Innovative navigation system

This post is also available in: עברית (Hebrew)

Arazim is one of the participants in the upcoming IAMD conference on March 31

For everyday users such as commuters and drivers, losing their GPS link for a few minutes can be very frustrating. Even the most patient person behind the wheel might lose it this meant going back a few could miles and having to retrace his or her steps.

Conversely, when it comes to military, HLS and defense missions, losing the GPS signal could render a possible success a busted mission. The consequences could range from being a few meters off, namely missing the target altogether rather than hitting it on the nose.

Future armies and forces will have systems that allow them to override this pitfall. Israeli teams which require the equipment often hit various snags, mostly due to restrictions set by producers and their countries of origin. Many countries in Europe, Scandinavian nations in particular, prohibit the sale of such systems and even use thereof.

One type of systems which complement the use of GPS is gyroscope-based inertial systems and speedometers. Gyroscopes are designed to gage direction, whereas an accelerometer gages the speed and direction. Inertial systems back up when GPS systems fail.

Founded in 1989, Arazim is one of several Israeli developers of this type of systems. Since its establishment, it is working jointly with communications companies, defense contractors and law enforcement bodies.

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According to Arzim General Manager Sasson Noama, such systems are usually used by unmanned systems, robots and guided weapons systems. They comprise of 3 accelerometers, three gyros and three magnetometers. “This is a sensors-based system,” explains Noama.

“In addition, sensors also suffer from integration drift, rendering them less and less accurate. The algorithm we developed succeeds in compensating for that. Our challenge is to minimize error as much as possible.”

Noama explained to i-HLS that the user always has to balance between the cost of gages and the question how long they can afford to be without GPS. Since a few seconds without the link could mean missing the mission by a few dozen meters, the greatest challenge the company faces is to reduce the margin of error down to the bare minimum.

The second type of systems that complement GPS, are designed to maintain orientation. They are based on the following three technologies. The first is the good old compass. The second is a compass based gyro. Most smartphones feature it. It is as expensive as it is highly accurate. These systems are also unaffected by nearby magnetic materials.

Arazim offers a third solution: satellite-based GPS. “Two antennae, about half a meter to one meter apart, pick up the GPS signal, explains Noama. “The signal will reach the farthest antenna at a slower pace. We can calculate this difference and monitor the azimuth vis-à-vis the satellite. The navigation algorithm is a statistic gage which uses mathematics to provide location with high accuracy.

Arazim is one of the participants in the upcoming IAMD conference on March 31