4.1 Connotations Related to Navigation
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method of precisely determining the coordinates of a site under a given terrestrial
reference frame. Real-time, dynamic position determination is the basic requirement
of navigation. The positioning is the basis and special case of the navigation, and
generally results from static location determination or post-processing, without realtime requirement, but has the requirement for high measurement accuracy, getting
to the level of centimeters or even millimeters.
Generally, in order to successfully complete a scheduled navigation task, besides
the position information, it is necessary to determine velocity, time, heading and
attitude of the movable object. All these information are usually called navigation
parameters. The entire devices or facilities that are used to determine the navigation parameters of the movable objects and guide them to voyage according to
the planned routes are called navigation system. The navigation system can only
provide a variety of navigation parameters, but not directly participate in controlling the movable objects for voyages, which is an open-loop system. In a sense, the
navigation system is an information processing system that the data measured by
the navigation equipment is processed into various navigation parameters to guide
the voyage. The information provided by the navigation system is converted into the
control instructions for the movable object, which are sent to the system’s actuators to
automatically control the movable object for voyage, and thus a complete close-loop
system is constituted.
4.2 From Ancient South-Pointing Chariot to Modern
Navigation System
During the Western Jin Dynasty (266–316 A.D.), a Chinese scholar named Bao
Cui wrote a book, Notes on Ancient Times and Today, for interpreting all kinds of
things in ancient times and at that time. In this book, he had recorded a war scene
in ancient Chinabetween Yellow Emperor (Huangdi, about 2717 B.C.–2599 B.C.),
a leader of the Huaxia tribal alliance, and Chiyou, a leader of Jiuli tribal alliance:
“As driving the south-pointing chariots, Huangdi was fighting with Chiyou in the
campaign of Zhuolu. Suddenly, Chiyou’s army encountered a dense fog, and all of
his solders lost orientation, while Huangdi used the south-pointing chariots to indicate
the orientation for his army. As a result, Huangdi captured Chiyou and his solders, and
finally became the Emperor”. The south-pointing chariot was an ancient Chinese
two-wheeled vehicle that carried a movable pointer to keep indicating the south by
using a gear driving system, no matter how the chariot turned. The pointer usually
took the form of a doll or figure with an outstretched arm. In about 2700 B.C., Huangdi
used the south-pointing chariot as a navigation device to beat Chiyou, which is the
first application of navigation technology in the ancient warfare recorded.
During the Warring States Period (475–221 B.C.), magnetite was found in the
area of Cishan. Today, it is located in Cishan Town, Wu’an City, Hebei Province,
China. In the practice of recognizing the magnetism of objects, a device to indicate
201
method of precisely determining the coordinates of a site under a given terrestrial
reference frame. Real-time, dynamic position determination is the basic requirement
of navigation. The positioning is the basis and special case of the navigation, and
generally results from static location determination or post-processing, without realtime requirement, but has the requirement for high measurement accuracy, getting
to the level of centimeters or even millimeters.
Generally, in order to successfully complete a scheduled navigation task, besides
the position information, it is necessary to determine velocity, time, heading and
attitude of the movable object. All these information are usually called navigation
parameters. The entire devices or facilities that are used to determine the navigation parameters of the movable objects and guide them to voyage according to
the planned routes are called navigation system. The navigation system can only
provide a variety of navigation parameters, but not directly participate in controlling the movable objects for voyages, which is an open-loop system. In a sense, the
navigation system is an information processing system that the data measured by
the navigation equipment is processed into various navigation parameters to guide
the voyage. The information provided by the navigation system is converted into the
control instructions for the movable object, which are sent to the system’s actuators to
automatically control the movable object for voyage, and thus a complete close-loop
system is constituted.
4.2 From Ancient South-Pointing Chariot to Modern
Navigation System
During the Western Jin Dynasty (266–316 A.D.), a Chinese scholar named Bao
Cui wrote a book, Notes on Ancient Times and Today, for interpreting all kinds of
things in ancient times and at that time. In this book, he had recorded a war scene
in ancient Chinabetween Yellow Emperor (Huangdi, about 2717 B.C.–2599 B.C.),
a leader of the Huaxia tribal alliance, and Chiyou, a leader of Jiuli tribal alliance:
“As driving the south-pointing chariots, Huangdi was fighting with Chiyou in the
campaign of Zhuolu. Suddenly, Chiyou’s army encountered a dense fog, and all of
his solders lost orientation, while Huangdi used the south-pointing chariots to indicate
the orientation for his army. As a result, Huangdi captured Chiyou and his solders, and
finally became the Emperor”. The south-pointing chariot was an ancient Chinese
two-wheeled vehicle that carried a movable pointer to keep indicating the south by
using a gear driving system, no matter how the chariot turned. The pointer usually
took the form of a doll or figure with an outstretched arm. In about 2700 B.C., Huangdi
used the south-pointing chariot as a navigation device to beat Chiyou, which is the
first application of navigation technology in the ancient warfare recorded.
During the Warring States Period (475–221 B.C.), magnetite was found in the
area of Cishan. Today, it is located in Cishan Town, Wu’an City, Hebei Province,
China. In the practice of recognizing the magnetism of objects, a device to indicate