Robustness versus accuracy: multipath effects on land mobile satellite navigation

Knowledge of performance for different signal options in difficult environments is vital for improving modern satellite navigation systems. Currently, the accuracy of the different transmission signals in realistic multipath environments is still not known in current literature. In this study, different classical and advanced signals have been simulated using an urban multipath channel model standardised by the International Telecommunication Union. For the given multipath channel, signal and receiver effects have been investigated. The performance of GPS C/A and GALILEO open service signals has been compared. Additional simulation of wideband navigation signals lead to the uncovering of an important conflict between robustness and accuracy in terms of signal bandwidth. This conflict is signal inherent and not associated to a particular receiver. As a result of this finding, an improved satellite signal extension for robust urban navigation has been proposed. On the receiver side, pure line‐of‐sight (LOS) conditions have been identified in which a novel particle filter‐based receiver shows a comparable performance as a classical delay locked loop (DLL). In a mixture of LOS and shadowing conditions the particle receiver clearly outperformed the classical DLL. For the classical DLL, critical scenarios have been identified that are often causing a loss of lock.