Abstract

Global navigation satellite system (GNSS) navigation is crucial in the operation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). GNSS signals are susceptible to jamming, spoofing, multipath, and urban canyons and may provide incorrect position information or may not be available at all. For autonomous missions, a backup for GNSS is desirable in the event that it is unavailable. Terrestrial cellular signals are a promising option for navigation because they are continuously transmitted at higher power levels. Optimizing hardware size, weight, and power (SWaP) is critical for UAVs to maximize endurance, payload capacity, and operational efficiency. We present a system that uses long-term evolution (LTE) cellular signals for navigation with low-cost, low-SWaP optimized hardware. This thesis provides a detailed tutorial on LTE cellular signals and the required signal processing steps. Additionally, this research develops a technique to measure a differential pseudorange between an LTE cell tower and a mobile receiver using a low-SWaP, low-cost software defined radio. An extended Kalman filter was implemented to fuse differential pseudorange and inertial measurements to estimate the trajectory of the mobile receiver. This approach was validated through a flight test with 8.03 m root mean square error (RMSE) and 14.6 m maximum error of the estimated trajectory.

Degree

College and Department

Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering; Electrical and Computer Engineering

Rights

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