Deep Learning of GNSS Acquisition

Signal acquisition is a crucial step in Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers, which is typically solved by maximizing the so-called Cross-Ambiguity Function (CAF) as a hypothesis testing problem. This article proposes to use deep learning models to perform such acquisition, whereby the CAF is fed to a data-driven classifier that outputs binary class posteriors. The class posteriors are used to compute a Bayesian hypothesis test to statistically decide the presence or absence of a GNSS signal. The versatility and computational affordability of the proposed method are addressed by splitting the CAF into smaller overlapping sections, which are fed to a bank of parallel classifiers whose probabilistic results are optimally fused to provide a so-called probability ratio map from which acquisition is decided. Additionally, the article shows how noncoherent integration schemes are enabled through optimal data fusion, with the goal of increasing the resulting classifier accuracy. The article provides simulation results showing that the proposed data-driven method outperforms current CAF maximization strategies, enabling enhanced acquisition at medium-to-high carrier-to-noise density ratios.