Reconfigurable Low Power Mobile SDR for GNSS Integrity

ABSTRACT: The traditional approach of SDR is to provide flexibility and allow for longer lifecycles by employing FPGAs. These devices have the advantage that they can be reprogrammed to support different waveforms, but have been limited to applications not constrained by size and power as they are power-hungry and not well suited for mobile applications. From a military perspective, another critical disadvantage that results from FPGA based design is that any reconfiguration requires hardware changes. Unlike a simple software change, this requires a costly and time-consuming procurement process to secure the needed technology update. Quantum Dimension has envisioned a true SDR platform based on todays efficient low power processors. Here changes can be made via software-only. With such architecture, a suite of powerful products can be developed to allow the integration of advanced GNSS signal processing with SWaP optimized mobile design. Specifically, we will leverage our existing architecture for GNSS signal processing in this research. Our proposed research effort will encompass multiband GNSS/SoOP integrity algorithm development, optimization and real-time software development. A hardware architecture for a small form factor device that that can utilize these processors and evolve into a device that supports the CGM size is a key outcome. BENEFIT: There are multiple commercial applications of this research for GNSS integrity. Beyond the usage for the CGM, most military GPS applications would benefit from the enhancement to GNSS integrity. Additionally, there are multiple civilian applications for GNSS enhancements including the following industries: agriculture, fishing, surveying/mapping, homeland security/first responder etc. There will continue to be an explosion in the growth of these types of applications for the cellular user who would like access to locational or navigational data for everyday requirements.