GNSS Data/Pilot Combining with Extended Integrations for Carrier Tracking
Modern Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals are usually made of two components: a pilot and a data channel. The former is adopted to extend the integration time and improve receiver sensitivity, whereas the latter is used for data dissemination. Combining the two channels allows one to...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/8/3932 |
| _version_ | 1797603512265211904 |
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| author | Daniele Borio |
| author_facet | Daniele Borio |
| author_sort | Daniele Borio |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Modern Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals are usually made of two components: a pilot and a data channel. The former is adopted to extend the integration time and improve receiver sensitivity, whereas the latter is used for data dissemination. Combining the two channels allows one to fully exploit the transmitted power and further improve receiver performance. The presence of data symbols in the data channel, however, limits the integration time in the combining process. When a pure data channel is considered, the integration time can be extended using a squaring operation, which removes the data symbols without affecting phase information. In this paper, Maximum Likelihood (ML) estimation is used to derive the optimal data-pilot combining strategy and extend the integration time beyond the data symbol duration. In this way, a generalized correlator is obtained as the linear combination of the pilot and data components. The data component is multiplied by a non-linear term, which compensates for the presence of data bits. Under weak signal conditions, this multiplication leads to a form of squaring, which generalizes the squaring correlator used in data-only processing. The weights of the combination depend on the signal amplitude and noise variance that need to be estimated. The ML solution is integrated into a Phase Lock Loop (PLL) and used to process GNSS signals with data and pilot components. The proposed algorithm and its performance are characterized from a theoretical point of view, using semi-analytic simulations and through the processing of GNSS signals generated using a hardware simulator. The derived method is compared with other data/pilot combining strategies with extended integrations showing the advantages and drawbacks of the different approaches. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:33:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-94311ce7d6bd43e5a687712a7e4a2c19 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:33:10Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-94311ce7d6bd43e5a687712a7e4a2c192023-11-17T21:16:40ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202023-04-01238393210.3390/s23083932GNSS Data/Pilot Combining with Extended Integrations for Carrier TrackingDaniele Borio0European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), 21027 Ispra, ItalyModern Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals are usually made of two components: a pilot and a data channel. The former is adopted to extend the integration time and improve receiver sensitivity, whereas the latter is used for data dissemination. Combining the two channels allows one to fully exploit the transmitted power and further improve receiver performance. The presence of data symbols in the data channel, however, limits the integration time in the combining process. When a pure data channel is considered, the integration time can be extended using a squaring operation, which removes the data symbols without affecting phase information. In this paper, Maximum Likelihood (ML) estimation is used to derive the optimal data-pilot combining strategy and extend the integration time beyond the data symbol duration. In this way, a generalized correlator is obtained as the linear combination of the pilot and data components. The data component is multiplied by a non-linear term, which compensates for the presence of data bits. Under weak signal conditions, this multiplication leads to a form of squaring, which generalizes the squaring correlator used in data-only processing. The weights of the combination depend on the signal amplitude and noise variance that need to be estimated. The ML solution is integrated into a Phase Lock Loop (PLL) and used to process GNSS signals with data and pilot components. The proposed algorithm and its performance are characterized from a theoretical point of view, using semi-analytic simulations and through the processing of GNSS signals generated using a hardware simulator. The derived method is compared with other data/pilot combining strategies with extended integrations showing the advantages and drawbacks of the different approaches.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/8/3932bit estimationGNSS signalssquaringPLLPhase Lock Looptracking |
| spellingShingle | Daniele Borio GNSS Data/Pilot Combining with Extended Integrations for Carrier Tracking Sensors bit estimation GNSS signals squaring PLL Phase Lock Loop tracking |
| title | GNSS Data/Pilot Combining with Extended Integrations for Carrier Tracking |
| title_full | GNSS Data/Pilot Combining with Extended Integrations for Carrier Tracking |
| title_fullStr | GNSS Data/Pilot Combining with Extended Integrations for Carrier Tracking |
| title_full_unstemmed | GNSS Data/Pilot Combining with Extended Integrations for Carrier Tracking |
| title_short | GNSS Data/Pilot Combining with Extended Integrations for Carrier Tracking |
| title_sort | gnss data pilot combining with extended integrations for carrier tracking |
| topic | bit estimation GNSS signals squaring PLL Phase Lock Loop tracking |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/8/3932 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT danieleborio gnssdatapilotcombiningwithextendedintegrationsforcarriertracking |