Off the shelf, onto the beach: commercial GPS in amphibious combat vehicles

GPS World, April, 2004 by Stephanie Edwards, Marlin Gendron, Maura Lohrenz, Richard Mang

TABLE 1 Cross Track Error (CTE) in Field Tests (in meters)

Course Section  PLGR    MM

Straight Legs   32.78  10.77
Turns           41.85  10.88

Acknowledgements

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) sponsored this project under program element number 0603782N. We thank Doug Todoroff and Tim Schnoor (program managers at ONR) and Dick Root (program manager at NRL) for their support. We also thank Lt. Col. John Quigley of the Amphibious Vehicle Test Battalion (AVTB) in Camp Pendleton, CA, and Major Dan Yaroslaski of the 3rd Platoon, Company A, 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion Reserve Unit at the CB Base in Gulfport, Mississippi, as well as the Marines under their command for participating in these tests and demonstrations. Without their support, this testing could never have taken place.

STEPHANIE EDWARDS has been a computer scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) for three years and is pursuing a M.S. degree in Applied Physics at the University of New Orleans. She received her B.S. degree in computer science from the University of Southern Mississippi. Prior to college, she was enlisted in the U.S. Army for four years.

MARLIN GENDRON has been a computer scientist at NRL for 12 years and is pursuing a doctoral degree in engineering from the University of New Orleans. He earned his M.S. degree in applied physics from the University of New Orleans and his B.S. degree in computer science from the University of Southern Mississippi.

MAURA LOHRENZ is a physical scientist with the NRL Mapping, Charting and Geodesy Branch, Marine Geosciences Division, at the Stennis Space Center, Mississippi. She is the project team leader for the NRL Moving-Map Composers Team. Lohrenz holds a B.A. from Middlebury College and a master's degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

RICHARD MANG has been an electronic engineering technician at the Naval Research Laboratory for 17 years. Prior to working for NRL, Mang spent eight years as a navigational electronics technician in the U.S. Air Force.