Geolocation using celestial measurements

This project involves the use of celestial measurements in order to predict the latitude, longitude and heading of the observer. The objective of the project is to assess whether a new inclinometer model and calibration procedure can significantly enhance the quality of navigation data acquired by the sensor suite. The suite consists of an Applied Geomechanics Tuff-Tilt digital biaxial inclinometer and a Sinclair Interplanetary SS-411 digital sun-sensor. The project will focus on the typical sources of error in an inclinometer and present a lab calibration method to enhance its performance. The sensor suite will also be calibrated together as a unit using a GPS receiver for time and geolocation data and a sun ephemeris as a measure of truth. Results from these tests are also presented.