Deep Integration of INS and DP: from Theory to Experiments

The recent progress of measurement devices and algorithms of inertial navigation opens up the perspective of deep integration between inertial navigation systems (INS) and dynamic positioning (DP) systems. In the literature, novel mathematical algorithms for INS-guided sensor fusion and sensor fault isolation have recently been proposed, aimed primarily at robust and resilient observation of the vessel’s attitude and position. Much less has been done for experimental testing of INS-guided DP systems in real environmental conditions. In this paper, we report experimental results (from bench tests to real sea trials), demonstrating the efficacy of a fiber-optic inertial measurement sensor in a real DP system. Besides this, we discuss some new applications of INS systems in DP operations and relevant mathematical algorithms.