Validation Process of the Physics-based Modeling of Navigation Sensors for Sea-based Aviation Automated Landing

In this paper, a rigorous and reliable process is presented for the validation of a physicsbased multi-sensor simulation required for the development of the Sea-based Automated Launch and Recovery System (SALRS). Recent advances in physics-based passive and active sensor modeling have given rise to the concept of using simulations to perform cost effective trade analyses to determine the optimal set of sensors required to meet the SALRS mission requirements. Physics-based multi-sensor simulation is required to test key SALRS functionalities including the detection and identification of the designated landing ship, detection and tracking of the ship deck, detection of ship deck features for navigation aid, estimating ship deck motion for soft landing, and timely detection of hazards for safe landing and recovery. Sensor model simulation presents two basic challenges: model verification and model validation. Model verification is the process of determining that the model is implemented correctly, while model validation is the process of determining the degree to which the output of the sensor model is an accurate representation of real sensor output from the perspective of its intended use. Although verification is a challenging problem, validation is generally a more difficult process.