Software GNSS Receiver
Encyclopedia
A Software GNSS Receiver is a GNSS
receiver that has been designed and implemented following the philosophy of Software-defined radio
.
A GNSS receiver is an electronic device that receives and digitally processes the signals from a GNSS satellite constellation in order to provide position, velocity and time (of the receiver).
GNSS receivers have been traditionally implemented in hardware: a hardware GNSS receiver is conceived as a dedicated chip that have been designed and built (from the very beginning) with the only purpose of being a GNSS receiver.
In a Software GNSS Receiver, however, the whole digital processing is carried out by a general purpose microprocessor
. In this approach, a (small and cheap) dedicated hardware is still needed, known as the frontend, which is in charge of digitalizing the signal from the satellites, converting it into a stream of ones and zeros that can be digitally processed. Then, this raw digital stream enters a general purpose microprocessor
that executes all the digital processes required for implementing the GNSS functionality.
When comparing hardware vs software GNSS Receivers, a number of pros and cons can be found for each approach:
Currently, most of the GNSS receiver market is still hardware. However, there already exists operational solutions based on the software approach able to run on low-cost microprocessors. Software GNSS receivers are expected to increase their market share or even take over in the near future, following the development of the computational capabilities of the microprocessors (Moore's law
).
Global Navigation Satellite System
A satellite navigation or SAT NAV system is a system of satellites that provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning with global coverage. It allows small electronic receivers to determine their location to within a few metres using time signals transmitted along a line-of-sight by radio from...
receiver that has been designed and implemented following the philosophy of Software-defined radio
Software-defined radio
A software-defined radio system, or SDR, is a radio communication system where components that have been typically implemented in hardware are instead implemented by means of software on a personal computer or embedded computing devices...
.
A GNSS receiver is an electronic device that receives and digitally processes the signals from a GNSS satellite constellation in order to provide position, velocity and time (of the receiver).
GNSS receivers have been traditionally implemented in hardware: a hardware GNSS receiver is conceived as a dedicated chip that have been designed and built (from the very beginning) with the only purpose of being a GNSS receiver.
In a Software GNSS Receiver, however, the whole digital processing is carried out by a general purpose microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
. In this approach, a (small and cheap) dedicated hardware is still needed, known as the frontend, which is in charge of digitalizing the signal from the satellites, converting it into a stream of ones and zeros that can be digitally processed. Then, this raw digital stream enters a general purpose microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
that executes all the digital processes required for implementing the GNSS functionality.
When comparing hardware vs software GNSS Receivers, a number of pros and cons can be found for each approach:
- Hardware GNSS receivers are in general more efficient from the point of view of, both, computational load and power consumption, since they have been designed, in a highly specialized way, with the only purpose of implementing the GNSS processing.
- Software GNSS receivers allow a huge flexibility: many features of the receiver can be modified just through software. This provides the receiver with adaptive capabilities, depending on the user's needs and working conditions. In addition, the receiver can be easily upgraded via software.
- Under some assumptions, Software GNSS receivers can be more profitable for some applications, as long as sufficient computational power is available (and can be shared among multiple applications). For example, the microprocessor of a smartphoneSmartphoneA smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
can be used to provide GNSS navigation with the only need of including a frontend (instead of a full, more expensive, hardware receiver).
Currently, most of the GNSS receiver market is still hardware. However, there already exists operational solutions based on the software approach able to run on low-cost microprocessors. Software GNSS receivers are expected to increase their market share or even take over in the near future, following the development of the computational capabilities of the microprocessors (Moore's law
Moore's Law
Moore's law describes a long-term trend in the history of computing hardware: the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years....
).