System, method, and software for non-iterative position estimation using range measurements
US6563461B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 16, 2000 |
| Grant date | May 13, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 2, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01S5/14
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The typical global positioning system (GPS) estimates the three-dimensional, global position of a radio receiver and associated vehicle, such as an aircraft, using the range measurements between the radio receiver and a set of earth-orbiting satellite transmitters. Estimating the position of the receiver from these range measurements generally entails using an iterative calculation process, which computes a series of position estimates, with each successive estimate converging with increasing accuracy toward the actual receiver position. This iterative approach, however, is not only time consuming, but sometimes fails to converge toward the actual receiver position. Though others have tried to solve these problems, their approaches either fail to consistently converge on a single solution or give multiple solutions. Accordingly, the inventors devised, among other things, new non-iterative methods, for using range measurements to estimate position. One exemplary position-estimation method entails receiving a set of two or more range measurements; defining an error function based on the set of range measurements, with the error function having only one local minimum; and then determi…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.