DVL-Aided SINS In-Motion Alignment Filter Based on a Novel Nonlinear Attitude Error Model

A novel nonlinear attitude error model based on square root cubature information filter (SR-CIF) is proposed aiming to speed up the convergence rate of DVL-aided strapdown inertial navigation system (SINS) in-motion initial alignment for autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) when both large initial heading error and large initial level attitude errors exist The new nonlinear attitude error model and measurement model are applicable for initial alignment after a short-time coarse alignment with large attitude errors exist. The SR-CIF embeds the whole iterative process into the data structure framework of the information filtering, replacing the covariance matrix in the square root cubature Kalman filter (SR-CKF) with an information matrix which simplifies the filter initialization. The square root technology ensures the symmetry and positive definiteness of the information matrix with enhanced stability of the filter. The simulation and experimental results indicate that the proposed DVL-aided alignment filter is effective with large initial attitude errors. The rate of convergence and estimation accuracy of the SR-CIF is higher than that of the conventional SR-CKF with large attitude misalignments.