Airborne Antenna and Multipath Error Characterization for DFMC Error Standardization

Stefano Caizzone, Mihaela-Simona Circiu, Wahid Elmarissi, Christoph Enneking and Andreas Winterstein

Abstract: The current increase in the number of available satellites from different constellations as well as in the number of satellites emitting signals at multiple frequency bands is promising to strongly increase the positioning performance of satellite navigation receivers. Such improvement is for instance due to the possibility to use dual frequency corrections for the ionospheric effects. Dual frequency multi constellation (DFMC) systems are hence currently being deployed worldwide for different applications. In the aeronautical field, a standardization effort for DFMC navigation systems is currently being coordinated by RTCA, with the aim to define the minimum operational performance specifications (MOPS) of future avionic systems. In such framework, antennas assume a central role: on the one hand, the impact of antenna imperfections on the overall pseudorange error will become more relevant with DFMC systems. This is due to the minimization of other error terms, such as the ionospheric one, thanks to multifrequency processing. Such contribution needs therefore to be properly characterized. On the other hand, antenna characteristics impact the multipath error at the receiver, which is due to the multipath susceptibility of the antenna itself: such contribution also needs to be further investigated and when possible, modelled. This paper aims at addressing both these antenna-related error terms, focusing on airborne applications. A method for a precise antenna characterization will be shown, also considering, through electromagnetic measurements and simulations, the (multipath-generating) installation on the aircraft. An initial comparison of the results obtained through this method with data collected from flight tests will be shown, validating the correctness of the method. Moreover, a further insight will be given regarding the different performance levels achievable by different commercial antennas.
Published in: Proceedings of the 32nd International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2019)
September 16 - 20, 2019
Hyatt Regency Miami
Miami, Florida
Pages: 1453 - 1463
Cite this article: Caizzone, Stefano, Circiu, Mihaela-Simona, Elmarissi, Wahid, Enneking, Christoph, Winterstein, Andreas, "Airborne Antenna and Multipath Error Characterization for DFMC Error Standardization," Proceedings of the 32nd International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2019), Miami, Florida, September 2019, pp. 1453-1463. https://doi.org/10.33012/2019.16908
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