Robust Position and Velocity Estimation Methods in Integrated Navigation Systems for Inland Water Applications

As the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are intensively used as main source of Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) information for maritime and inland water navigation, it becomes increasingly important to ensure the reliability of GNSS-based navigation solutions for challenging environments. Although an intensive work has been done in developing GNSS Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (RAIM) algorithms, a reliable procedure to mitigate multiple simultaneous outliers is still lacking. The presented work evaluates the performance of several methods for multiple outlier mitigation based on robust estimation framework and compares them to the performance of state-of-the-art RAIM methods. The relevant methods include M-estimation, S-estimation, LMS and RANSAC-based approaches as well as corresponding modifications for C/N0-based weighting schemes. The snapshot positioning methods are also tested within the quaternion-based Cubature Quadrature Kalman filter for integrated inertial/GNSS solution. The presented schemes are evaluated using real measurement data from challenging inland water scenarios with multiple bridges and a waterway lock. The initial results are encouraging and clearly indicate the potential of the discussed methods both for classical snapshot solutions as well for the methods with complementary sensors

Nivelación geodésica geométrica y redes geodésicas para el monitoreo de la subsidencia en Bogotá-Colombia

Bogota’s Vertical Reference Network has been developed using first order methods of leveling (Spirit Leveling) on its main roads, in around 150 kilometers, with more than 80 benchmarks distributed in whole city. Data Processing, to data acquired between July and august of 2007, shows a systematic variation in heights in some zones of the city about acquired data in 2003 and 2005. In addition, permanent and detailed monitoring of Bogota’s GNSS-network supports constant ground subsidence in almost whole City.La Red Vertical de Referencia de Bogotá ha sido desarrollada utilizando métodos de nivelación geodésica geométrica sobre las principales vías de la ciudad, en una extensión de cerca de 150 km y con más de 80 puntos de nivelación de precisión. El procesamiento de la información adquirida entre julio y agosto de 2007 muestra una variación sistemática en las alturas niveladas en algunas zonas de la ciudad, con respecto a los datos tomados en las campanas de 2003 y 2005

Una mirada a la gestión de diseño en las asociaciones profesionales de arquitectura y diseño.

En este artículo están reflejados los análisis realizados a las representaciones gremiales de las disciplinas del diseño y de la arquitectura en Colombia: de una parte, la Asociación Colombiana de Diseñadores (ASCD); de la otra, la Sociedad Colombiana de Arquitectos (SCA), con la finalidad de dilucidar los elementos que influyeron en su conformación, desarrollo y consolidación en términos de gestión de diseño.La metodología para abordar la temática fue la definición y el desglose de los conceptos de la gestión de diseño y sus elementos, asociatividad y procesos de diseño, que resultan ser términos básicos y operativos para la comprensión y el análisis del contexto en el que se desenvuelven cada una de las personas que fueron entrevistadas, adquiriendo de ellas la experiencia de años anteriores o de las acciones actuales acometidas en las dos asociaciones.Para adquirir resultados en el análisis fueron usados dos diferentes métodos de comparación. Así, se hicieron evidentes las divergencias y las similitudes tanto positivas como negativas entre ambas asociaciones. Igualmente, se logró determinar los distintos factores que han permitido el avance y crecimiento de la Sociedad Colombiana de Arquitectos y el resurgimiento de la AsociaciónColombiana de Diseño

Towards short-term collision detection on inland waterways based on positioning, navigation and timing data

The intensive use of river corridors for the transportation of goods and passengers as well as the corresponding growth in inland water tra�c has proven to be a major concern for waterborne navigation as the natural result of an increasing demand on e�ciency and positional accuracy, and has driven to an attempt towards the improvement of the computation and prediction of the vessel's position. Of particular interest for the time and resource e�ciency, specically for the safety of inland water navigation is the risk of collision detection in critical locations within the path of a ship, such as bridges and locks, as well as those areas with high tra�c conuence. These sections provide adverse scenarios where the prediction of the position of the vessel for the detection of short-term close encounters becomes a crucial practical problem for the sailing, and requires the continuous development of positioning and numerical methods capable to overcome such challenges. Thus, this works describes the implementation of the Gauss-Markov Mobility Model for the prediction of the future position of the own and surrounding vessels and the Separating Axes Theorem for the computation of collision between arbitrary polyhedra as an essential part of a manoeuvre guidance system for the short-term collision detection based on the supplying of Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) data in real-time with inland water tra�c purposes. Evaluated on a set of real data measured on the river Moselle close to the lock of Koblenz (Germany), the findings for the�first numerical results in the aforesaid troubling scenarios are discussed

Determination of Optimal Trajectories for an Inland Water Traffic Manoeuvre Guidance System based on Sensor-fused PNT data

The increasing traffic in vehicular river corridors as well as the growing demands on efficiency and positional accuracy for inland water transportation of goods have made the determination of position, navigation and timing (PNT) data including additional integrity information and the development of a driver assistance system for inland water vessels based on this PNT data one of the most important challenges facing modern inland water transportation and a major practical problem for both navigators and geodesists. As the basis of a driver assistance system, this work describes the architecture of a system including the tightly-coupled sensor fusion of GNSS and IMU data for the determination of reliable PNT data in real-time with inland water traffic purposes. Moreover, a simple mathematical model of vessel manoeuvring is presented. Optimisation approaches based on Interior Point Optimisation and Sequential Quadratic Programming are applied to search for the vessel trajectory considering several traffic conditions. Finally, first numerical results are presented and discussed

Determination of Optimal Trajectories for an Inland Water Trac Manoeuvre Guidance System based on Sensor-fused PNT data

The increasing tra�c in vehicular river corridors as well as the growing demands on e�ciency and positional accuracy for inland water transportation of goods have made the determination of position, navigation and timing (PNT) data including additional integrity information and the development of a driver assistance system for inland water vessels based on this PNT data one of the most important challenges facing modern inland water transportation and a major practical problem for both navigators and geodesists. As the basis of a driver assistance system, this work describes the architecture of a system including the tightly-coupled sensor fusion of GNSS and IMU data for the determination of reliable PNT data in real-time with inland water tra�c purposes. Moreover, a simple mathematical model of vessel manoeuvring is presented. Optimisation approaches based on Interior Point Optimisation and Sequential Quadratic Programming are applied to search for the vessel trajectory considering several tra�c conditions. Finally, �first numerical results are presented and discussed