An inertial ("INS")/GPS receiver uses injected alignment data to determine
the alignment of the INS sub-system when the receiver is in motion during
start-up. The alignment data is determined from parameterized surface
information, measured GPS velocity, and a known or predetermined angular
relationship between the vehicle on which the receiver is mounted and an
inertial measurement reference, or body, frame associated with the
accelerometers and gyroscopes of the inertial measuring unit ("IMU"). The
parameterized surface information, which provides a constraint, may be
the orientation of the surface over which the vehicle that houses the
receiver is moving. The receiver uses the initial GPS position to
determine the location of the vehicle on the parameterized surface, and
thus, the known surface orientation. The receiver then determines the
roll, pitch and heading of the vehicle on the surface using the
associated GPS velocity vector. Thereafter, the receiver uses the
calculated roll, pitch and heading of the vehicle and the known or
predetermined angular relationship between the vehicle and the IMU body
frame to determine a rotation matrix that relates the IMU body frame to a
computation or referenced frame used by the receiver.