Rapid development of tightly-coupled GPS/INS systems

This paper addresses the two barriers to the widespread use of tightly-coupled GPS/INS systems: one is the high cost of the INS, and the other is the cost and complexity of tightly-coupled GPS/INS integration. One of those two barriers has recently been diminished drastically with the development of a standardized software package for tightly-coupled integration. Using the new software package, integration and van test can be accomplished in a matter of days, and this has been demonstrated with field trials. That leaves the cost of the MS as the only remaining barrier to the very widespread use of GPS/INS, and invites new development of low cost inertial sensors. The focus of this paper is on the software package GINI, and how it achieves standardization and ease of use while retaining the flexibility to produce optimal results with a variety of INS and GPS receiver types.