Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Through Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellites: A Survey on Current Status, Challenges, and Opportunities

F. S. Prol; R. Morales Ferre; Z. Saleem; P. Valisuo; C. Pinell; E. S. Lohan; M. Elsanhoury; M. Elmusrati; S. Islam; K. Celikbilek; K. Selvan; J. Yliaho; K. Rutledge; A. Ojala; L. Ferranti; J. Praks; M. Z. H. Bhuiyan; S. Kaasalainen; H. Kuusniemi

doi:10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3194050

IEEE Access (Jan 2022)

Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Through Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellites: A Survey on Current Status, Challenges, and Opportunities

F. S. Prol,
R. Morales Ferre,
Z. Saleem,
P. Valisuo,
C. Pinell,
E. S. Lohan,
M. Elsanhoury,
M. Elmusrati,
S. Islam,
K. Celikbilek,
K. Selvan,
J. Yliaho,
K. Rutledge,
A. Ojala,
L. Ferranti,
J. Praks,
M. Z. H. Bhuiyan,
S. Kaasalainen,
H. Kuusniemi

Affiliations

F. S. Prol: ORCiD; Department of Navigation and Positioning, Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI), National Land Survey of Finland (NLS), Espoo, Finland
R. Morales Ferre: ORCiD; Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences, Electrical Engineering Unit, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
Z. Saleem: Department of Radio Science and Engineering, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
P. Valisuo: School of Technology and Innovation, University of Vaasa, Vaasa, Finland
C. Pinell: ORCiD; Department of Navigation and Positioning, Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI), National Land Survey of Finland (NLS), Espoo, Finland
E. S. Lohan: ORCiD; Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences, Electrical Engineering Unit, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
M. Elsanhoury: ORCiD; School of Technology and Innovation, University of Vaasa, Vaasa, Finland
M. Elmusrati: ORCiD; School of Technology and Innovation, University of Vaasa, Vaasa, Finland
S. Islam: ORCiD; Department of Navigation and Positioning, Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI), National Land Survey of Finland (NLS), Espoo, Finland
K. Celikbilek: ORCiD; Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences, Electrical Engineering Unit, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
K. Selvan: School of Technology and Innovation, University of Vaasa, Vaasa, Finland
J. Yliaho: Digital Economy Research Platform, University of Vaasa, Vaasa, Finland
K. Rutledge: School of Technology and Innovation, University of Vaasa, Vaasa, Finland
A. Ojala: ORCiD; School of Marketing and Communication, University of Vaasa, Vaasa, Finland
L. Ferranti: Department of Radio Science and Engineering, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
J. Praks: ORCiD; Department of Radio Science and Engineering, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
M. Z. H. Bhuiyan: ORCiD; Department of Navigation and Positioning, Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI), National Land Survey of Finland (NLS), Espoo, Finland
S. Kaasalainen: ORCiD; Department of Navigation and Positioning, Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI), National Land Survey of Finland (NLS), Espoo, Finland
H. Kuusniemi: ORCiD; Department of Navigation and Positioning, Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI), National Land Survey of Finland (NLS), Espoo, Finland

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3194050
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 10
pp. 83971 – 84002

Abstract

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More and more satellites are populating the sky nowadays in the Low Earth orbits (LEO). Most of the targeted applications are related to broadband and narrowband communications, Earth observation, synthetic aperture radar, and internet-of-Things (IoT) connectivity. In addition to these targeted applications, there is yet-to-be-harnessed potential for LEO and positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) systems, or what is nowadays referred to as LEO-PNT. No commercial LEO-PNT solutions currently exist and there is no unified research on LEO-PNT concepts. Our survey aims to fill the gaps in knowledge regarding what a LEO-PNT system entails, its technical design steps and challenges, what physical layer parameters are viable solutions, what tools can be used for a LEO-PNT design (e.g., optimisation steps, hardware and software simulators, etc.), the existing models of wireless channels for satellite-to-ground and ground-to-satellite propagation, and the commercial prospects of a future LEO-PNT system. A comprehensive and multidisciplinary survey is provided by a team of authors with complementary expertise in wireless communications, signal processing, navigation and tracking, physics, machine learning, Earth observation, remote sensing, digital economy, and business models.

Published in IEEE Access

ISSN: 2169-3536 (Online)
Publisher: IEEE
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Technology: Electrical engineering. Electronics. Nuclear engineering
Website: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=6287639

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