15,873 research outputs found
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Analysis of Ionospheric Scintillations using Wideband GPS L1 C/A Signal Data
A non-real-time GPS receiver has been developed and
tested for use in scintillation analysis. The receiver consists
of a digital storage receiver and non-real-time software
acquisition and tracking algorithms. The goal of
this work is to shed light on the behavior of strongly
scintillating signals: signals which cause conventional
GPS receivers to lose carrier lock.
The receiver collects wideband GPS L1 digital data sampled at 5.7 MHz using an RF front-end and stores it
on disk for post-processing. It processes the data off-line
to determine carrier signal amplitude and phase variations
during scintillations. The main processing algorithms
are traditional code delay and carrier frequency
acquisition algorithms and special signal processing algorithms
that effectively function as a delay-locked loop
and phase-locked loop. The tracking algorithms use
non-causal smoothing techniques in order to optimally
reconstruct the phase and amplitude variations of a
scintillating signal. These techniques are robust against
the deep power fades and strong phase fluctuations
characteristic of scintillating signals.
To test the receiver, scintillation data were collected
in Cauchoeira Paulista, Brazil, from December 4 to 6,
2003. The data set spans several hours and includes
times when one or more satellite signals are scintillating.
The smoothing algorithm has been used to determine
the carrier amplitude and phase time histories
of the scintillating signals along with the distortion of
the pseudorandom noise (PRN) code’s autocorrelation
function. These quantities provide a characterization
of scintillation that can be used to study the physics of
scintillations or to provide off-line test cases to evaluate
a tracking algorithm’s ability to maintain signal lock
during scintillations.Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanic
GPS Carrier Tracking Loop Performance in the presence of Ionospheric Scintillations
The performance of several GPS carrier tracking loops
is evaluated using wideband GPS data recorded during
strong ionospheric scintillations. The aim of this study is
to determine the loop structures and parameters that enable
good phase tracking during the power fades and phase
dynamics induced by scintillations. Constant-bandwidth
and variable-bandwidth loops are studied using theoretical
models, simulation, and tests with actual GPS signals.
Constant-bandwidth loops with loop bandwidths near 15
Hz are shown to lose phase lock during scintillations. Use
of the decision-directed discriminator reduces the carrier
lock threshold by ∼1 dB relative to the arctangent and conventional Costas discriminators. A proposed variablebandwidth
loop based on a Kalman filter reduces the carrier
lock threshold by more than 7 dB compared to a 15-Hz
constant-bandwidth loop. The Kalman filter-based strategy
employs a soft-decision discriminator, explicitly models
the effects of receiver clock noise, and optimally adapts
the loop bandwidth to the carrier-to-noise ratio. In extensive
simulation and in tests using actual wideband GPS
data, the Kalman filter PLL demonstrates improved cycle
slip immunity relative to constant bandwidth PLLs.Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanic
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Review of Unbiased FIR Filters, Smoothers, and Predictors for Polynomial Signals
Extracting an estimate of a slowly varying signal corrupted by noise is a common task. Examples can be found in industrial, scientific and biomedical instrumentation. Depending on the nature of the application the signal estimate is allowed to be a delayed estimate of the original signal or, in the other extreme, no delay is tolerated. These cases are commonly referred to as filtering, prediction, and smoothing depending on the amount of advance or lag between the input data set and the output data set. In this review paper we provide a comprehensive set of design and analysis tools for designing unbiased FIR filters, predictors, and smoothers for slowly varying signals, i.e. signals that can be modeled by low order polynomials. Explicit expressions of parameters needed in practical implementations are given. Real life examples are provided including cases where the method is extended to signals that are piecewise slowly varying. A critical view on recursive implementations of the algorithms is provided
Robust Positioning in the Presence of Multipath and NLOS GNSS Signals
GNSS signals can be blocked and reflected by nearby objects, such as buildings, walls, and vehicles. They can also be reflected by the ground and by water. These effects are the dominant source of GNSS positioning errors in dense urban environments, though they can have an impact almost anywhere. Non- line-of-sight (NLOS) reception occurs when the direct path from the transmitter to the receiver is blocked and signals are received only via a reflected path. Multipath interference occurs, as the name suggests, when a signal is received via multiple paths. This can be via the direct path and one or more reflected paths, or it can be via multiple reflected paths. As their error characteristics are different, NLOS and multipath interference typically require different mitigation techniques, though some techniques are applicable to both. Antenna design and advanced receiver signal processing techniques can substantially reduce multipath errors. Unless an antenna array is used, NLOS reception has to be detected using the receiver's ranging and carrier-power-to-noise-density ratio (C/N0) measurements and mitigated within the positioning algorithm. Some NLOS mitigation techniques can also be used to combat severe multipath interference. Multipath interference, but not NLOS reception, can also be mitigated by comparing or combining code and carrier measurements, comparing ranging and C/N0 measurements from signals on different frequencies, and analyzing the time evolution of the ranging and C/N0 measurements
Channel, Phase Noise, and Frequency Offset in OFDM Systems: Joint Estimation, Data Detection, and Hybrid Cramer-Rao Lower Bound
Oscillator phase noise (PHN) and carrier frequency offset (CFO) can adversely
impact the performance of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)
systems, since they can result in inter carrier interference and rotation of
the signal constellation. In this paper, we propose an expectation conditional
maximization (ECM) based algorithm for joint estimation of channel, PHN, and
CFO in OFDM systems. We present the signal model for the estimation problem and
derive the hybrid Cramer-Rao lower bound (HCRB) for the joint estimation
problem. Next, we propose an iterative receiver based on an extended Kalman
filter for joint data detection and PHN tracking. Numerical results show that,
compared to existing algorithms, the performance of the proposed ECM-based
estimator is closer to the derived HCRB and outperforms the existing estimation
algorithms at moderate-to-high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). In addition, the
combined estimation algorithm and iterative receiver are more computationally
efficient than existing algorithms and result in improved average uncoded and
coded bit error rate (BER) performance
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Tightly-Coupled Opportunistic Navigation for Deep Urban and Indoor Positioning
A strategy is presented for exploiting the frequency stability,
transmit location, and timing information of ambient radio-frequency “signals of opportunity” for the purpose of
navigating in deep urban and indoor environments. The
strategy, referred to as tightly-coupled opportunistic navigation
(TCON), involves a receiver continually searching
for signals from which to extract navigation and timing
information. The receiver begins by characterizing these
signals, whether downloading characterizations from a collaborative
online database or performing characterizations
on-the-fly. Signal observables are subsequently combined
within a central estimator to produce an optimal estimate
of position and time. A simple demonstration of the
TCON strategy focused on timing shows that a TCONenabled
receiver can characterize and use CDMA cellular
signals to correct its local clock variations, allowing it to
coherently integrate GNSS signals beyond 100 seconds.Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanic
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