An AOA estimator for multiple GPS signals using a modified despreader

Abstract

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is one of the core technologies for the Location Based Service (LBS), and has various applications from the leisure business to the military. LBS requires accurate location information of an object, which GPS estimates using at least four satellites. In order to enhance the GPS signal quality, angle-of-arrival (AOA) information is required, but these are difficult to estimate because the system operates with a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and in the presence of high-power interference. In this paper, we explore an extension of a recently proposed GPS AOA estimation technique based on a modified despreader for multiple GPS signals. Since the extended estimator does not require a singular value decomposition (SVD), unlike conventional AOA estimation algorithms such as Multiple Signal Classification (MUSIC), it has a relatively low computational complexity. Also, this technique does not need to choose the GPS AOAs from all estimated AOAs because those of the interference signals are not estimated. We demonstrate the performance of the GPS AOA estimation algorithm for multiple satellites via a computer simulation example.