DME/DME position and velocity estimation

Abstract

As an alternative to Global Positioning System (GPS) position calculation can be achieved using Distance Measuring Equipments (DME). DME calculates and outputs a slant range using the total time from the aircraft interrogation to ground station reply. It is necessary to have two DMEs to calculate the position from the slant range data. In this paper, the algorithms are explained that achieve to estimate instantaneous latitude, longitude, altitude and velocity of an aircraft using the slant range data of two DMEs and the altitude data of an altimeter. The algorithms are based on the least squares method and Kalman filter. It is achieved to estimate position with the least squares method. Moreover, with the proposed model for the Kalman filter, the position and velocity estimation is achieved. The algorithms were tested on the previously recorded real aircraft data and their results were within the aviation standards. Furthermore, a plugin was implemented for X-plane flight simulator and the algorithms were capable of estimating instantaneous position and velocity successfully. © 2018 IEEE.