Synopsis

This project develops fibre optic instruments based on optical interferometry and digital signal processing for the purpose of inertial navigation.

Research fields

Engineering in Physics;Photonics, Lasers and Nonlinear Optics

Required background

Students will need some background in optics and electronics. Digital signal processing and systems engineering experience is also relevant.

Description

Inertial navigation systems are critical for the measurement of heading and position used for GPS unassisted navigation. Sensors, such as optical gyroscopes, represent the current state-of-the-art in terms of sensitivity and are ubiquitous to most high-performance commercially available navigation systems. With the recent developments in autonomous vehicles, the development of sensors for inertial navigation systems has pushed toward developing high performance sensors able to maintain a low per unit cost. 

This project works towards developing a commercially viable prototype. The project is geared towards the development of an engineering prototype system compatible with standardised rotation testing systems.