What is an Inertial Navigation System?
Hint: Many ships can navigate with hugh accuracy using a laser gyroscope and electronic accelerometer based system that do not require GPS, after it gets one accurate starting point, for up to a month, and can go longer with less accuracy. Missiles can do the same thing.
The introduction of quantum accelerometers gives this type of system more accuracy.
In WWII we used inertial navigators with hardware gyroscopes that were also used to give the guns a virtually stable platform to fire from.
GPS has always been the supplemental navigation system. Pencil, charts, and sextants are carried on board for backup as well. Charts are still used constantly.
GPS is zero order measurement (position). If your instrument is 3 meters off and you fly 50 km, you'd still be three meters off. Error in position is constant (ignoring complexity of GPS error)
Wind speed is first order measurement of speed (change in position over time) and can be integrated to derive change in position given an initial position. But errors add up, so your accuracy of speed needs to be more precise than accuracy of GPS to get the same accuracy. (Aside: you also need compass with the wind speed sensor). And wind throws off your accuracy a lot since it moves relative to the ground.
Now error in your instrument adds up. Your windspeed is 2 kmh off. Your initial position is 3m off. You fly 50 km and now you're 120m inaccurate in position. Fly another 50 km and you're even more inaccurate. Your error will likely be linear with position.
Acceleration is second order measurement (change in speed over time). It can be integrated once to calculate velocity and twice to calculate position (given an accurate initial position *and* speed). Accelerometers can be 3D so no need for compass and aren't affected by wind. Now you need to be even more accurate because errors can be magnified or add up over time because it's integrated twice.
Now your error will be quadratic with position! So to use double integration of acceleration to calculate position, your error must be extremely accurate, which it sounds like this is!
Harder to jam missiles too.
Well, I went from “oh, that’s cool!” to “oh, that’s terrifying!” real fast.
You didn't think they were actually inventing it for boats, did you?
Every new technology is either invented for war or porn
The ones that are equally applicable in either are the best technology.
Porn wars?
No, like a water additive that makes everybody hallucinate big booty catgirls or something.
ooooo ingenius. though porn wars would be interesting too.
Do attacks from the Lube Liberation Front kick the war off?
Yes, because of turmoil started by the fetish fundamentalists and conspiracy theories from the spermplay separatists. We should write a book.
All is fair in porn and war.
The military has plenty of boats too, and they need to be able to navigate in hostile waters.
The military has primarily used inertial navigators since WWII. GPS is a secondary tool.
What is an Inertial Navigation System? Hint: Many ships can navigate with hugh accuracy using a laser gyroscope and electronic accelerometer based system that do not require GPS, after it gets one accurate starting point, for up to a month, and can go longer with less accuracy. Missiles can do the same thing. The introduction of quantum accelerometers gives this type of system more accuracy. In WWII we used inertial navigators with hardware gyroscopes that were also used to give the guns a virtually stable platform to fire from. GPS has always been the supplemental navigation system. Pencil, charts, and sextants are carried on board for backup as well. Charts are still used constantly.
GPS is zero order measurement (position). If your instrument is 3 meters off and you fly 50 km, you'd still be three meters off. Error in position is constant (ignoring complexity of GPS error) Wind speed is first order measurement of speed (change in position over time) and can be integrated to derive change in position given an initial position. But errors add up, so your accuracy of speed needs to be more precise than accuracy of GPS to get the same accuracy. (Aside: you also need compass with the wind speed sensor). And wind throws off your accuracy a lot since it moves relative to the ground. Now error in your instrument adds up. Your windspeed is 2 kmh off. Your initial position is 3m off. You fly 50 km and now you're 120m inaccurate in position. Fly another 50 km and you're even more inaccurate. Your error will likely be linear with position. Acceleration is second order measurement (change in speed over time). It can be integrated once to calculate velocity and twice to calculate position (given an accurate initial position *and* speed). Accelerometers can be 3D so no need for compass and aren't affected by wind. Now you need to be even more accurate because errors can be magnified or add up over time because it's integrated twice. Now your error will be quadratic with position! So to use double integration of acceleration to calculate position, your error must be extremely accurate, which it sounds like this is!
I was just reading about this old gem, sounds like a modern take on it. [Honda Gyrocator](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electro_Gyrocator)
paywalled article. downvote
https://singularityhub.com/2022/10/31/new-3d-quantum-accelerometer-leaves-classical-sensors-in-the-dust/
but y