Method of determining a heading in the geographical north direction by means of an inertial unit

1. A method of determining a heading in the geographical North direction of a platform by means of an inertial sensor module mounted on the platform having three rate gyro measurement axes and three accelerometer measurement axes with outputs which are received by a computer performing the method, the method comprising the steps of:

using data from the inertial sensor module in a North-seeking mode to obtain a first heading value of the platform;

using data from the inertial sensor module in a gyro-compass mode to obtain a second heading value; and

determining the heading in the North direction by using the first heading value and the second heading value of the platform;

wherein, in the North-seeking mode, the first heading value is calculated from gyro data, data from the accelerometers not being used when calculating the first heading value, but being used to determine a mean horizontal plane relative to the sensor module; and in the gyro-compass mode, the second heading value is calculated from accelerometer data, with gyro data being used only for stabilizing the platform.

2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the heading calculation includes the steps of:

calculating a difference between the first heading value and the second heading value; and

using as the heading in the North direction either the first heading value or the second heading value, taking account of the calculated difference.

3. A method according to claim 2 , including the step of estimating consistency between the calculated difference and the assumption that there is no movement of the inertial unit relative to the ground; and

if the difference is consistent with that assumption, taking the first heading value as the heading; and

if the difference is inconsistent with that assumption, taking the second heading value as the heading in the North direction.

4. A method according to claim 3 , wherein estimating consistency includes the step of comparing a weighted difference of a latitude cosine with at least one threshold.

5. A method according to claim 4 , wherein the threshold is equal to the square root of the sum of the square of a standard deviation of a mean East drift component of the gyros during the measurement time plus the square of a standard deviation of a mean bias variation of the accelerometers in the South direction during the measurement time.

6. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the heading calculation includes the steps of:

weighting the first heading value and the second heading value; and

adding together the first and second heading values as weighted in this way to obtain the heading in the North direction, the weighting being determined so as to minimize a standard deviation of error concerning the heading in the North direction.

7. A method according to claim 1 , including the step of detecting movement of the sensor module by means of a detector external to the inertial sensor module and, if such movement is detected, using the second heading value as the heading in the North direction.

8. A method of determining a heading in the geographical North direction of a platform by means of an inertial sensor module mounted on the platform having three rate gyro measurement axes and three accelerometer measurement axes with outputs which are received by a computer performing the method, the method comprising the steps of:

using data from the inertial sensor module in a North-seeking mode to obtain a first heading value of the platform;

using data from the inertial sensor module in a gyro-compass mode to obtain a second heading value; and

determining the heading in the North direction by using the first heading value and the second heading value of the platform;

wherein the heading calculation includes the steps of:

calculating a difference between the first heading value and the second heading value; and

using as the heading in the North direction either the first heading value or the second heading value, taking account of the calculated difference.

9. A method according to claim 8 , including the step of estimating consistency between the calculated difference and the assumption that there is no movement of the inertial unit relative to the ground; and

if the difference is consistent with that assumption, taking the first heading value as the heading; and

if the difference is inconsistent with that assumption, taking the second heading value as the heading in the North direction.

10. A method according to claim 9 , wherein estimating consistency includes the step of comparing a weighted difference of a latitude cosine with at least one threshold.

11. A method according to claim 10 , wherein the threshold is equal to the square root of the sum of the square of a standard deviation of a mean East drift component of the gyros during the measurement time plus the square of a standard deviation of a mean bias variation of the accelerometers in the South direction during the measurement time.