SBIR-STTR Award

MTI, Ltd. will develop a precision, solid-state, magnetic compass with an absolute accuracy of better than 0.5 degree using the innovative Scanning Magnetic Angle Comparator (SMAC) technology. A SMAC compass will offer distinct advantages over conventional compasses, because it provides more degrees of freedom to optimize performance by employing feedback via a microprocessor to minimize error. The basic SMAC compass will be a non-inertial, self-calibrating design employing commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) magnetic sensors. It will also incorporate tilt sensors. A design for a prototype, guided by error model analyses, will be developed in Phase I. The prototype proposed for fabrication and development in the Phase I option will be about 1.0" in diameter and 2.5" long, and will be tested and evaluated in a Helmholtz coil facility. In Phase II, the SMAC compass design will be optimized and, to the extent possible, implemented using integrated circuit technology to achieve both the performance goals and the cost goal of under $1,000 per unit. At the end of Phase II, a compact, integrated SMAC compass will be available for evaluation by the Navy’s autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), towed array or extended range guided munitions programs.

Benefits:
The SMAC compass will have numerous military and civilian applications, including navigation systems for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV’s), heading sensors for towed arrays and seismic streamers, navigation systems for guided munitions, heading sensor augmentation of GPS navigation systems, direction finding for cellular telephones using directional antennas, etc.

Keywords:
compass magnetic compass navigation heading sensor magnetic sensor autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) orientation sensor guidance

To overcome the problems and performance limitations of traditional electronic compass designs and to achieve better performance at a lower cost, an innovative, simpler, more robust magnetic heading sensor is being developed. The approach is based on the thesis that heading sensor accuracy can be made better (and the heading sensor less complex and expensive) than traditional electronic compass designs. The approach employs the scanning magnetic angle comparator (SMAC) technique, which offers distinct advantages over conventional electronic compasses, because there are additional degrees of freedom to optimize performance by using feedback via a microprocessor to minimize error. During Phase I, an extensive error model analysis was performed. The analysis predicted an achievable accuracy of 0.1- degrees at 30-degrees latitude. The design study demonstrated the feasibility of implementing a precision, solid-state, non- inertial, self-calibrating heading sensor at a production cost of under $1,000 using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) magnetic sensors and electronic components. During Phase II, a prototype -- 0.875-incles diameter and approximately 4.0-inches long -- will be developed. (A 0.5-inches in diameter unit for use in ThinLine towed arrays has been proposed as an option.) At the end of Phase II, a SMAC heading sensor will be available for testing on an AUV. Benefit The SMAC compass will have numerous military and civilian applications including navigation systems for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), heading sensors for towed arrays and seismic streamers, navigation systems for guided munitions, heading sensor augmentation of GPS systems, direction finding for cellular telephones using directional antennas, etc. Keywords (AUV), AUV, Autonomous, magnetic, Underwater, heading, Navigation, vehicle, orientation, guidance, compass, sensor