Precise Positioning for Underwater Vessels

Sammanfattning

The objective of this project is to identify and analyze software sources of positional discrepancies, with a focus on map projections and coordinate conversion. To achieve this, a program was developed that visualizes the differences between two methods for converting points between coordinate systems. The program was designed to translate between a local coordinate system and geodetic coordinate system. The implementation was carried out in the C programming language using established geospatial transformation formulas. Two positioning algorithms were implemented: an accurate algorithm based on Gauss–Krüger formulas using Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) grids, and a simplified, naive method that neglects the Earth's curvature, serving as a baseline for comparison. To facilitate visual analysis, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) was developed, enabling users to display and compare the output of both transformation methods against the backdrop of a map of the Earth in the Mercator projection. The discrepancies were found to likely be of a lesser degree than that of the naive method. The program demonstrated, however, that small inacurracies can compound over larger distances.