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RFSoC-Based Integrated Navigation and Sensing Using NavIC

Riya Sachdeva, Aakanksha Tewari, Sumit J. Darak, Shobha Sundar Ram, Sanat K. Biswas

TL;DR

This work tackles passive GNSS-based remote sensing (GNSS-reflectometry) using NavIC L5 signals in a bistatic configuration. It proposes an RFSoC-based hardware prototype with two synchronized channels to capture direct and ground-reflected NavIC signals, performing real-time delay–Doppler map generation via C/A processing. Validation is provided through RFSoC loopback tests and AWG-based signal emulation, demonstrating satellite detection and bistatic target localization with RMSE around $0.14$ km and Doppler error around $250$ Hz at low $SNR$, at about 274 ms latency and 3.75 W power. The work highlights practical prospects for low-power, real-time NavIC remote sensing and sets the stage for future link-budget analyses and real NavIC signal acquisition using an analog front end.

Abstract

Prior art has proposed a secondary application for Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) infrastructure for remote sensing of ground-based and maritime targets. Here, a passive radar receiver is deployed to detect uncooperative targets on Earth's surface by capturing ground-reflected satellite signals. This work demonstrates a hardware prototype of an L-band Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) satellite-based remote sensing receiver system mounted on an AMD Zynq radio frequency system-on-chip (RFSoC) platform. Two synchronized receiver channels are introduced for capturing the direct signal (DS) from the satellite and ground-reflected signal (GRS) returns from targets. These signals are processed on the ARM processor and field programmable gate array (FPGA) of the RFSoC to generate delay-Doppler maps of the ground-based targets. The performance is first validated in a loop-back configuration of the RFSoC. Next, the DS and GRS signals are emulated by the output from two ports of the Keysight Arbitrary Waveform Generator (AWG) and interfaced with the RFSoC where the signals are subsequently processed to obtain the delay-Doppler maps. The performance is validated for different signal-to-noise ratios (SNR).

RFSoC-Based Integrated Navigation and Sensing Using NavIC

TL;DR

This work tackles passive GNSS-based remote sensing (GNSS-reflectometry) using NavIC L5 signals in a bistatic configuration. It proposes an RFSoC-based hardware prototype with two synchronized channels to capture direct and ground-reflected NavIC signals, performing real-time delay–Doppler map generation via C/A processing. Validation is provided through RFSoC loopback tests and AWG-based signal emulation, demonstrating satellite detection and bistatic target localization with RMSE around km and Doppler error around Hz at low , at about 274 ms latency and 3.75 W power. The work highlights practical prospects for low-power, real-time NavIC remote sensing and sets the stage for future link-budget analyses and real NavIC signal acquisition using an analog front end.

Abstract

Prior art has proposed a secondary application for Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) infrastructure for remote sensing of ground-based and maritime targets. Here, a passive radar receiver is deployed to detect uncooperative targets on Earth's surface by capturing ground-reflected satellite signals. This work demonstrates a hardware prototype of an L-band Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) satellite-based remote sensing receiver system mounted on an AMD Zynq radio frequency system-on-chip (RFSoC) platform. Two synchronized receiver channels are introduced for capturing the direct signal (DS) from the satellite and ground-reflected signal (GRS) returns from targets. These signals are processed on the ARM processor and field programmable gate array (FPGA) of the RFSoC to generate delay-Doppler maps of the ground-based targets. The performance is first validated in a loop-back configuration of the RFSoC. Next, the DS and GRS signals are emulated by the output from two ports of the Keysight Arbitrary Waveform Generator (AWG) and interfaced with the RFSoC where the signals are subsequently processed to obtain the delay-Doppler maps. The performance is validated for different signal-to-noise ratios (SNR).
Paper Structure (7 sections, 2 equations, 6 figures, 1 table)

This paper contains 7 sections, 2 equations, 6 figures, 1 table.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. NavIC Remote Sensing System
  3. Hardware Setup
  4. RFSoC two-channel loopback NavIC transceiver
  5. AWG-based NavIC simulator with RFSoC-based receiver
  6. Results and Discussions
  7. Conclusion and Future Works

Figures (6)

  • Figure 1: Bistatic radar system model for NavIC remote sensing
  • Figure 2: NavIC remote sensing transceiver on RFSoC via two-channel loopback
  • Figure 3: Hardware setup for NavIC remote sensing with (a) Zynq RFSoC in loopback configuration, (b) Keysight AWG generating the NavIC waveform being fed into the RFSoC-based NavIC receiver.
  • Figure 4: NavIC remote sensing two-channel receiver on Zynq RFSoC interfaced with AWG-based
  • Figure 5: Satellite detection DDMs for NavIC signal coming from PRN-2.
  • ...and 1 more figures