Objectives and Contextualisation
A telecommunication system is composed of three main blocks: transmitter, communication channel and receiver, through which the exchange of information between the source (transmitter) and destination (receiver) is carried out. In previous courses the student has acquired the knowledge and tools for the design and analysis of these blocks, typically in an independent manner. This course intends to provide an end-to-end view focusing on a particular application of telecommunications, such as satellite-based positioning. For this purpose, the course will address in detail the so-called global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), among which we can find the American GPS system and the European Galileo system.
The objectives of this course are:
To know the fundamentals of satellite-based positioning.
To know the GNSS system architecture.
To know the signals adopted by GNSS systems, putting emphasis on GPS and Galileo.
To understand the operation of a GNSS receiver at signal processing and observable level.
To be able to solve the user's position based on the observables provided by a GNSS receivers.
To understand the operation of a GNSS.
To process both real signals and GNSS observables, and to analyze the results.
To know the fundamentals of precise positioning.
To know the possible applications of GNSS systems.
Competences
Communication
Develop personal attitude.
Develop personal work habits.
Develop thinking habits.
Learn new methods and technologies, building on basic technological knowledge, to be able to adapt to new situations.
Resolve problems with initiative and creativity. Make decisions. Communicate and transmit knowledge, skills and abilities, in awareness of the ethical and professional responsibilities involved in a telecommunications engineer's work.
Work in a team.
Learning Outcomes
"Reason inductively and deductively; i.e. infer general conclusions from private observations, and take on board the general concepts covered in other courses for specific applications."
Apply conceptual, theoretical and practical telecommunication tools, as well as those of telecommunication systems and services to the development and exploitation of applications in a variety of different areas.
Communicate efficiently, orally and in writing, knowledge, results and skills, both professionally and to non-expert audiences.
Communicate solutions to problems in a thorough and concise manner. Write using formal mathematical language.
Critically evaluate the work done.
Demonstrate a pragmatic and flexible attitude for efficient implementation of telecommunications in developing and operating in areas of various kinds.
Develop critical thinking and reasoning.
Develop curiosity and creativity.
Develop independent learning strategies.
Efficiently use ICT for the communication and transmission of ideas and results.
Manage available time and resources.
Mathematically formulate a problem from the basis of a descriptive statement.
Work autonomously.
Work cooperatively.
Content
1. Introduction to GNSS systems
Motivation.
Arquitecture and segments.
Applications.
2. User position computation
Observables.
Navigation equation and error sources.
Navigation solution.
Performance.
Differential positioning.
3. GNSS signals
Fundamentals of spread spectrum modulation.
Characteristics of GNSS signals.
Navigation message.
Modernized signals.
4. GNSS receivers
Receiver architecture.
Signal conditioning.
Acquisition of visible satellites.
Tracking.
Demodulation.
5. Applications and services of GNSS technology
