Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. GPS News .




GPS NEWS
NGC Wins Contract For GPS-Challenged Navigation and Geo-Registration Solution
by Staff Writers
Woodland Hills CA (SPX) Jan 21, 2014


File image.

Northrop Grumman has been awarded a phase three navigation system related contract from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to continue improving geo-registration accuracy for positioning and pointing applications, even in GPS-denied conditions.

In the first two phases 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.

Having successfully demonstrated a prototype system in phase one and prepared for flight tests in phase two, the company will continue to develop capabilities for incorporating 3-D maps, improving performance and quantifying uncertainties associated with image-based navigation in phase three, as well as conduct additional test flights to prove real-time performance in realistic environments.

Geo-registration of data is critical for accurate interaction between systems, such as locating targets and handing off coordinates to other aircraft. Geo-registration of images involves pairing unreferenced images with the physical locations or exact coordinates of depicted items.

This allows aircraft to create accurate maps by stitching together photos and correlating them with their world-based locations, which is useful for intelligence gathering and targeting.

"We continue to refine our new positioning and geo-registration solution to offer greater situational awareness to warfighters, especially in GPS-denied situations," said Charles Volk, vice president, Advanced Navigation Systems business unit, Northrop Grumman.

Partnered with Toyon Research Corporation, Northrop Grumman is building on its experience in vision-aided inertial navigation under past programs such as Collaborative Robust Integrated Sensor Positioning, which matched image features and processed visual motion estimations for precise navigation without relying on GPS.

The MAGIC program's objective is to develop and demonstrate advanced real-time geo-registration and navigation algorithms using a combination of cameras, an inertial measurement unit and any available GPS information.

The program aims to capitalize on recent advances in the availability of low size, weight, power and cost camera systems that make the inclusion of camera information in navigation and geo-registration systems for airborne vehicles a significant opportunity.

.


Related Links
Northrop Grumman
GPS Applications, Technology and Suppliers






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








GPS NEWS
20th Anniversary of Initial Operational Capability of the GPS Constellation
El Segundo CA (SPX) Jan 20, 2014
The Global Positioning System (GPS) Directorate celebrated the 20th Anniversary of achieving Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for GPS Dec. 8, 2013. In 1973, the Navstar Global Positioning System Joint Program Office (JPO), headed by then-Colonel Bradford Parkinson, developed the GPS architecture and initiated efforts to field a prototype system to prove the concept of space-based globa ... read more


GPS NEWS
New Biomolecular Archaeological Evidence for Nordic "Grog," Trade

Receptors that help plants manage environmental change, pests and wounds

Exposure to pesticides results in smaller worker bees

Meltwater from Tibetan glaciers floods pastures

GPS NEWS
Dutch hi-tech group ASML profits dip despite record sales

2-proton bit controlled by a single copper atom

New Technique for Probing Subsurface Electronic Structure

Fastest organic transistor heralds new generation of see-through electronics

GPS NEWS
Boeing Starts Assembly of Final KC-46A Test Aircraft

Novel technology reveals aerodynamics of birds flying in a V-formation

Indonesia plane crashes after lightning strike, 4 dead

Indonesia closes in on Grumman F-5 Tiger replacement

GPS NEWS
Peugeot shares plunge on Chinese, French investment plans

Peugeot 'approves' capital hikes by French state, Chinese partner

Hybrid cars fail to ease Pakistan's gas woes

Peugeot board to examine Chinese capital boost plans

GPS NEWS
China working-age population falls

China approves 12 new free trade zones: state media

HK police arrest employer of 'tortured' Indonesian maid

Hyundai starts work on world's biggest container ships

GPS NEWS
Image or reality? Leaf study needs photos and lab analysis

Meet the rainforest "diversity police"

Large, older trees keep growing at a faster rate

Oldest trees are growing faster, storing more carbon as they age

GPS NEWS
China's pollution seen from space

Charles River Analytics Develops Satellite Image Processing System for NASA

Earth may be heaver than thought due to invisible belt of dark matter

More BARREL Balloons Take to the Skies

GPS NEWS
Imec Celebrates 30 Years of Nanoelectronics Industry Innovation

Extraordinary sensors pushed to their boundaries

Understanding secondary light emissions by plasmonic nanostructures

No nano-dust danger from facade paint




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement