Pseudolite is a contraction of the term "pseudo-satellite," used to refer to something that is not a

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

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. The ...

s that are used to create a local, ground-based

Global Positioning System The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide ge ...

(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 federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

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) laborat ...

and

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

(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

References

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External links

Mars Rover Navigation Using GPS Self-Calibrating Pseudolite Arrays
Satellites by type Geopositioning Satellite navigation

See also

References

External links