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Methodology for comparing two carrier phase tracking techniques

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Abstract

The carrier phase tracking loop is the primary focus of the current work. In particular, two carrier phase tracking techniques are compared, the standard phase tracking loop, i.e., the phase lock loop (PLL), and the extended Kalman filter (EKF) tracking loop. In order to compare these two different techniques and taking into consideration the different models adopted in each, it is important to bring them to one common ground. In order to accomplish this, the equivalent PLL for a given EKF has to be determined in terms of steady-state response to both thermal noise and signal dynamics. A novel method for experimentally calculating the equivalent bandwidth of the EKF is presented and used to evaluate the performance of the equivalent PLL. Results are shown for both the L1 and L5 signals. Even though the two loops are designed to track equivalent dynamics and to have equivalent carrier phase standard deviations, the EKF outperforms the equivalent PLL in terms of both the transient response and sensitivity.

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Acknowledgments

The financial support of General Motors of Canada, the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Alberta Advanced Education and Technology and the Western Economic Diversification Canada is acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Position, Location and Navigation (PLAN) Group, Department of Geomatics Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    Dina Reda Salem, Cillian O’Driscoll & Gérard Lachapelle

Authors
  1. Dina Reda Salem
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  2. Cillian O’Driscoll
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  3. Gérard Lachapelle
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Correspondence to Dina Reda Salem.

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Salem, D.R., O’Driscoll, C. & Lachapelle, G. Methodology for comparing two carrier phase tracking techniques. GPS Solut 16, 197–207 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10291-011-0222-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10291-011-0222-z

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