A fiber optic gyro (FOG)-based northfinding module potentially
much smaller and lighter than systems currently available is
under development at KVH Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KVHI). "Current
northfinders precisely determine azimuth based on expensive,
[mechanical based] inertial measurement technology that usually
cost $40,000 or more and weigh in excess of 12 lbs" explained
Dan Conway, KVH's vice president for military/commercial business
development. (More...)
The
new FOG based module is expected to offer similar performance
at lower cost and weight. Rapid, precise determination of 'True
North' is critical for applications like indirect fire weapons
such as mortars, far target location, or in situations where
GPS measurements are unavailable, such as in a tunnel, deep
forest, or urban canyon. KVH' is hopeful that its northfinding
module will find new applications currently constrained by the
inaccuracies of using magnetic compass measurements for determining
azimuth, such as surveying.
KVH's FOG based module is developed under a $730,000 Phase
II Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant awarded by
the U.S. Department of Defense. SBIR funding was instrumental
for KVH's previous R&D financing for the past 20 years,
yielding products such as digital compasses and fiber optic
gyroscopes for navigation and pointing solutions.
