A Quaternion-Based Method for SINS/SAR Integrated Navigation System

A new quaternion-based method for the SINS/SAR (strap-down inertial navigation system/synthetic aperture radar) integrated navigation system is presented. This method overcomes the shortcomings due to the linear SINS error model used in the currently existing SINS/SAR integrated navigation systems. A quaternion-based matrix is derived for describing the attitude of SINS. Quaternion-based nonlinear error and observation models are established for the SINS/SAR integrated navigation system. An adaptive unscented particle filtering (UPF) algorithm is developed based on the quaternion-based nonlinear models for optimal data fusion in the SINS/SAR integrated navigation system. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed quaternion based method can effectively reduce the navigation error and improve the navigational positioning precision.