A Distributed GPS Processing System Utilizing FM Radio Sub-Carrier Data Broadcast

Jerry J. Huang and Yeou-Jyh Tsai

Abstract:	In this paper, a radio data broadcast system which aids GPS signal processing is designed to enable significant improvements of the positioning performance over the conventional GPS receivers. An example of application in micro air vehicle is introduced and a location aware service business model is derived from this kind of technology. In the proposed configurations, the location servers need not to be in the cellular phone carrier’s premises as in other published proposals. All the location computing facilities can be owned and operated by a third party service provider. It offers greater flexibility, operating choices for the AVL, telematics services which bring phone, Internet, navigation, and safety services to vehicles and other businesses. This system utilizes the existing FM radio broadcast or pager infrastructure, so that a quick worldwide deployment can be achieved. Mobile E911 issue can be addressed by this method as well. This approach can save the hassle of resolving different cellular phone systems as in the United States. Another application example of this distributed GPS navigation method is for the auto-pilot of a micro air vehicle (MAV). Because of the stringent restriction in the power consumption and payload of such small carriers, FM/RDS aided GPS processing is a good solution suited to such requirements. In the special instance of the demonstration platform, the FM RDS (Radio Data System) broadcast is the one-way communication link to provide the mobile handset with the necessary GPS aiding data. A GSM mobile handset with an add-on device which includes a RDS decoder and a slightly modified GPS receiver kit. Each FM broadcast station is equipped with a GPS receiver for collecting ephemeris and computing the satellite Dopplers etc. The FM station broadcasts the aiding data, for example, the predicted Doppler shifts pertinent to its coverage area in order to help the mobile handset in figuring out the pseudo ranges from the caller (handset) to the GPS satellites. This raw data is then sent via auto-dialing a regular subscriber’s phone call (for example, 911 or a 800 number) to the location server. The location server does the position fix. A service provider will be then able to use this computed position information and performs the requested services.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 2001 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 22 - 24, 2001 Westin Long Beach Hotel Long Beach, CA
Pages:	86 - 92
Cite this article:	Huang, Jerry J., Tsai, Yeou-Jyh, "A Distributed GPS Processing System Utilizing FM Radio Sub-Carrier Data Broadcast," Proceedings of the 2001 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, Long Beach, CA, January 2001, pp. 86-92.
Full Paper:	ION Members/Non-Members: 1 Download Credit Sign In