Position, Navigation, and Timing Update from JNC 2011
Posted on Wed, Jul 06, 2011
by Dr. Carole Teolis
The Joint Navigation Conference is the conference to attend for understanding the needs, direction and latest research efforts in DOD position navigation and timing. Previously open to select allied countries (4-eyes), this year is the first year that the conference was US only attendance. The first few days covered technical talks and tutorials on Position Navigation and Timing (PNT) topics including new GPS, inertial, and image processing algorithms, as well as new sensors, for robust navigation in difficult conditions. Representatives from all the services were in attendance; from the leadership and researchers, to the war fighters that use the PNT systems in the field.
This was the first year that the war fighters attended the entire conference rather than just coming for the panel discussion at the end. They talked about what they still needed operationally from PNT technology; covering both good and bad qualities of today's systems. These discussions gave developers better insight into conditions in the field, provided an opportunity for targeted feedback, and made it possible to engage directly for one-on-one discussions with the intended users of the technology. The discussions also provided war fighters insight into what research and development efforts were ongoing and the ability to directly communicate operational requirements.
Dr. John Karvounis from TRX presented the algorithms he developed targeting robust image processing for improved location and navigation capability. His presentation included a robust Kalman filter and a hierarchical SLAM algorithm. He also presented results comparing the computational and tracking performance of the new methods to the standard extended Kalman filter. War fighters who attended John's talk were able to provide constructive feedback to help guide TRX into making a blue force tracking system that can provide superiority on the battle field in a form that is usable for dismounted soldiers and marines.
Overall, this was an excellent conference providing an opportunity to learn about the latest technical developments in PNT and the technology and usability gaps for our war fighters. Thanks to the program committee that put this conference together.