Howtosignalprocessing
- What is GPS acquisition?
- How does a GPS receiver identify a satellite?
- What is satellite signal acquisition?
- How does communication between GPS receivers and the GPS satellites happen?
What is GPS acquisition?
Acquisition in Global Positioning System (GPS) is primary and important step to measure the code phase of Pseudo Random Noise (PRN) code and Doppler shift in carrier frequency of received GPS signal.
How does a GPS receiver identify a satellite?
A GPS receiver determines its own location by measuring the time it takes for a signal to arrive at its location from at least four satellites. Because radio waves travel at a constant speed, the receiver can use the time measurements to calculate its distance from each satellite.
What is satellite signal acquisition?
Satellite signal acquisition involves a search in a two-dimensional space, which is defined by the PRN phase and Doppler frequency shift. The search is typically performed through the PRN code correlation operation [5].
How does communication between GPS receivers and the GPS satellites happen?
Each satellite transmits low radio signals with a unique code on different frequencies, allowing the GPS receiver to identify the signals. The main purpose of these coded signals is to allow for calculating travel time from the satellite to the GPS receiver.
