INTEROPERABILITY VERSUS INTEGRATION OF OMEGA AND GPS

This paper was presented at the 14th annual meeting of the International Omega Association, held at Long Beach, California in October 1989. The integration of Omega and gps sensors into a single navigation system offers the advantages of good accuracy under almost all signal conditions, low capital investment, and certifiable worldwide navigation. The accuracy of the existing Omega network can be progressively improved as gps satellite coverage is fully implemented. This is done by having the gps system update the Omega navigator. Eventually, the same equipment can provide full GPS navigation accuracy but with Omega as a back-up. This paper proposes a method of further improving the overall accuracy and reliability of Omega—gps navigation. The concepts of Omega—gps integration, interoperability, modes of operation, and Kalman filter data fusion are presented. Four interoperability modes of operation and their ability to improve navigation reliability are also discussed. © 1990, The Royal Institute of Navigation. All rights reserved.