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Stanley F. Schmidt (January 21, 1926 – August 13, 2015) was an American aerospace engineer who pioneered the Schmidt-Kalman filter used in air and space navigation, most notably in
Tau Beta Pi Member Lookup
" Stanley Francis Schmidt, Los Altos, CA; WI Beta, 1946. Deceased. 2019. ''The Tau Beta Pi Association.'' Retrieved 25 July 2019.
Discovery of the Kalman Filter as A Practical Tool for Aerospace and Industry
' (PDF) Photocopy of 18-page NASA Technical Memorandum 86847 by Leonard A. McGee and Stanley F. Schmidt. This memo is referenced in the article but is behind a paywall. This photocopy is complete and free. {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Stanley F. 1926 births 2015 deaths Marquette University alumni Stanford University alumni People from Hollister, California American electrical engineers Engineers from California
Stanley F. Schmidt (January 21, 1926 – August 13, 2015) was an American aerospace engineer who pioneered the Schmidt-Kalman filter used in air and space navigation, most notably in Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
spacecraft.
Early life and education
Schmidt was born on January 21, 1926, inHollister, California
Hollister is a city in and the county seat of San Benito County, located in the Central Coast region of California. With a 2020 United States census population of 41,678, Hollister is one of the largest cities in the Monterey Bay Area and a me ...
, to Fred and Edith Schmidt. He married Meredith Hallenbeck in 1949.
Schmidt began his training in engineering in 1944 in the Navy Air Corps. He received the B.E.E. degree from Marquette University
Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...
in 1946, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
in 1952 and 1959, respectively.
Career
From 1946 to 1961, Schmidt worked withNASA Ames Research Center
The Ames Research Center (ARC), also known as NASA Ames, is a major NASA research center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California's Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1939 as the second National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) laborat ...
, where he discovered the utility of the Kalman filter
For statistics and control theory, Kalman filtering, also known as linear quadratic estimation (LQE), is an algorithm that uses a series of measurements observed over time, including statistical noise and other inaccuracies, and produces estimat ...
as applied to data processing for the nonlinear navigation equations of the Apollo crewed lunar missions. While at Ames, he developed piloted motion simulators, designed nonlinear compensation techniques for saturation effects in control systems, and served as branch chief in charge of all analog simulation work. During 1961 and 1962, Schmidt was with Lockheed Missiles and Space Company
Lockheed Missiles and Space Company (LMSC) was a unit of the Lockheed Corporation "Missiles, Space, and Electronics Systems Group." LMSC was started by Willis Hawkins who served as its president. After Lockheed merged with Martin-Marietta the u ...
, applying filter theory and model identification techniques and developing digital computer programs to process tracking data and give postflight evaluation of launch vehicle guidance and propulsion systems.
From 1962 to 1966, Schmidt was a senior staff scientist with Philco's Western Development Laboratory. There he directed studies of navigation and guidance systems for space vehicle systems and development of digital computer programs for analysis and design of space vehicle systems. Also at Philco, he conceived the fan beam
A fan-beam antenna is a directional antenna producing a main beam having a narrow beamwidth in one dimension and a wider beamwidth in the other dimension. This pattern will be achieved by a truncated paraboloid reflector or a circular paraboloid ...
navigation satellite technique and pursued studies to prove the feasibility and accuracy of this concept. He also developed a formulation of the Kalman filter which was named the Schmidt–Kalman filter
The Schmidt–Kalman Filter is a modification of the Kalman filter for reducing the dimensionality of the state estimate, while still considering the effects of the additional state in the calculation of the covariance matrix and the Kalman gains. ...
in his honor.
In 1966, Schmidt joined Analytical Mechanics Associates, Inc., where he was vice president and technical director of their western division. At AMA, Schmidt developed a special Kalman filter formulation for a navigation system, applied control theory to improve NASA piloted flight simulators, and developed several on-board navigation systems which incorporate square-root formulations of the Kalman filter.
As a consultant to Northrop from 1992-2001, he led a team in the first aircraft application of a Kalman filter for the C-5A navigation system. Continuing to consult to Northrop, he led the design of the Kalman filter for the navigation system in the B-2 bomber
The Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses. A subsonic flying ...
.
Organizations
*Associate Fellow,American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of ...
*Member, Eta Kappa Nu
Eta Kappa Nu () or IEEE-HKN is the international honor society of the Computer Science and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). "The organization promotes excellence in the profession and in education through an emphasis ...
*Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...
*Member, Tau Beta Pi
The Tau Beta Pi Association (commonly Tau Beta Pi, , or TBP) is the oldest engineering honor society and the second oldest collegiate honor society in the United States. It honors engineering students in American universities who have shown a ...
" Stanley Francis Schmidt, Los Altos, CA; WI Beta, 1946. Deceased. 2019. ''The Tau Beta Pi Association.'' Retrieved 25 July 2019.
See also
*Extended Kalman filter
In estimation theory, the extended Kalman filter (EKF) is the nonlinear version of the Kalman filter which linearizes about an estimate of the current mean and covariance. In the case of well defined transition models, the EKF has been considered t ...
References
External links
*Discovery of the Kalman Filter as A Practical Tool for Aerospace and Industry
' (PDF) Photocopy of 18-page NASA Technical Memorandum 86847 by Leonard A. McGee and Stanley F. Schmidt. This memo is referenced in the article but is behind a paywall. This photocopy is complete and free. {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Stanley F. 1926 births 2015 deaths Marquette University alumni Stanford University alumni People from Hollister, California American electrical engineers Engineers from California