DME/DME/ADAHRS Positioning Using a Particle Filter

Flight management system (function) plays an irreplaceable role in the current area of navigation, providing several modes of operation. The most commonly used mode is GPS (GNSS) only or integrated GPS (GNSS)/INS (AHRS) that provides the most accurate aircraft positioning information. Many national aviation authorities appreciate the positioning quality of GNSS, but they perceive the vulnerability of GNSS and the dependence on its operators. Therefore, other ways are still being sought to provide reliable air navigation services, especially to ensure PBN operation even in the most preferred airspace when GNSS fails. The second mode of operation, the DME/DME combination, plays and will play the most important role in the aircraft navigation. However, the increasing demands for accuracy, availability and integrity force us to develop new algorithms for position calculations. This paper deals with the issue of refining the DME/DME terrestrial navigation, using other independent flight data and their fusion via a particle filter. The simulation experiment consists of a real-time GPS position record from a helicopter flight as a reference. Data on slant distance to the available DME beacons are regularly simulated during every phase of the flight. The availability of the radio signal is determined by digital elevation model GTOPO30. The input signals to the particle filter are not only the DME signals but also the AHRS and ADC data. The results of the calculated DME/DME/ADAHRS navigation are compared to the GPS output.