Comparison of MEMS and FOG-based inertial navigation systems for hydrographic applications

Accurate and reliable navigation is a major key for modern hydrographic surveying. Especially in condi-tioning environments, inertial navigation systems (INS) are indispensable to assure high-qualitative bath-ymetric data. This article aims to compare the rising technology of MEMS (microelectromechanical sys-tems) with a high-end FOG (fibre-optic gyro) by evaluating data acquired simultaneously under equal, realistic conditions within hydrographic applications. Therefore, MacArtney Germany equipped two sur-vey vessels with a complete multibeam echo sounder (MBES) survey configuration and conducted tests at the Port of Hamburg. Different INS data sets were merged with respective MBES soundings and transferred into interactive webmaps and statistical plots, providing a basis for a meaningful interpreta-tion of the motion and positioning efficiency of the tested INS.

INS – inertial navigation system | MEMS – microelectromechanical system | FOG – fibre-optic gyro