Pseudolite is a contraction of the term "pseudo-satellite," used to refer to something that is not a
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...
which performs a function commonly in the domain of satellites. Pseudolites are most often small
transceiver
In radio communication, a transceiver is an electronic device which is a combination of a radio ''trans''mitter and a re''ceiver'', hence the name. It can both transmit and receive radio waves using an antenna, for communication purposes. Thes ...
s that are used to create a local, ground-based
Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...
(GPS) alternative. The range of each transceiver's signal is dependent on the power available to the unit.
Being able to deploy one's own positioning system, independent of the GPS, can be useful in situations where the normal GPS signals are either blocked/jammed (military conflicts), or simply not available (exploration of other planets).
Pseudolites are normally used to augment the GPS by improving
dilution of precision (DOP). Or pseudolites are also used to implement GPS-like indoor location systems, where pseudolites are acting as GPS satellites. Pseudolites use cheap voltage controlled oscillator, so pseudolite based location system shall provide a methodology to compensate clock differences among pseudolites.
For planetary exploration, research being conducted at facilities including
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
's
Ames Research Center
The Ames Research Center (ARC), also known as NASA Ames, is a major NASA research center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California's Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1939 as the second National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) labo ...
and
Stanford University (see link at bottom) may allow a rover to deploy an array of pseudolites with no particular accuracy and still calibrate the system to centimeter-level resolution without human assistance. This would aid a rover's path-finding routines and increase the safe maneuvering speed of the unassisted vehicle. The concept is sometimes referred to as a Self-Calibrating Pseudolite Array (SCPA).
Other applications of pseudolite arrays include precision approach landing systems for aircraft and highly accurate tracking of transponders.
Pseudolites have started to gain more and more attention in the context of indoor location.
[GNSS Technologies Inc., http://www.fpoir.org/OPEN/FORUM11_DRivan_040820.pdf ]
See also
*
Local positioning system
*
Locata Corporation
Locata Corporation is a privately held technology company headquartered in Canberra, Australia, with a fully owned subsidiary in Las Vegas, Nevada. Locata has invented a local positioning system that can either replace or augment Global Positioni ...
References
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External links
Mars Rover Navigation Using GPS Self-Calibrating Pseudolite Arrays
Satellites by type
Geopositioning
Satellite navigation