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Coherent integration time limit of a mobile receiver for indoor GNSS applications

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Abstract

There is an emerging requirement for processing global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals indoor where the signal is very weak and subjected to spatial fading. Typically, longer coherent integration intervals provide the additional processing gain required for the detection and processing of such weak signals. However, the arbitrary physical motion of the handset imputed by the user limits the effectiveness of longer coherent integration intervals due to the spatial decorrelation of the multipath-faded GNSS signal. In this paper, limits of coherent integration due to spatial decorrelation are derived and corroborated with experimental verification. A general result is that the processing gain resulting from direct coherent integration saturates after the antenna has moved through a certain distance, which for typical indoor propagation, is about half a carrier wavelength. However, a refined Doppler search coupled with a prolonged coherent integration interval extends this limit, which is effectively a manifestation of selective diversity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Schulich School of Engineering, Position Location and Navigation (PLAN) Group, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada

    Ali Broumandan, John Nielsen & Gérard Lachapelle

Authors
  1. Ali Broumandan
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  2. John Nielsen
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  3. Gérard Lachapelle
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Correspondence to Ali Broumandan.

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Broumandan, A., Nielsen, J. & Lachapelle, G. Coherent integration time limit of a mobile receiver for indoor GNSS applications. GPS Solut 16, 157–167 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10291-011-0215-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10291-011-0215-y

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