Polarization based measurement system for analysis of GNSS multipath signals

In this paper, the principle of a polarization-based measurement system intended for the data recording of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals is described. The measurement arrangement includes left- and right hand circular polarized antennas with separate satellite RF recorders for both polarizations. Based on the recorded data for different antenna polarizations the Line-Of-Sight (LOS) and the reflected Non-Line-Of-Sight (NLOS) signal components can be analyzed in order to generate a three-dimensional channel model. Initial field measurements are performed for a route of one kilometer in a university campus area. The initial recorded data include digitized RF signals for all visible Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites, the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) data, video recording of the environment and reference velocity from a separate speed sensor. In this paper, the preliminary analysis of the recorded data is presented. Based on the recorded data it is concluded that the polarization based measurement system is able to separate LOS and NLOS signal components thus enabling first steps toward the three-dimensional GNSS channel model development.