Assessing the IRNSS L5-signal in combination with GPS,Galileo, and QZSS L5/E5a-signals for positioning and navigation

The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), which is being developed for positioning services in and around India, is the latest addition to the global family of satellite-based navigation systems. As IRNSS only shares the L5-frequency with GPS, the European Galileo, and the Japanese Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), it has at least at present a limited interoperability with the existing systems. Noting that the L5-frequency capability is under development even for GPS, this contribution assesses the interoperability of the IRNSS L5-signal with the GPS, Galileo, and QZSS L5/E5a-signals for positioning and navigation using real data collected in Perth, Australia. First, the noise characteristic of the IRNSS L5-signal and its comparison with that of the GPS, Galileo, and QZSS L1/E1- and L5/E5a-signals is presented. Then, the L5-observables of combined systems (formed from IRNSS, GPS, Galileo, and QZSS) are assessed for real-time kinematic positioning using the standard LAMBDA method and for instantaneous attitude determination using the constrained LAMBDA method. The results show that the IRNSS L5-signal has comparable noise characteristics as that of the other L5/E5a-signals. For single-frequency carrier phase-based positioning and navigation, the results show better ambiguity resolution performance of L5/E5a-only processing than that of L1/E1-only processing.     

GPS,Galileo, QZSS and IRNSS differential ISBs: estimation and application

Knowledge of inter-system biases (ISBs) is essential to combine observations of multiple global and regional navigation satellite systems (GNSS/RNSS) in an optimal way. Earlier studies based on GPS, Galileo, BDS and QZSS have demonstrated that the performance of multi-GNSS real-time kinematic positioning is improved when the differential ISBs (DISBs) corresponding to signals of different constellations but transmitted at identical frequencies can be calibrated, such that only one common pivot satellite is sufficient for inter-system ambiguity resolution at that particular frequency. Recently, many new GNSS satellites have been launched. At the beginning of 2016, there were 12 Galileo IOV/FOC satellites and 12 GPS Block IIF satellites in orbit, while the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) had five satellites launched of which four are operational. More launches are scheduled for the coming years. As a continuation of the earlier studies, we analyze the magnitude and stability of the DISBs corresponding to these new satellites. For IRNSS this article presents for the first time DISBs with respect to the L5/E5a signals of GPS, Galileo and QZSS for a mixed-receiver baseline. It is furthermore demonstrated that single-frequency (L5/E5a) ambiguity resolution is tremendously improved when the multi-GNSS observations are all differenced with respect to a common pivot satellite, compared to classical differencing for which a pivot satellite is selected for each constellation.     

IRNSS/NavIC and GPS: a single- and dual-system L5 analysis

The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) has recently (May 2016) become fully operational. In this contribution, for the fully operational IRNSS as a stand-alone system and also in combination with GPS, we provide a first assessment of L5 integer ambiguity resolution and positioning performance. While our empirical analyses are based on the data collected by two JAVAD receivers at Curtin University, Perth, Australia, our formal analyses are carried out for various onshore locations within the IRNSS service area. We study the noise characteristics (carrier-to-noise density, measurement precision, time correlation), the integer ambiguity resolution performance (success rates and ambiguity dilution of precision), and the positioning performance (ambiguity float and ambiguity fixed). The results show that our empirical outcomes are consistent with their formal counterparts and that the GPS L5-data have a lower noise level than that of IRNSS L5-data, particularly in case of the code data. The underlying model in our assessments varies from stand-alone IRNSS (L5) to IRNSS \(+\) GPS (L5), from unconstrained to height-constrained and from kinematic to static. Significant improvements in ambiguity resolution and positioning performance are achievable upon integrating L5-data of IRNSS with GPS.     

印度卫星导航系统最新进展

对印度GPS辅助的GEO增强导航系统（GAGAN）和印度自主建设的区域卫星导航系统（IRNSS）的最新研究进展进行了介绍,详细介绍了其系统组成、最新测试结果以及未来的发展计划。     

卫星导航信号体系设计研究

针对卫星导航当前面临导航信号测量性能提高、应用环境更加苛刻、导航频段频谱资源紧张等需求,合理的信号体制和各类标准的相辅相成是卫星导航系统持续稳定运行的重要保障。该文在梳理和分析国内外公开的卫星导航信号体制的基础上,研究了卫星导航信号的载波频率、调制方式、信道编码、导航电文等关键组成要素,简要剖析了各组成要素对系统兼容性、互操作性、码跟踪捕获性能、抗干扰性、抗多径及用户终端成本等方面的影响,开展了卫星导航信号设计的需求分析,设计提出了一种卫星导航信号设计标准体系。     

Study on the cross-correlation of GNSS signals and typical approximations

In global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers, the first signal processing stage is the acquisition, which consists of detecting the received GNSS signals and determining the associated code delay and Doppler frequency by means of correlations with a code and carrier replicas. These codes, as part of the GNSS signal, were chosen to have very good correlation properties without considering the effect of a potential received Doppler frequency. In the literature, it is often admitted that the maximum GPS L1 C/A code cross-correlation is about ?24 dB. We show that this maximum can be as high as ?19.2 dB when considering a Doppler frequency in a typical range of [?5, 5] kHz. We also show the positive impact of the coherent integration time on the cross-correlation and that even a satellite with Doppler outside the frequency search space of a receiver impacts the cross-correlation. In addition, the expression of the correlation is often provided in the continuous time domain, while its implementation is typically made in the discrete domain. It is then legitimate to ask the validity of this approximation. Therefore, the purpose of this research is twofold: First, we discuss typical approximations and evaluate their regions of validity, and second, we provide characteristic values such as maximums and quantiles of the auto- and cross-correlation of the GPS L1 C/A and Galileo E1 OS codes in the presence of Doppler, for frequency ranges up to 50 kHz and for different integration times.     

IRNSS和QZSS在各自主服务区域的L5定位性能评估：独立系统与GPS联合

印度区域导航卫星系统（IRNSS）与日本准天顶系统（QZSS）是近年来宣布正式运行的两个区域卫星导航系统。本文首先评估了IRNSS和QZSS在各自主服务区域的L5信号单点定位性能。然后,为了探究导航星座结构差异对各区域系统联合GPS在城市峡谷环境下定位性能的影响程度,详细对比分析了卫星截止高度角为5°、15°、25°、35°、45°、55°时各区域系统在其主服务区内联合GPS定位的表现。结果表明：① IRNSS在其主服务区内可提供全天连续独立L5定位服务,水平方向定位精度小于2.50m,高程方向定位精度小于4.10m;② QZSS在其主服务区内只能提供全天部分时段的独立L5定位服务,水平方向定位精度小于4.80m,高程方向定位精度小于7.40m;③由于QZSS独特的星座结构,其在主服务区城市峡谷环境中联合GPS定位的性能要优于IRNSS在其相应主服务区联合GPS定位的表现,尤其是在天空视野有限的情况下。本文结果对决策者设计新的区域导航系统具有一定的参考价值。     

圆周移位在伪码补零BDS信号捕获算法中的应用

D1导航电文中加入了NH码,且D2导航电文的速率也比GPS信号的快很多,使得BDS的信号结构增加了捕获难度。采用伪码补零的方法可以对BDS信号进行有效捕获,但是该方法积分时间较长导致捕获耗时变长。本文提出了一种基于圆周移位的改进伪码补零算法,将搜索中复杂的载波剥离运算用计算量很小的频谱序列的搬移操作来代替,使算法复杂度大幅下降。试验结果表明,该方法可以有效减少运算量和捕获耗时。     

基于部分输出FFT的CSK信号高效解调算法CSCD

为了实现精密星历数据的高速率播发,码移键控(CSK)调制技术将是下一代卫星导航系统的重要选项.CSK调制信号在解调时需要遍历计算各种码相位偏移的相关值,因此通常使用基于快速傅里叶变换(FFT)的频域解调算法.根据CSK频域解调仅需FFT部分输出结果的特点,提出了基于部分输出FFT的CSK信号频域解调算法.该算法对传统FFT的蝶形解算结构进行优化,通过定义计算节点以消除与输出结果无关的计算,从而降低解调的计算复杂度.以码率为1.023 Mcps的CSK(4,1023)调制信号为例,所提算法可节省约45.6%的计算量,这对下一代卫星导航接收机的设计具有重要的意义.     

一种SINS/GPS深组合导航系统技术问题分析

为了满足高动态用户及强干扰条件下的应用需求,提出了一种基于卫星信号矢量跟踪的SINS/GPS深组合导航方法,设计了基于FPGA硬件平台的实施方案。利用组合卡尔曼滤波器反馈回路取代了传统接收机中独立、并行的跟踪环路,能够同时完成所有可视卫星信号的跟踪和导航信息处理;通过矢量跟踪算法对所有可视卫星信号进行集中处理,能够增强跟踪通道对信号载噪比变化的适应能力,从而提高接收机在强干扰或信号中断条件下的跟踪性能;根据SINS导航参数和星历信息推测GPS伪码相位和多普勒频移等参数,用以辅助卫星信号的捕获和跟踪,能够大大缩短接收机的搜索捕获时间,并增强接收机在高动态条件下的跟踪性能。基于矢量跟踪的深组合方法不仅在GPS信号短暂中断期间,能够保证系统的导航精度和可靠性,而且在强干扰环境中能够维持较好的伪码相位和载波频率跟踪性能。     

卫星信号发射时刻的无偏恢复

卫星信号发射时刻在导航定位中是一个重要的参数,但是在城市峡谷等弱信号条件下,接收机可能完成不了所有卫星信号发射时刻的组装。在伪距定位中卫星信号发射时刻的组装和粗时段导航中卫星信号发射时刻的恢复(有偏)技术基础上,提出一种无偏的卫星信号发射时刻恢复方法,前提是卫星至少能完成一颗星的伪距测量,并且具有150km误差范围内的先验位置和辅助星历。利用BDS B1和GPS L1中频数据在软件接收机平台进行了BDS,GPS信号发射时刻无偏恢复验证实验证明了方法的有效性。     

GPS民用广播星历中ISC参数精度分析及其对导航定位的影响

2005年起发射的GPS Block IIR-M卫星在L2频率上新增了L2C民用信号,2010年起发射的Block IIF卫星新增了L5频率及L5I、L5Q两种民用信号。为此,GPS民用广播星历在原有时间群延迟(TGD)参数的基础上,新增了ISC_(C/A)、ISC_(L2C)、ISC_(L5I)及ISC_(L5Q)4种ISC(inter-signal correction)参数,以服务GPS实时导航定位用户。本文给出了ISC参数在GPS单/双频定位中的改正方法、利用不同机构提供的后处理差分码偏差(DCB)产品评估了ISC参数的实际精度、研究了ISC参数对GPS民用导航定位精度的影响。在明确TGD、ISC和DCB 3类参数之间区别与联系的基础上,本文研究表明:GPS广播的ISC_(C/A)参数精度可达0.2ns,TGD、ISCL2C及ISCL5Q参数精度可达0.5ns;以2014年连续11d全球12个MGEX(multi-GNSS experiment)站为例,经由ISC参数改正后,GPS L2C单频标准单点定位(SPP)的位置解精度提高了30.6%,L1C/A+L2C双频SPP的位置解精度提高了12.2%,该精度与L1P(Y)+L2P(Y)消电离层组合SPP的位置解精度相当。     

GPS卫星导航信号体制的发展和设计比较研究

在GPS现代化计划的指导下，GPS卫星导航信号体制得到了不断发展和完善。本文分析总结了GPS卫星导航信号体制的发展和演进，研究了民用信号新增的L2C和L5，以及军用信号将采用的BOC调制，在此基础上对两个民用信号L2C和L5进行了比较研究。     

An all-pass filter for compensation of ionospheric dispersion effects on wideband GNSS signals

Compared with the traditional GPS L1 C/A BPSK-R(1) signal, wideband global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals suffer more severe distortion due to ionospheric dispersion. Ionospheric dispersion inevitably introduces additional errors in pseudorange and carrier phase observations that cannot be readily eliminated by traditional methods. Researchers have reported power losses, waveform ripples, correlation peak asymmetries, and carrier phase shifts caused by ionospheric dispersion. We analyze the code tracking bias induced by ionospheric dispersion and propose an efficient all-pass filter to compensate the corresponding nonlinear group delay over the signal bandwidth. The filter is constructed in a cascaded biquad form based on the estimated total electron content (TEC). The effects of TEC accuracy, filter order, and fraction parameter on the filter fitting error are explored. Taking the AltBOC(15,10) signal as an example, we compare the time domain signal waveforms, correlation peaks, code tracking biases, and carrier phase biases with and without this all-pass filter and demonstrate that the proposed delay-equalization all-pass filter is a potential solution to ionospheric dispersion compensation and mitigation of observation biases for wideband GNSS signals.     

A multi-technique approach for characterizing the SVN49 signal anomaly, part 2: chip shape analysis

Due to a satellite internal reflection at the L5 test payload, the SVN49 (PRN1) GPS satellite exhibits a static multipath on the L1 and L2 signals, which results in elevation-dependent tracking errors for terrestrial receivers. Using a 30-m high-gain antenna, code and carrier phase measurements as well as raw in-phase and quadrature radio frequency samples have been collected during a series of zenith passes in mid-April 2010 to characterize the SVN49 multipath and its impact on common users. Following an analysis of the receiver tracking data and the IQ constellation provided in Part 1 of this study, the present Part 2 provides an in-depth investigation into chip shapes for the L1 and L2 signals. A single reflection model is found to be compatible with the observed chip shape distortions and key parameters for an elevation dependent multipath model are derived. A good agreement is found between multipath parameters derived independently from raw IQ-samples and measurements of a so-called Vision Correlator. The chip shapes and their observed variation with elevation can be used to predict the multipath response of different correlator types within a tracking receiver. The multipath model itself is suitable for implementation in a signal simulator and thus enables laboratory testing of actual receiver hardware.     

北斗B1C、B2a信号非理想性分析及接收约束建议

卫星导航信号的非理想性会导致不同接收机之间出现测距偏差,是影响卫星导航系统服务精度和完好性的重要因素。首先,针对北斗系统B1C、B2a新体制信号的非理想性进行分析,利用大口径天线采集了全部北斗三号在轨卫星播发的B1C、B2a信号（共27颗卫星）,评估了不同接收带宽、码鉴相间距下测距偏差的大小与变化特点;然后,以双频多星座星基增强服务应用为例,分析了两个信号在相应接收机中的设计约束条件。研究结果发现,在接收机常用的参数范围内,B1C、B2a信号非理想性引入的测距偏差分别不超过0.68 m、0.44 m;在测距偏差小于0.1 m的性能约束下,B1C、B2a信号可用的约束条件参数范围优于国际民航标准草案中的相关要求。     

QZSS/IRNSS对BDS在中国定位性能增强的评估

通过STK软件对BDS、QZSS、IRNSS卫星星座结构仿真的基础上,选择BDS、BDS/QZSS、BDS/IRNSS、BDS/QZSS/IRNSS、QZSS/IRNSS等定位方式对中国大陆单观测站与整体范围最小可见卫星数、GDOP值、定位误差进行覆盖分析,确定了QZSS与IRNSS在我国的覆盖范围及对BDS定位性能增强作用的评估。结果表明,BDS/QZSS/IRNSS组合在我国的最小可见卫星数可达16~21颗,GDOP值在1.4~1.7之间,定位误差达5.5~7.5m,相比单BDS定位最小可见卫星数增加了6~8颗,GDOP值减小了0.3~0.5,定位精度提升了2.0~3.0m,对华南地区的定位性能有明显提升,而对东北等地区定位性能的提升较小。     

Real-time kinematic positioning of LEO satellites using a single-frequency GPS receiver

Due to their low cost and low power consumption, single-frequency GPS receivers are considered suitable for low-cost space applications such as small satellite missions. Recently, requirements have emerged for real-time accurate orbit determination at sub-meter level in order to carry out onboard geocoding of high-resolution imagery, open-loop operation of altimeters and radio occultation. This study proposes an improved real-time kinematic positioning method for LEO satellites using single-frequency receivers. The C/A code and L1 phase are combined to eliminate ionospheric effects. The epoch-differenced carrier phase measurements are utilized to acquire receiver position changes which are further used to smooth the absolute positions. A kinematic Kalman filter is developed to implement kinematic orbit determination. Actual flight data from China’s small satellite SJ-9A are used to test the navigation performance. Results show that the proposed method outperforms traditional kinematic positioning method in terms of accuracy. A 3D position accuracy of 0.72 and 0.79 m has been achieved using the predicted portion of IGS ultra-rapid products and broadcast ephemerides, respectively.     

珞珈一号低轨卫星导航增强系统信号质量评估

低轨卫星导航信号增强能够弥补现有中高轨导航卫星信号收敛慢、信号弱的不足,在下一代导航定位技术中占有重要地位。武汉大学研制的珞珈一号科学实验卫星搭载了导航增强载荷,能够在轨自动计算轨道和钟差,并自主生成和播发双频测距信号,首次实现了低轨卫星平台的导航信号增强。就珞珈一号卫星导航增强信号的质量,包括信号载噪比、伪距和载波相位测量精度以及单星授时精度进行了评估,结果显示,珞珈一号卫星高仰角的伪距和载波相位测量精度分别优于1.5 m和1.7 mm,能够满足导航信号增强的需求。珞珈一号卫星单星授时的精度在10~30 ns量级,证明了珞珈一号卫星星地测距链路的正确性和有效性。     

Single-frequency L5 attitude determination from IRNSS/NavIC and GPS: a single- and dual-system analysis

The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) has recently (May 2016) reached its full operational capability. In this contribution, we provide the very first L5 attitude determination analyses of the fully operational IRNSS as a standalone system and also in combination with the fully operational GPS Block IIF along with the corresponding ambiguity resolution results. Our analyses are carried out for both a linear array of two antennas and a planar array of three antennas at Curtin University, Perth, Australia. We study the noise characteristics (carrier-to-noise density, measurement precision, time correlation), the integer ambiguity resolution performance (LAMBDA, MC-LAMBDA) and the attitude determination performance (ambiguity float and ambiguity fixed). A prerequisite for precise and fast IRNSS attitude determination is the successful resolution of the double-differenced integer carrier-phase ambiguities. In this contribution, we will compare the performance of the unconstrained and the multivariate-constrained LAMBDA method. It is therefore also shown what improvements are achieved when the known body geometry of the antenna array is rigorously incorporated into the ambiguity objective function. As our ambiguity-fixed outcomes show consistency between empirical and formal results, we also formally assess the precise attitude determination performance for several locations within the IRNSS service area.