Scope:
Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) facilities are at the backbone of a multitude of applications: from consumer grade Location-Based services (LBS) to critical infrastructures, up to space exploration. Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) is the leading source of global positioning and timing, and the boundaries of its application are being pushed beyond its original aims and design. This trend is the motivation behind the significant efforts in improving the standard GNSS solutions in several applications. In the context of precise, accurate, location and time-independent navigation, innovative positioning is the current research area being addressed in this special session.
Bayesian estimation algorithms such as Kalman and particle filters have been at the core of integrated PNT systems for decades. Their basics are well known as they are commonly used in engineering and control systems, as well as in signal processing and navigation. The recent interest in extending the GNSS service volume is fuelling their integration in Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) systems through auxiliary data sources, i.e., Doppler aiding, tracking systems, and orbital filtering. Although these filters are a powerful tool for navigation, they show some limitations: e.g., complexity, linearity assumptions, initialization, modeling errors, and sensor fault detection, which need to be taken into account when designing the system, especially when used in hardware systems. In parallel, to enhance Bayesian estimation and overcome application-specific constraints and limitations, in recent years, modern paradigms leveraging multi-epoch observations, such as Factor Graph Optimization (FGO), are gaining momentum for their improved performance. Given the increased computational complexity of such techniques, efficient implementation strategies are in more demand than ever.
Topics:
Experts in applied PNT algorithms, robotics, signal processing, and related fields are invited to submit their contributions to this Special Session on
• Innovations for robust, precise and accurate state-estimation
• Techniques with low complexity and computational load as well as efficient implementation
• New and innovative usage, e.g., in multi-receivers setups, for highly reliable and highly accurate PNT
• Integration of additional data sources to traditional state estimation algorithms
Organizers:
Alex Minetto, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
Katrin Dietmayer, Fraunhofer IIS, Germany