A prototype portable vehicle navigation system utilizing map aided GPS

Abstract

The author has developed a prototype portable vehicle navigation system (PortaNav) based on a notebook computer, a PCMCIA-type GPS receiver, and a digital road map. The system is completely autonomous and can be operated in any vehicle. The market for such a system includes business travellers, real estate agents, sales people, and tourists. For positioning, a Kalman filter is used to combine GPS measurements with observations derived from the digital road map. Test results show that the map aided GPS solution is smoother and more accurate than stand-alone GPS, particularly in tree canopy and urban canyon environments. The thesis describes the complete design of PortaNav. Included are details on computing platforms, GPS technology, Kalman filtering, and digital road map databases. The mathematical basis for the map aiding process is presented. Test results from various urban environments are used to illustrate the improved performance.