Importance

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Abstract

A system for determining the ground velocity of an aircraft is disclosed. The system includes a CCD linear optical image sensor carried by the aircraft for forming a first and second substantially instantaneous light intensity contour of the optical image of the surface of the earth lying below the aircraft. The two contours are delayed in time with respect to each other. A computer, included in the system, compares the two contours to determine the relative position shift between the two contours by utilizing cross-correlation techniques. The computer then corrects the contour position shift for the aircraft altitude and divides the corrected position shift by the time delay between the two contours to obtain the aircraft ground velocity. A signal indicative of the aircraft ground velocity is output by the system.

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First Claim