Automatic sensor and boresight alignment using accelerometers

An automatic sensor alignment (AUTOLIGN) technique which implements a Kalman filter in the aircraft´s onboard computer to provide an automatic estimate of sensor misalignments just prior to each aircraft mission is described. The AUTOLIGN concept utilizes accelerometer packages mounted on the avionics and weapons subsystems to provide the filter with a continuous set of measurements. These measurements are processed to determine sensor misalignments with respect to some predefined reference. It is noted that AUTOLIGN should eliminate all ground support equipment and personnel required for traditional boresighting techniques. Filter design and implementation, along with simulation and flight test results, are presented. Simulation and flight test results indicate that sensor alignment accuracies using AUTOLIGN are comparable to those of manual techniques (<1 milliradian RSS error)