Reconfigurable architectures for Scientific GNSS instruments and space receivers

There are now many different Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), regional augmentations as well as ground-based pseudolites being used. Each of these has a complex set of signals which require different approaches to process in the hardware. The acquisition unit of a GNSS receiver can be very inefficient in its use of hardware resources (memory and logic) to support multiple signal types. In GNSS reflectometry (GNSS-R)
applications, a similar structure to the acquisition unit is used to create a delay Doppler map of reflected GNSS signals. This structure is very inefficient when supporting multiple GNSS signal types.

The idea behind this project would be to use dynamic FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) reconfiguration to maximise the efficient usage of hardware resources and improve the capabilities of the instruments. FPGAs are in common use in GNSS-R instruments and space GNSS receivers. The focus of the project would be on supporting Galileo signals for efficient implementations of GNSS-R and acquisition units. This project will
enable greater instrument capabilities (support of more signals) while being cost effective, efficient and low power.