Migrating pierid butterflies use a sun compass in order to head in a preferred flight direction. When blown off-course by the wind, butterflies adjust their heading to compensate for cross-track wind drift. They are capable of drift compensation over water when and where landmarks are visible on the shore. They are also capable of a more inaccurate form of drift compensation over the sea when and where landmarks are not visible.

An X-ray pulsar/starlight Doppler deeply-integrated navigation method is proposed in this paper. A starlight Doppler measurement-aided phase propagation model, which can remove the orbital effect within the recorded photon Time Of Arrivals (TOAs), is derived, and guarantees that the pulse phase can be extracted from the converted photon TOAs using computationally efficient methods. Some simulations are performed by a hardware-in-loop system to verify the performance of the integrated pulse phase estimation method as well as of the integrated navigation method. The integrated pulse phase estimation method could achieve an estimation performance similar to the existing method for orbiting vehicles at the cost of much less computational complexity, is capable of handling the signals of millisecond pulsars, and is applicable to various vehicles. In addition, the proposed integrated navigation method could provide reliable positioning results for various vehicles.

The present paper is concerned with the solution of a series of practical problems relevant to great circle navigation, including the determination of the true course at any point on the great circle route and the determination of the lateral deviation from a desired great circle route. Intersection between two great circles or between a great circle and a parallel is also analyzed. These problems are approached by means of vector analysis, which yields solutions in a very compact form that can be computed numerically in a very straightforward manner. This approach is thus particularly appealing for performing computer-aided great circle navigation.

Four methods to calculate the Vertical Protection Level (VPL) can be used in Advanced Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (A-RAIM), among which the ideal method is the strictest one. To obtain the ideal VPL satisfying the exact required integrity risk, the worst case bias with the maximum integrity risk is searched for. This investigation has found that the correct worst case highly depends on the choice of the input VPL. To gain the correct result, the computation becomes complex and the accuracy of the result is compromised. Therefore, a new procedure is designed with a new search: the maximum VPL is searched to encompass all possible bias sizes. Since VPL is calculated with a given integrity risk for each bias size, the uncertainty of the arbitrary VPL input in the ideal method is avoided. Also, an optimisation algorithm is adopted to improve computational efficiency. It is shown that the new method is more reliable and efficient than the current best method. Simulation results worldwide also show that the new approach has improved A-RAIM availability from 32%–38% to 74% with GPS and from 44%–43% to 85% with Galileo.

For indoor pedestrian navigation with a shoe-mounted inertial measurement unit (IMU), the zero velocity update (ZUPT) technique is implemented to constrain the sensors' error. ZUPT uses the fact that a stance phase appears in each step at zero velocity to correct IMU errors periodically. This paper introduces three main contributions we have achieved based on ZUPT. Since correct stance phase detection is critical for the success of applying ZUPT, we have developed a new approach to detect the stance phase of different gait styles, including walking, running and stair climbing. As the extension of ZUPT, we have proposed a new concept called constant velocity update (CUPT) to correct IMU errors on a moving platform with constant velocity, such as elevators or escalators where ZUPT is infeasible. A closed-loop step-wise smoothing algorithm has also been developed to eliminate discontinuities in the trajectory caused by sharp corrections. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.

This paper is aimed at the risk assessment of operational safety for oil tankers. Based on the operational features of oil tankers and relevant literature, the Risk Factors (RFs) of operational safety were first identified. A revised risk matrix based on a fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach was then proposed to assess the risk classes of the RFs. Finally, to validate the research model, the oil tanker fleet of Chinese Petroleum Corporation (CPC) in Taiwan was empirically investigated. The results can provide practical information for oil carriers to improve their ships' operational safety. Furthermore, the revised risk matrix may provide a theoretical reference for methodological researches in safety risk assessments.

This paper presents a comparative cyber security resilience estimation of shipboard radars that are implemented on two oil/chemical tankers certified as SOLAS ships. The estimated radars were chosen from the same manufacturer, but belonged to different generations. The estimation was conducted by means of ships' crew interviews and computational testing of the radars using a widely deployed vulnerability scanning software tool. The identified cyber threats were analysed qualitatively in order to gain a holistic understanding of cyber risks threatening shipboard radar systems. The results obtained experimentally indicate that potential cyber threats mainly relate to maintenance of the radars' underlying operating system, suggesting the need for regulatory standardisation of periodic cyber security testing of radar systems.

Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) is envisioned to support seamless aircraft surveillance and enhanced air-to-air and air-to-ground applications. ADS-B is an integrated system, dependent on on board navigation systems to obtain aircraft state information as well as a communication data link to broadcast this information to Air Traffic Control (ATC) on the ground and other ADS-B equipped aircraft. To quantify system safety, a good understanding of the potential failure modes of the system is vital. ADS-B system failure modes include those from the communication and navigation systems and human and environmental factors, as well as ADS-B-specific components. In this paper, potential failure modes of the ADS-B system are identified using an approach developed in this paper. The end output of the approach is an ADS-B failure mode register. However, the approach is transferable to other ATC surveillance systems. The paper further provides the failure classification and modelling, and also analyses the failure modes' impact on ATC operations and finally proposes potential mitigations. It is important to note that the work carried out in this paper is based on the assumption that the ADS-B operates as the primary surveillance source for the ATC.

This paper presents a new type of Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation System (GPS/INS) providing higher navigation accuracy under large initial heading error. The mechanization introduced is applicable to low cost GPS/INS systems and enhances the performance when the heading error is large. The proposed approach has the capability to decrease large heading errors very quickly and can start the strapdown navigation computations under poor heading accuracy without any special alignment procedure. Although the design is applicable to land, sea and aerial vehicles, a land vehicle is used for the performance tests. The test is conducted around a closed path and the proposed system is compared to a GPS/INS system based on small attitude error assumption. The performance of both systems is given in this paper.

The acquisition of accurate and timely traffic information is a vital precondition to rational traffic decision making. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) are bound to be the outcome when modern traffic systems develop to a high degree. In ITS, instantaneous traffic information can be collected by the Floating Car Data (FCD) method. Based on the establishment of the Shenzhen Urban Transportation Simulation System (SUTSS) in China, the authors explored how to use 4000 taxis as the data collection sensors in Shenzhen, a southern city in China which borders Hong Kong. The authors introduce the procedures and algorithms for the computation and map-matching of road segment velocities to a digital road network. To superimpose the near real-time traffic information onto a digital map, coordinate transformation is required and the transformation precision is analyzed using field testing data. Due to the nature of FCD, continuous GPS data such as routing velocities and coordinates can be collected by any GPS equipped vehicle. Therefore, relevant algorithms are developed and utilized for the map-matching according to probability and statistical theories. To evaluate the reliability of proposed map-matching method, the confidence levels are calculated statistically, from which it can be determined whether the positioning data is valid or not with predefined threshold values. Furthermore, road segment velocity matching methods based on the Metropolis criteria is extended and relevant validation is carried out through the comparison of estimated and measured results. The major objective of this method is to obtain more accurate road segment travel time through the combination of those estimated by FCD and historical ones. This can significantly improve the reliability of instantaneous traffic information before its web publication. The final part of this paper introduces the architecture and the realization of a web Geographical Information System (GIS) and FCD-based instantaneous traffic information dissemination system for the whole of Shenzhen City.

Many of the major ports of the British Isles, including two of the most important, London and Liverpool, are situated at or near the head of sand-filled bays or estuaries. Their continued utility depends not only on the provision of adequate berthing facilities within the harbour area itself but also on the maintenance of a deep-water approach channel through the shoals of the outer estuary. In some cases the latter requisite is the more difficult of the two to achieve, especially where the bottom configuration is liable to considerable change over a relatively short period of time.

The problems connected with a changing sea-bed configuration come within the scope of loose-boundary hydraulics, a branch of flow mechanics which has only begun to be investigated. Some success in this direction has already been achieved using scale models of specific areas but many unsolved problems remain and much remains to be done.

Centimetre-level RTK solutions are mainly influenced by satellite orbit errors, ionospheric and tropospheric delays, and measurement noise (including multipath effects). Estimation and mitigation of the main errors for the CM-level Compass RTK solutions over medium-long baselines are investigated. Tests conducted for this research lead to the following conclusions:

1. 1. For 100 km baselines, a 4 cm error in height component will be induced by a 10 m orbit error. For longer baselines, rapid precise ephemeris will be needed for CM-level accuracy RTK solutions.

2. 2. The residual ionospheric delay error can be eliminated using the optimal triple-frequency ionosphere-free linear combination with the coefficients of 2·6087, −0·5175 and −1·0912 respectively for observations on f1, f2 and f3 frequencies. This combination is optimal in terms of its noise level, e.g., the noise is only amplified three times. It can be used for high accuracy RTK positioning.

3. 3. The residual tropospheric delay can be resolved for the introduced relative zenith tropospheric delay (RZTD) parameters.

An adaptive integrated Kalman filtering based on the adjustment outputs of local navigation sensors and the outputs of a dynamic or kinematic state model is presented, which avoids the correlations of the local Kalman filtering outputs affected by the same disturbances of the dynamic state model. It has the advantage of rigor in theory and simple in calculation as well as adaptive in the various local navigation outputs. An integrated navigation estimator that is similar to the federated Kalman filtering is given as an initial estimate of a state based on the information sharing principle, but without any dynamic model information. An adaptive integrated fusion of the local navigation outputs and the dynamic model information is followed, in which the weights of the local navigation outputs and the dynamic model outputs are determined based on their differences from the integrated navigation results. The processing algorithms, logic, and associated computer burden are similar to those of federated filter. A simulated example is given to show the effectiveness of the new adaptive integrated navigation algorithm.

The Very High Frequency (VHF) Data Exchange System (VDES) is a new radio communication system being developed by the international maritime community, with the principal objectives to safeguard existing Automatic Identification System (AIS) core functions and enhance maritime communication applications, based on robust, efficient and secure data transmission with wider bandwidth than the AIS. VDES is also being considered as a potential component of the R-mode concept, where the same signals used for communication are also used for ranging, thus mitigating the impact of disruptions to satellite positioning services. This paper establishes statistical performance bounds on the ranging precision of VDES R-mode, assuming an additive white Gaussian noise propagation channel. Modified Cramér-Rao bounds on the pseudorange estimation error are provided for all waveforms currently proposed for use in terrestrial VDES communications. These are then used to estimate the maximum usable ranges for AIS/VDES R-mode stations. The results show that, under the assumed channel conditions, all of the new VDES waveforms provide better ranging performance than the AIS waveform, with the best performance being achieved using the 100 kHz bandwidth terrestrial VDE waveforms.

The use of low-cost GPS receivers and antennas for attitude determination can significantly reduce the overall hardware system cost. Compared to the use of high performance GPS receivers, the carrier phase measurements from low-cost equipment are subject to additional carrier phase measurement errors, such as multipath, antenna phase centre variation and noise. These error sources, together with more frequent cycle slip occurrences, severely deteriorate attitude determination availability, reliability and accuracy performance. This paper presents the investigation of a low-cost GPS/gyro integration system for attitude determination. By employing the dead reckoning sensor type, the ambiguity search region can be specifically defined as a small cube to enhance the ambiguity resolution process. A Kalman filter is implemented to fuse the rate gyro data with GPS carrier phase measurements. The quality control system based on innovation sequences is used to identify cycle slip occurrences and incorrect inter-antenna vector solutions. The availability of the integrated system also improves with respect to the GPS standalone system since the attitude parameters can be estimated using the angular rate measurements from rate gyros during GPS outages. The low-cost hardware used to design and test the integrated system consists of CMC Allstar receivers with the OEM AT575-70 antennas and Murata ENV-05D-52 piezoelectric vibrating rate gyroscopes. Tests in the urban area demonstrated that the introduction of rate gyros in a GPS-based attitude determination system not only effectively decreased the noise level in the estimated attitude parameters but coasted the attitude output during GPS outages and also significantly improved the system reliability.

The planning of vessel navigation along a tidal river is a complex task that can affect the efficiency of inland ports and intermodal chains. The availability of water may represent a significant restriction to port accessibility, having an impact on waiting times, cost and even safety. This paper presents a heuristic procedure to schedule vessels on a tidal waterway, which seeks to optimise navigation according to a multi-criteria objective function combining the number of vessels serviced, the total waiting time, the waterway occupation time and the number of crossing operations, where the term “crossing” implies inbound and outbound vessels passing each other. The procedure requires a previous step of estimation of real-time water depth, which identifies the critical points or navigation bottlenecks along the waterway, and contemplates the possibility of vessels having to anchor in the middle of their journey and wait for next tide rise. We validate the procedure through its application to a set of real and test problems and show that its results are reliable in terms of performance and solution quality.

A new Bayesian approach for multiple satellite faults detection and exclusion is proposed by introducing a classification variable to each satellite observation. If we treat this classification variable as random and assume a prior distribution for it, then a rule for satellite fault detection and exclusion based on the posterior probabilities of the classification variables is constructed under the framework of Bayesian hypothesis testing. Secondly, the Gibbs sampler is introduced to compute the posterior probabilities of the classification variables. Then the implementation for a Bayesian Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (RAIM) algorithm is designed with the Gibbs sampler. Finally, different schemes are designed to evaluate the performance of the new Bayesian RAIM algorithm in the case of multiple faults. We compare the method in this paper with the Range Consensus (RANCO) method. Experiments illustrate that the proposed algorithm in this paper is capable of detecting and eliminating multiple satellite faults, and the probability of correctly detecting faults is high.

This paper was first presented by the author, the National Secretary of NUMAST, at the RIN's conference on maritime Automatic Identification Systems (AIS 03) held at Church House, London, on 24/25 November 2003.

The input—output behaviour of a human operator in a control system is characterized by his ability to predict the course of a target based on past performance. With a stochastic signal or a more complicated system, however, prediction is necessarily imperfect and the operator's response lags behind the input. Mechanical prediction might therefore improve the human behaviour in a control system. The principles of the prediction display are described and two methods for mechanically calculated prediction are discussed: the model method and the extrapolation method.