Comparison of Terrain Association and Resection as Methods of Position Location

摘要

This research examined two methods of position fixing, terrain association and resection to determine which would result in faster and more accurate judgments of location. The research was conducted in the Surface Navigation and Orientation Trainer (SURNOT), which projects slide images a full 360 degree field of view. Two groups of soldiers (n = 12 each) were shown terrain scenes, given a 1:50,000 topographic map of the area, and located their position by terrain association and resection. Overall, performance was poor: There was no significant difference in accuracy of solution between the two groups (723 meters average error), but terrain association was approximately 3 minutes faster. The results were interpreted in terms of a two-stage position fixing model, and suggest that errors in position fixing occur early in the process.