2022 Fellow

Presented to: Dr. Dennis M. Akos

Citation: For fundamental contributions to the design, development, and commercialization of GNSS software-defined radio technology

Dr. Dennis M. Akos is the developer of the GNSS software-defined radio (SDR). The radio front-end developments, performed in cooperation AFRL, resulted in the first direct RF sampling front-end designs for GPS and GPS/GLONASS receivers. On the software front, his efforts resulted in the world’s first complete SDR for GPS, implementing all the algorithms required within the receiver from the signal acquisition, code/carrier tracking, data decoding, and the position/ time solution.

During his time as a faculty member at the Luleå University of Technology, Dr. Akos focused on the optimization of existing GPS signal processing algorithms, moving the post-processing of the samples into a real-time implementation. With the transition to real-time processing, Dr. Akos co-founded NordNav Technologies, developing GNSS software-defined receivers. This technology advanced the GPS software radio in the commercial sector. NordNav partnered with CSR to provide a cost-effective solution for the mobile market with the reuse of a 2.4-GHz Bluetooth radio for L1-band GNSS signal processing.

Dr. Akos reworked the GPS SDR implementation into a userfriendly implementation, resulting in the 2007 textbook, A Software-Defined GPS and Galileo Receiver. This provided an open-source implementation of the GPS software-defined receiver algorithms for all as well as a valuable research and educational tool.

Dr. Akos’ research within the field of GNSS software radio has been influential in the efforts of the GPS Laboratory at Stanford University in its mission to integrate GNSS technology within the National Aerospace System on behalf of the FAA. His insight into the internals of GNSS receivers, resulting from his in-depth GPS/GNSS SDR research, continues to be an enabler for safe and effective use of GNSS in aviation.

Dr. Akos is currently a faculty member with the Aerospace Engineering Sciences Department at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Ohio University.