Assessment, Specification, and Validation of a Geolocation System's Accuracy and Predicted Accuracy

This article presents recommendations and corresponding detailed procedures for the assessment of a geolocation system's accuracy, as well as the specification of accuracy requirements and their subsequent validation when they are available. Applicable metrics and related processing are based on samples of corresponding geolocation errors. This article also presents similar recommendations for the predicted accuracy of a geolocation system, based on samples of geolocation error, as well as corresponding predicted error covariance matrices associated with the geolocations. Reliable error covariance matrices enable optimal use of a geolocation system's products, such as the optimal fusion of multiple geolocations or multiple products for higher confidence and increased accuracy. The recommendations presented in this article enable reliable estimates of accuracy and reliable predicted accuracies, both of which are critical to many geolocation-based applications. The recommendations associated with predicted accuracy are also relatively new and innovative.