Guidance system

About: Guidance system is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 4282 publications have been published within this topic receiving 45964 citations.

Route guidance system, information delivery center, and vehicular route guidance apparatus

Abstract: An information center generates packets of route guidance information, each corresponding to a prescribed road length of a recommended route. The information center may generate major guide point information and guidance information and transmit both to a vehicular apparatus. The vehicular apparatus provides guidance only for major guide points based on the received major guide point information if it cannot receive the guidance information. According to another aspect of the invention, if the end of a route segment which was the subject of the preceding route guidance information is on an expressway or toll road, guidance information for a preliminary route from that end to an escape position ahead on the expressway or toll road is first transmitted and then information for a remaining route, that is a segment of the recommended route having the prescribed road length minus the preliminary route, is then transmitted. If communication with the information center is lost, the vehicular apparatus performs guidance for the preliminary route to an interchange, for example, of the expressway using the preliminary route guidance information.

Precision guidance system for aircraft launched bombs

Abstract: The disclosure relates to a low cost and highly accurate precision guided system suitable for use in conventional aircraft launched bombs. The system includes a kit mounted upon the nose of the conventional bomb which replaces the conventional fuse disposed in a fuse well, the kit including guidance electronics controlling a self-contained jet reaction device and GPS P-code receiver electronics. The bombs are readied for discharge by signals broadcast from the aircraft into the bomb bay which transfer initial GPS data and commence operation of a gas generator which powers the jet reaction device.

An electronic route-guidance system for highway vehicles

Abstract: The electronic route-guidance system (ERGS) is the result of an effort by the Office of Research and Development, Bureau of Public Roads, to develop a new concept for guiding the motorist. To implement the concept, a system has been developed which makes use of electronic equipment both in the participating vehicles, and at intersections which are to supply guidance instructions. The system is destination oriented. The driver enters a code word, representing his intended destination, into the vehicle equipment. Then as the vehicle approaches each instrumented intersection, the destination code is transmitted to the roadside where it is decoded, according to a stored program, and a routing instruction is transmitted back to the vehicle. In the vehicle, the routing instruction is displayed to the driver in the form of a symbol or word message, which gives the maneuver the driver should make at the upcoming intersection or interchange to reach his destination optimally. The development of the system from its conception to its future application and benefits are discussed. The descriptions of today's highway routing problems in the "static" and "dynamic" situations are presented, then the outline of the Bureau of Public Road's developmental effort and the major contributions of its various contractors is discussed; Philco-Ford's development of a destination coding system and techniques for solving optimal routings, General Motors Corporation's development of an installed and operating engineering model, Serendipity's determination of driver-information requirements for ERGS, and Kollsman Instrument Corporation's development of an automobile head-up display for the ERGS routing symbols. A separate section gives a description of the General Motors system design at the functional and component level. Future development and system benefits are discussed. Dynamic system requirements over and above the present or static ERGS are envisioned, including both additional hardware and software. Benefits to the highway system and to the highway user are given for the static or preprogrammed system and for the dynamic system. A highway transportation subsystem which could be implemented in the near future, and which retains the driver as an integral part of the system, but is expected to enhance the driver's performance by unburdening his route guidance task and allowing more attention to the primary task of controlling the vehicle, is presented. Furthermore, the addition of central control facilities and communications links to intersections is expected to permit more uniform distribution of traffic over the highway network.

Skip Entry Trajectory Planning and Guidance

Abstract: A numerical predictor-corrector method for trajectory planning and closed-loop guidance of low-L/D vehicles during the skip entry phase of a lunar-return mission is presented. The strategy calls for controlling the trajectory by modulation of the magnitude of the vehicle's bank angle. The magnitude of the bank angle used in the skip phase is determined by satisfying the downrange requirement to the landing site. The problem is formulated as a nonlinear univariate root-finding problem. Full three-degree-of-freedom nonlinear trajectory dynamics are included to achieve high accuracy of the landing prediction. In addition, the proposed approach automatically yields a direct-entry trajectory when the downrange is such that a skip entry is no longer necessary. The same algorithm repeatedly applied onboard in every guidance cycle realizes closed-loop guidance in the skip entry phase. A number of issues are identified and addressed that are critical in closed-loop implementations. Extensive three-degree-of-freedom dispersion simulations are performed to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach, and the results demonstrate very reliable and robust performance of the algorithm in highly stressful dispersed conditions.