PPS Positioning in Weak Signal GPS Environments using a TIDGET Sensor

This paper describes a GPS tracking solution that collects GPS broadband snapshots using NAVSYS’ patented TIDGET (“tracking widget”) sensor technology and postprocesses these snapshots to create a Precise Positioning System (PPS) solution using a SAASM receiver. This approach has the advantages of reducing the size, weight, cost and power of the electronics in the sensor while still producing a SAASM-based solutions for military tracking applications. Since the GPS signals do not have to be processed in real-time, enhanced signal processing algorithms can be applied using the SAASM correlator outputs that allow the digital signals to be optimally reprocessed using network assistance from a GPS base station, maximizing the probability of acquiring the GPS signals in a challenging environment and allowing acquisition at lower signal levels than can be achieved using conventional GPS tracking. This paper presents test results of this TIDGET-SAASM architecture showing its operation in normal and degraded GPS environments.