Performance Evaluation of IMU and DVL Integration in Marine Navigation

Area of Science:

• Maritime Navigation
• Sensor Fusion
• Robotics

Background:

• Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) spoofing presents a critical risk to maritime logistics and vessel safety.
• Reliance on GNSS for time, positioning, and speed makes maritime operations vulnerable to signal interference or denial.
• Alternative navigation methods like Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and Doppler Velocity Log (DVL) are crucial for GNSS-vulnerable scenarios.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effectiveness of velocity integration using consumer-grade IMU and DVL for dead reckoning in maritime navigation.
• To evaluate the performance of micro electromechanical system (MEMS)-based yaw rate sensors combined with DVL.
• To assess the navigation accuracy of a full IMU-MEMS (gyroscopes and accelerometers) integrated with DVL.

Main Methods:

• Velocity integration using dead reckoning principles with IMU and DVL data.
• Performance evaluation of a MEMS yaw rate sensor paired with DVL on a 50m vessel in Tokyo Bay.
• Assessment of a complete IMU-MEMS (3-axis gyros, 3-axis accelerometers) coupled with DVL, using a gyrocompass for heading reference.

Main Results:

• Both tested navigation methods, MEMS yaw rate with DVL and IMU-MEMS with DVL, demonstrated robust performance.
• The study achieved a horizontal position error of less than 1 km within a 60-minute navigation period.
• Consumer-grade sensors proved viable for alternative navigation, offering a cost-effective solution compared to military-grade equipment.

Conclusions:

• Consumer-grade IMU and DVL systems provide a feasible and accurate alternative for maritime navigation, especially during GNSS disruptions.
• The investigated dead reckoning methods using IMU and DVL are effective in mitigating risks associated with GNSS spoofing and outages.
• This research highlights the potential of affordable sensor combinations for enhancing the resilience of maritime logistics systems.