Navigation Definition and 46 Threads

Curious about the difficulties of this - everything I can find on, say reaching Proxima B with an unmanned probe deals with propulsion- but say we have something that can go 0.2C and want to put a satellite in orbit around Proxima B, can we navigate that accurately? Is the position of the...

I'm building a robot to be used in a residential setting. This robot's primary directive is going to be to open a door in someone's house, and then come to them and tell them this has been done. This will require the robot to be aware of its location within their house (or, at least, its...

I assume that as the light years to another Star reduce the position of the Star will change relative to other references in the navigation calculations. So what adjustments would be necessary to a Starship's course as it gobbles up the distance to maintain pointing it's nose at the destination...

An ocean world navigational map will not have any reason to chop up its navigational maps into artificial pieces to accommodate continents. That disqualifies several projections to start. I want to figure out what kind of a projection they would use. Since they would be doing all their...

Earth has GPS, GNSS and more I guess. Will there (eventually) be a Navigation system for our Solar system so that autonomous (and manned) flights can move around like we do in our vehicles with an onscreen map. Not trying to be fanciful here just wondered if there are discussions or papers. I...

Today I came across an article (not from a authoritative journal) about "Quantum Navigation". https://www.wired.com/story/quantum-physicists-found-a-new-safer-way-to-navigate/ It is about a method to do navigation by detecting anomalies in Earth's magnetic field. I tried (and failed) to find a...

Hello, Let's say I got lost in the wood (car stranded). If I had a map and I was able to identify north,south, east and west, would I be able to find my way home without knowing my exact current location? I don't think so. The map would be useless without knowing where I am on the map. Is that...

Homework Statement If I am standing on the ocean shore, and my eye level is 6 feet above sea level, how far above the horizon would an island appear that is 15 miles away and whose highest point is 200 feet above sea level (assuming the earth’s diameter is 3,960 miles?) In other words, how many...

Homework Statement Sandra needs to deliver 20 cases of celery to the farmers' market directly east across the river, which is 32 meters wide. Her boat can move at 2.5 km/h in still water. The river has a current of 1.2 km/h flowing downstream, which happens to be moving in a southerly...

I am trying to make a bootstrap navigation bar but I'm having issues with understanding which class to apply to a specific element? Can anyone show me some coding?

China launched five small satellites Thursday, including the X-ray Pulsar Navigation satellite that eventually could help spacecraft headed for deep space navigate, the latest piece of China’s ambitious space program, NASA Spaceflight.com reported. The X-ray pulsar, developed by Aerospace...

Hey guys, looking to get some advice on satellite navigation. Can anyone recommend a nice textbook covering Newton, Kepler, Lagrange etc and their contributions to orbital motion. Also any textbooks on MATLAB or Maple examples of orbits - relativistic or Newtonian it doesn't matter. Not put off...

I've seen a bit of research that relies on imaging methods like FLIR for input. My question adds a couple wrinkles: How could a robot Navigate without imaging? I.e., using only local sensors like a thermocouple or array of thermocouples. Extract navigation info from turbulent thermally...

Ok, the reason for my absence is I have been working on a project of building a multitasking Robot. Since the connection of Robots to Physics never entered my mind I assumed I have nothing of value to add to any discussion on the PhysicsForums. If anyone is interested in the problem that I am...

Dear PF Forum, In January 1912, Scott reached South Pole and found Amundsen flag. So, in millions of km square white place, Scott reached the very spot that Amundsen posted his (Amundsen) flag. How was the method? Considering there were no GPS back then. Could Scott navigate very precisely? Or...

Hi I'm working on a GPS/INS model. Now I developped the mecanization equations for the INS. I have a kalman filter which estimate the error state (position error with respect to north and east). it takes as an input the diffrence between GPS and INS and gives its estimation . I have...

Hi I am looking for an equation of intersection of 3 circles or 3 spheres, on the surface of the fourth (central) sphere, in a spherical coordinate circle. This should really be just a simple trilateration problem. I know this is usually done by transforming the spherical coordinate system to...

Hypothetical question here. If someone were to develop a system for navigating the galaxy what would be the best way to determine a position and direction assuming no prior information about location (but access to things like star locations from our solar system's perspective). I'm assuming a...

I'm interested in applying inertial navigation over a very small range < 2 meters. Everything I have seen so far that is related to using inertial navigation for dead reckoning is for very large scales and gives accuracy on the order of fractions of miles or several feet. Does anyone know what...

Hi all! I have a question that maybe some people of this great comunity can help. I´m working with a platform with 16 MEMS accelerometers distributed along the whole surface with a knew position and orientation, I have to measure the differences in acceleration on the Z axis, to get the surface...

I'm trying to teach myself celestial mechanics, particularly as it relates to spacecraft navigation. Essentially I'm interested in how spacecraft can get from A to B with the lowest delta-V (or whatever the criteria are), and how mission planners figure this out. Can anyone recommend a...

I am a math grad student who has really got interested in spacecraft control and navigation. Like a lot of people, I have been playing too much ksp and gotten interested in the mathematics of spacecraft navigation and control. For fun, I derived some basic motion and control equations...

Hello everyone, Although I am not a physicist, I have been trying to understand the relativity effects on GPS clocks. It's seems pretty logic, however I've stumbled upon on a specific issue: Given a atomic clock without any kind of relativistic adjustment, if the GPS clock is running...

We've all seen them in sci fi movies and video games like Mass Effect. Assuming you had built a spaceship, you would need some sort of Navigation system. A Starmap if you will, detailing such bodies as stars, exoplanets, gas planets, moons, asteroid fields, comets, etc. Also including their...

The roads in some parts of Seattle may have one, two, or three names. SW 130th may also be 141st ave and is not to be confused with NW 130th or NE 141st. Of course it may also be called by a name like "Main Street" on the map, with the numbered names missing altogether. But the name on the map...

Homework Statement The displacement from London to Rome is 1400 km S 42* E. A wind is blowing with a velocity of 75km/hr east. The pilot wants to fly directly from London to Rome in 3.5 hours. What velocity must the plane have relative to the air? Homework Equations Sin, Cos, Tan, Cosign...

Autonomous UAV usually employ GPS systems for navigation purpose. However, the accuracy of GPS systems lie between 1 to 10 m. If the autonomous UAV has to be employed in applications where the positional accuracy should not exceed 0.5 m, what are the best navigation assisting options available...

Single-point Navigation Solution Giving the following satellites positions (coordinates are in meters and in Earth Centered Inertial Frame): r_(is,1)^i=[1.876371950559744e6 -10.6414313406656e6 24.2697646566144e6] r_(is,2)^i=[10.97666464137408e6 -13.08147952230029e6 20.35116937827073e6]...

Dear :), could some one please guide me in the right direction to answer the following questions: 1) using MATLAB, implement the differential equations that describe the evolution with time of along-track , cross-track and vertical position. (Inertial Navigation System). and 2) for a...

Can anyone please explain schuler cycle, please don not start explaining with same old pendulum with the length of radius of Earth stuff. why is it required ? what is that all about ?

I am studying about vikings navigation . Vikings use sunstones (e.g. tourmaline) for navigation in cloudy or foggy days. How can they do that? May be they can describe sun position with polarizer cyristal. If it is like that, What is the relationship between navigation and sun position?

Hello, I am trying to create a filter that can integrate inertial measurements with GPS measurements. My inertial sensors are a yaw axis gyro, an odometer, and possibly a 3axis accelerometer. Could you please help me with some guidance? I have read papers, articles and books on the subject but...

How do scientists ensure that probes traveling beyond Mars avoid the asteroid belt? How are calculations made regarding the probe's journey through the asteroid belt to ensure that they are not hit by one?!

I got a problem in which I need to simulate the position of an object given accelerations in two dimension and rotation in the third. Integrating the acceleration values twice would give me the position in the particular dimensions, and using the angular rotation I could get the position of the...

Hello, Im working on estimation of inertial navigation system using kalman filtering. Can anyone help me finding the state space model of inertial navigation system used to estimate the states via kalman filter. An early response is needed.Thanks in advance.

Inertial navigation system books?? Hi, Kindly refer me a good book for the basic concepts of inertial navigation system or even any good website link.

Homework Statement A pilot wishes to fly 2875 km to an airport 18 degrees east of north from his departure point(for the sake of the problem and simplicity, use the origin). He wants to make the trip in 3 hours and 20 minutes. The pilot finds that he actually has to make a change in his air...

I just downloaded this version, but the navigation bar on the right hand side does not show up, it flashes on for a split second then vamooses, hovering over it don't bring it back, is there some trick to get back?

the more I think about it, the more I do not understand about cells and I've been trying to read as much as possible but I saw a video on youtube of cellular simulation showing some molecular machine moving on a molecular rope carrying a sack of proteins. So are there strands of rope networked...

I`m really got engrossed in working with an INS/GPS integration.pls help me in the basis,with which coordinate the INS and GPS work usually,and how should I convert them,as an usall wowrk,i`m not familiar with coordinates. pls help if any information availble,thanx alot:confused:

Homework Statement A Family has a boat which can travel at 12 m/s in still water. They are using it to reach a point 500m downstream on the other side of a river 300m wide, and flowing at 4 m/s. What heading must they take, relative to their starting point, in order to reach their destination...

Homework Statement A pilot wants to fly on a bearing of 68.2 degrees. By flying due east, he finds that 38 MPH, blowing from the south, puts him on the course. Find the air speed and ground speed.Homework Equations using law of sines/cosines, ambiguous case.The Attempt at a Solution Tried...

A helicopter was flying around above Seattle when an electrical malfunction disabled all the navigation and communications equipment. The pilot saw a tall building, flew toward it, circled, drew a handwritten sign saying "Where am I?" and held it in the helicopter's window. People in the tall...

From New Scientist: More of the article is here: http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7069

Since the Tsunami, changed the speed of our orbit, and set us off a bit on the planetary tilt; will every compass, and navigational instrument, in every vehicle, sub, satellite, plane, etc, have to be recalibrated? I think that a few millimeters, could become great, over thousands of miles. Or a...

That "totally irrelevant" clock may mean little to you, but it and its competitors made global navigation and trade (and projection of military force) a lot safer and more viable. Historically, pragmatic, results-oriented innovations have made investment and risk-taking more attractive, and...