The PNT operating system (pntOS): a plug-in approach for rapid development and prototyping

The development of modular open system architecture (MOSA) approaches for Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) systems is a critical need. In this paper we present pntOS, an open architecture for building PNT estimators that integrates seamlessly with other open architectures targeting related problems. The pntOS MOSA is designed to allow isolated development of plugins for navigation filter algorithms, sensor integration strategies, integrity approaches, and network buses. Critically, a developer who is a domain expert in a particular field (e.g. radar signal processing) can write a plugin incorporating their field of knowledge into pntOS in isolation, without needing to understand any other part of pntOS. Once a set of plugins has been developed, any particular plugin can be easily swapped with another plugin, allowing for rapid trade-space analysis and reconfiguration of systems at minimal cost. The pntOS MOSA is designed to support integration into embedded real-time systems, post-processed analysis, and Monte-Carlo simulations.