BGSRT

Blind GNSS Software Receiver Tool for Field Test Assessment in Harsh Environments

Aims

Design and development of a software tool to recover automatically unknown code chip sequences (or symbol sequences) from multiple GNSS SoOs and satellites based on low-noise signal recordings from high-gain antennas or arrays of antennas in order to enable the de-spreading and exploitation of those SoOs when received with commercial GNSS antennas.
Design and development of a blind GNSS SDR concept demonstrator exploiting automatically the recovered code chip sequences (or symbol sequences)
Design and implementation of advanced techniques for the robust acquisition, tracking and positioning of the SoOs in the concept demonstration.
Design and implementation of hybrid PVT solutions exploiting both the GPS/Galileo L1/E1 open signals (OS) and the SoOs from multiple GNSS satellites in the concept demonstrator
Assessment of the performance of the concept demonstrator with real field signals recorded in urban propagation conditions.

Brief Description

The possibility to exploit in a GNSS software-defined receiver (SDR), navigation signals of opportunity (SoO) with unknown code chip sequences (or symbol sequences) is of interest for the early assessment of new techniques (e.g. acquisition, tracking and positioning techniques) specifically designed for those signals without the need to have full access to the underlying code chip sequences (or symbol sequences). It can be as well of interest for the eventual exploitation of signals with a priori unknown signal/coding structures. In general, these navigation signals might have specific signal properties (e.g., in terms of autocorrelation) that represent a challenge to the receiver when used in harsh propagation conditions, such that advanced techniques need to be applied. One particular case of interest are the high-order BOC signals, whose acquisition and tracking (and later positioning) in the presence of fading/multipath conditions or when using low-end RF front-ends can be challenging.