, 2 place the origin of the method back to the work of the 19th century mathematician Vitto Voltera. Zarchan mentions the application of the method in computing ballistic dispersions as early as the 1920s. Although the method is also applicable for the analysis of systems under deterministic disturbances, it is the stochastic case that demonstrates the real power of the method. In this case, the method can be efficiently used to avoid time consuming Monte Carlo simulations when linear approximation results can deliver sufficient accuracy. The traditional presentation of the adjoint method in the literature 2,3 is based on the input‐output (transfer function-type) system representation with a strong emphasis on the procedural aspects of the method: inverting the sense of the signal flow, substituting time with time-to-go, etc. In this work, we pursue in detail the derivation of the construction rules for the adjoint system based on state-space models. We consider both the deterministic and the stochastic case for continuoustime models. In the stochastic case, our approach is shown to extend the potential of the method beyond applications currently reported in the literature that assume uncorrelated inputs and look only at the variance of the chosen output signal. We show here that the adjoint method can perfectly accommodate correlations between the different inputs and that a possible outcome is the influence of the random inputs on the covariance of two different outputs at the a priori fixed moment of time. In this sense, it is shown that the analysis power of the adjoint method is almost identical to that of another method for preliminary design analysis called the covariance ma

AUV navigation and guidance in a moving acoustic network

Abstract: This paper addresses the navigation and guidance of an AUV operating in a network of moving acoustic beacons. In this network, the vehicle position is obtained from acoustic signals exchanged between the vehicle and the beacons and is computed in a reference frame associated with the moving beacons. The paper describes the operation of the acoustic network, the mission specification and guidance system that computes the references for the vehicle controllers, and the navigation system that produces all the data required by the guidance system.

A new approach to lane guidance systems

Abstract: This paper presents a new automotive safety function called emergency lane assist (ELA). ELA combines conventional lane guidance systems with a threat assessment module that tries to activate and deactivate the lane guidance interventions according to the actual risk level of lane departure. The goal is to only prevent dangerous lane departure maneuvers. Such a threat assessment algorithm is dependent on detailed information about the vehicle surroundings, i.e., positions and motion of other vehicles, but also information about road and lane geometry is used and the performance is improved by introducing a nonlinear model which uses a road aligned, curved coordinate system. The ELA decision algorithm has been tested in a demonstrator and it successfully distinguishes between dangerous and safe lane changes on a small set of test scenarios. It is also able to take control of the vehicle and put it in a safe position in the original lane.

Route Guidance System and Method

Abstract: A route guidance system has memory means that is provided outside a mobile body and where images at guidance waypoints are stored as data, and has distance measuring means that measures the distance from the current position of the mobile body to the next guidance waypoint. The route guidance system further has image demand generation means for generating an image demand for the next guidance waypoint when the distance measured by the distance measuring means is not more than a first predetermined distance, transmission means provided outside the mobile body and reading from the memory means an image of the next guidance waypoint in response to the image demand and transmitting the image to the mobile body, and display control means for receiving at the mobile body the image transmitted from the transmission means and displaying the image on a display device.

Reachability guidance: a novel concept to improve mid-course guidance

Abstract: Reachability guidance is a new concept developed from a combination of robot and missile guidance using shortest path techniques. It has been developed to improve mid-course guidance in medium range tactical, missile to missile, engagements. This paper considers the limitations of a range of missile guidance genres in solving challenging missile to missile engagements and identifies that the ability of the missile to reach the target is a common area of uncertainty. Using the SAM versus supersonic sea-skimming ASM problem as an illustrative example, a novel technique which employs the earliest intercept line (EIL) to facilitate reachability ('R') guidance is introduced.

Route guidance system

Abstract: PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a route guidance system which offers information on a route to the destination without moving the line of sight. SOLUTION: The route guidance is performed by generating an image of a virtual leading vehicle which can be visually recognized from an occupant of one's own vehicle as if the nonexistent virtual leading vehicle travels ahead the route and displaying the generated image of the virtual leading vehicle on a windshield display provided on the front window of the one's own vehicle. COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Design and modelling of an airship station holding controller for low cost satellite operations

Abstract: Current research has been directed in the use of autonomous airships as less expensive alternatives to satellites. A key component in these applications is the control and guidance systems. In this paper an existing airship has been considered, and the control and guidance laws have been tailored to it. Furthermore, the addressed airship is limited in its control authority. This presents a challenge in these designs. A realistic model of the airship was developed to test the performance of a guidance and control scheme. Simulation results show the efiectiveness of the approach.

Flight Testing of a Low-Cost Precision Aerial Delivery System

Abstract: The Affordable Guided Airdrop System is essentially an enhancement for a Container Delivery System (CDS) payload that allows the payload to be deployed over a drop zone from high altitude (10,000'+ MSL), while maintaining or even dramatically improving upon the accuracy achievable with low-altitude deployments. The ability of an aircraft to deliver payloads from these high altitudes greatly enhances the survivability of the aircraft when re- supplying units in hostile areas of operation. To achieve accurate payload delivery with the round parachutes used with CDS payloads, we have developed an autonomously guided actuator system that uses knowledge of the wind intensity and direction over the drop zone to guide these low-performance round parachutes to an accurate landing. The effectiveness of this method of aerial re-supply was demonstrated at the Precision Airdrop Technology Conference and Demonstration (PATCAD) 2003 using early prototype Airborne Guidance Units (AGUs). After demonstrating with proof-of-concept prototype AGAS units that riser slips can be used to effectively control the descent of a round parachute system, we set out to design an actuator system that would provide effective control while reducing the weight and complexity of the control unit. We also needed to answer questions about the best method of parachute rigging, what actuation stroke length would provide the best drive performance, expected system response times, what the upper and lower practical payload limits for the system would be, and what factors would have the greatest impact on system accuracy. Instrumented drop tests of the AGAS prototype systems provided data about loads in the parachute risers during actuations, the performance of the parachutes using various actuation stroke lengths, and electrical current-draw requirements of the actuators during operation. The data were analyzed and used to identify the ideal operating characteristics of an AGAS-equipped payload. In a joint effort between Capewell Components and Vertigo Inc., these characteristics were used to refine the design of the guidance system and to develop the design into a mature product. The result of this effort was a lighter, more compact, and more reliable actuator system, and better integration of the subsystems that support AGAS deployments. Five redesigned Airborne Guidance Units (AGUs), two windpacks, and a mission computer were then fabricated. Six separate test missions have been conducted with the new systems, with multiple payloads being deployed on each mission. The payloads were all of similar weight and configuration, were programmed for the same target coordinates, and were deployed on the same pass. This near simultaneous deployment of multiple systems with the same rate of descent and the same target resulted in close formation flying of the systems, and frequent collisions between the systems, but the overall accuracy results were excellent. System development and testing is ongoing, with the

Lyapunov approach to guidance laws design

Abstract: Synthesis of control systems based on the Lyapunov method is formulated. As an application of the approach offered, the design of guidance laws is considered. This new class of the guidance laws is developed. The new laws will augment the well-known and used law in practice proportional navigation (PN) law which is a part of this class; additional components are selected based on the negative definiteness of the derivative of the Lyapunov function. The guidance law components are determined based on the partial stability of the guidance system dynamics under consideration, and only with respect to the LOS (line of sight) derivative. The comparative analysis of the modified PN algorithms with the traditional PN law showed that the new guidance laws guarantee shorter homing time requirements and larger capture area.

Operating A Public Spoken Guidance System In Real Environment

Abstract: INTERSPEECH2005: the 9th European Conference on Speech Communication and technology, September 4-8, 2005, Lisbon, Portugal.

Route guidance system

Abstract: PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a route guidance system for guiding a person to be guided to the destination so as to enable intuitive understanding, from any location within a prescribed area. SOLUTION: A server registers, in advance, general destination information inside a prescribed area, and positional information on an installed communication terminal. The person to be guided registers the identification ID and the destination. When the person to be guided enters the identification ID and the destination from the optional installed communication terminal in the prescribed area, the server calculates the route from the current position to the destination. A traffic indicator of the installed communication terminal is driven so as to direct the guidance direction, in addition to the voice and the image. Thus, guidance to the destination can be performed, from any location within the area so that the person to be guided can understand in intuitive manner. COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

A simulation study on agent-network based route guidance system

Abstract: This paper introduces an intelligent route guidance system based on agent-network, which can automatically guide vehicles by voice. Firstly, the paper presents the system architecture and describes the establishment method of each part. The concept of agent network is introduced to build up the system. Furthermore, a dynamic route algorithm is presented in brief. Communication system integrating the existed infrastructure is discussed and some simulation results are provided to testify the applicability of the proposed wireless data communication system. Moreover, a simulation case study using PARAMICS shows that the system proposed in this paper is feasible and practical. Finally, a conclusion is drawn and some theoretical and technical problems in this system are also presented as future key works.

CNS requirements for precision flight in advanced terminal airspace

Abstract: The capacity of the United States' National Airspace System (NAS) must double to handle the passenger demands that are projected over the next 25 years. NASA initiated the Virtual Airspace Modeling and Simulation (VAMS) Project in 2002 with participants, including members from industry, government, and academia to develop and share ideas on revolutionary concepts to meet the future demand. The constraints in the terminal area domain are the focus of Raytheon's VAMS concept, terminal area capacity enhancement concept (TACEC). TACEC envisions a high level of automation and synchronization, generating optimized 4D flight profiles to land/depart multiple aircraft "simultaneously" on closely spaced parallel runways. Implementation requires infrastructure improvements such as highly automated guidance and scheduling systems, timely data link, improved surveillance, and improved onboard navigation systems. This paper discusses the guidance and scheduling systems required to pair the aircraft for simultaneous landing. Performance required by the autopilot/navigation system to maintain control necessary for formation flight onto closely spaced parallel runways, data link and surveillance requirements are also addressed

Stability Analysis of an Adaptive Guidance and Control System applied to a Winged Re -entry Vehicle

Abstract: The design and analysis of a Model Reference Adaptive Guidance and Control system to control the motion of a winged re -entry vehicle during hypersonic bank reversals is discussed. This design makes use of Simple Adaptive Control theory, which aims at tra cking the output of a reference model. The reference model is a linearized state -space representation of the non -linear re -entry vehicle, stabilized by an output feedback controller. A stepwise approach is followed, beginning with separating the translatio nal and rotational motion. Linearized state -space systems are used to study the open -loop stability and to define sufficient conditions for application of Direct Adaptive Control theory, which are later on repeated for the non -linear, time -varying system. Subsequently, the linearized systems are applied as reference model and used to tune the adaptive gains. The design of guidance system and attitude controller is done separately, after which both systems are integrated into a combined GNC system. Non -linea r simulations, finally, show the robust performance of the integrated system.

Voice guidance system and voice guidance method using the same

Abstract: A voice guidance system for providing a guidance by voice concerning operations of an information processing apparatus, comprises a detector that detects that a predetermined function of the information processing apparatus is disabled, and a voice guidance unit that outputs a voice message reporting a reason why the predetermined function of the information processing apparatus is disabled, in response to the detection output of the detector.

End-game guidance laws for dual-control missiles:

Abstract: New guidance laws derived for a dual-control missile are studied. Their performance is compared with that of a conventional guidance system with flight control that distributes the commands among the two control channels. A Monte Carlo simulation study is performed where the target executes random evasive manoeuvres. The interceptor, represented by linear high-order manoeuvring dynamics with bounded forward and aft controls, acquires noisy measurements and uses a state estimator. Using the single-shot kill probability as a performance criterion, the superiority of the new guidance and control architecture is shown. It is also shown that the best performance is obtained by the bounded controls differential game guidance law. Sensitivity to the selection of the interceptor first-order time constant, a design parameter in the guidance law derivation, is also investigated.

Retrofit FDI and Adaptive Outer-Loop Control for Inflight Failure Accommodation

Abstract: substantially from the prescribed or expected characteristics. To accommodate failures, the baseline inner-loop control is assisted by a fault detection and isolation algorithm tasked with monitoring and reporting control surface health. Similarly, the baseline outer-loop guidance is augmented with an adaptive neural network forming an adaptive outer-loop guidance system. These adaptive subsystems have been formulated for, and applied to, a transport aircraft model in a nonlinear, high-fidelity aircraft simulation environment to demonstrate the concept. Included results demonstrate that the fault detection and isolation and adaptive outer-loop functionality consistently improve tracking performance during both piloted maneuvers and autonomous waypoint path following. In some cases, these retrofit subsystems enable tasks to be completed that were not previously feasible. Adaptive enhancement of the robustness of existing non-adaptive systems has been an area of significant interest for many years. Although application in the aircraft community is of great benefit for maximizing performance and safety for unexpected changes in the dynamics due to flight control failures, damage, and adverse environmental conditions, certification of these technologies for safety-critical flight systems is challenging. The approach described here is developed under the constraint of maintaining a retrofit architecture thereby allowing the baseline, previously certified, software to remain. The augmented modules serve to assist systems already in place. This paper discusses the development and application of independent and modular adaptive subsystems that are retrofitted to existing guidance and control architectures. The baseline inner-loop control is assisted by a fault detection and isolation (FDI) algorithm tasked with monitoring and reporting control surface health. Similarly, the baseline outer-loop (BOL) guidance is augmented with an adaptive neural network collectively forming an adaptive outer-loop (AOL) guidance system. In general, an adequate inner-loop feedback control law is necessary to faithfully track guidance commands, and various inner-loop control design techniques can provide the requisite performance. Even in the case of degraded inner-loop tracking capability, the outer-loop guidance system may still meet its objectives by inflating inner-loop commands to compensate for inner-loop tracking errors. Nonetheless, faithful innerloop tracking is desirable to reduce the burden on other subsystems, and this is especially the case for piloted

Voice guidance system and voice guidance method therefor

Abstract: A voice guidance system for providing operational guidance using voice in information processing devices that perform desired processing through execution of jobs, comprises a job execution status information acquisition section that acquires job execution status information, and a voice guidance section that performs voice guidance of job status on the basis of the job execution status information acquired by the job execution status information acquisition section.

Navigation System And Indicator Image Display System

Abstract: A route guidance method for displaying to a driver depth information within a range of several tens of meters to several hundreds of meters in a forward direction indispensable for route guidance of a mobile object without introducing a large scale optical system and a route guidance system using the same are provided as an object. A navigation system for displaying an image (including graphics, letters, and symbols) 5 so that it overlaps a view seen in a forward direction of a front window 3 provided in a mobile object 100 , wherein the image 5 is displayed to the driver while changing a size of the image 5 along with the elapse along with movement of the mobile object 100.