e segments make up the whole infrastructure that supports satellite positioning.
Within the infrastructure are pieces of technology that handle the processing of your position. Let’s follow the satellite signal through each piece of technology:
From the GNSS satellite, the signal travels through our atmosphere to GNSS antennas. During its journey, the signal may have weakened or degraded, and antennas help amplify these weaker signals during reception. Next, the signal travels to our receivers where we use calculations to determine position. Further calculations can also occur that counteract the signal’s degradation.
Once the receiver has run the numbers and equations, it provides positioning data to user equipment working in the field. We use this signal in autonomous vehicles, precision agriculture, defense applications, and even in the average person’s cell phone.
An alternative way to consider the signal’s journey is through these steps: from satellites to propagation, or broadcast, or a signal, to reception, computation, and application. This webinar series will further expand on each of these stages, including the factors weakening or degrading signals, the equations used to supplement degraded signals, and more.
But before we get too complicated, the underlying principle of speed equals distance divided by time remains the same. GNSS infrastructure and user equipment build upon this basic equation.
At its most basic level, user equipment includes antennas to receive signals better, and receivers to improve calculations. These technologies can come by themselves, like our receiver boards here, and can be combined in different ways to further finesse calculations, like with our SMART7 antenna shown here. There are also services, software, and firmware provided that facilitate better processing of signals and positioning data.
Thanks for joining me for episode one of our introduction to GNSS webinar series! I’ve introduced you to the underlying equation to determining GNSS positioning and to the global infrastructure that supports these calculations.
Our next video will share what happens to the satellite signal when it leaves the satellite, the factors that contribute to positioning errors, or signal degradation, and more. But, if you’re ready to get a head start in learning these GNSS concepts, you can download our in-depth book An Introduction to GNSS on our website.
Our on-demand webinar series continues with Todd Richert, Geomatics Designer at Hexagon | NovAtel, sharing the technological and atmospheric influences that degrade or weaken signals resulting in positioning errors. We include a transcript below.
Hello, and welcome to episode two of Hexagon NovAtel’s on-demand webinar series on An Introduction to GNSS. My name is Todd Richert; I’m a geomatics designer in Hexagon’s Autonomy and Positioning division. Thanks for joining me!
This is the second of seven presentations designed to introduce you to GNSS basics. Today, we’ll explain what happens to the satellite signal as it leaves the satellite and moves through the atmosphere and is received by user equipment. As it travels, the signal faces technological and environmental disruptions that can cause positioning errors. We’ll review these disturbances and the technologies that help mitigate the errors.
This series builds off our existing expertise in the industry where we have literally written the book on GNSS. If you’re ready to dig deeper into these concepts, then download our Introduction to GNSS book.
As we covered in episode one, a satellite generates a signal and sends it through the atmosphere, where GNSS antennas sense that signal and convert it into raw measurements used by the receiver. These measurements are used to compute a position, which may also be combined with other sensors before being applied in user equipment. The signal is susceptible to degradations and distortions as it makes its journey from the satellite to the receiver.
Positioning errors can occur due to degradations in the data provided by the satellite itself. Errors arise due 