Multi-Constellation/Multi-Frequency GNSS Signal Degradation Due to Foliage and Reflective Environments †

Journal article, 2023

Present day GNSS offers a variety of signals from different satellite constellations and at various frequencies. This paper is based on the work conducted in the project SiL 2.0 and will focus on the study of multi-constellation/multi-frequency GNSS signals as received on top of construction equipment as part of the SiL 2.0 dissemination solution. This paper aims to study the impact of foliage and reflective environments on the various signals of multi-constellation GNSS with a focus on GPS and Galileo. Signal strength indicators (SSI) have been used as a measure to understand the shadowing environment around a stationary GNSS antenna mounted on an excavator. It is quite clear from the analysis that traditional GPS L2 signals, C2W and L2W, are weaker in strength than the L2C and L1 C/A signals, and this is found to be consistent for all of the GPS satellites. The effect of signal degradation due to bending over sharp metallic edges is also discussed.