Satellite Beamforming via Ground-Calculated Angle of Arrival
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Solution Overview
Problem
Artificial satellites face challenges in accurately detecting and recognizing abnormal signals on the ground due to low signal intensity and interference from ionospheres and weather, making it difficult to estimate the angle of arrival of signals effectively.
Innovation Solution
The artificial satellite receives location information of a signal generator from a ground control center, calculates the angle of arrival based on this information, and performs beamforming to detect the signal, allowing it to focus on abnormal signals without continuous monitoring and improving accuracy by communicating with multiple ground control centers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the artificial satellite continuously monitors signals on the ground to detect abnormal signals, then the signal detection capability is improved, but the energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ground control center performs preliminary actions by continuously monitoring signals on the ground and identifying abnormal signals before the satellite needs to detect them. When an abnormal signal is detected, the ground control center calculates the angle of arrival and provides this information to the satellite, eliminating the need for the satellite to continuously monitor all signals and significantly reducing its energy consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The ground control center acts as an intermediary between the signal source and the satellite. It receives signals from the ground, processes them to identify abnormal signals, calculates the angle of arrival, and provides this processed information to the satellite. This intermediary role allows the satellite to focus only on receiving pre-processed information rather than continuously monitoring all signals.
2Measurement precision
If the artificial satellite calculates angle of arrival using high-resolution direction finding algorithms, then the measurement precision is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ground control center serves as an intermediary that performs the complex angle of arrival calculation using high-resolution direction finding algorithms. Instead of the satellite executing these complex algorithms, the ground control center processes the signal data, determines the angle of arrival, and provides this calculated information to the satellite, thereby reducing the computational burden and device complexity on the satellite.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/computational system on the satellite with a remote processing system on the ground. The complex signal processing and angle of arrival calculation operations are performed on the ground control center rather than on the satellite, substituting the satellite's computational requirements with ground-based processing capabilities.
3Measurement precision
If the artificial satellite directly detects signals to calculate angle of arrival, then the measurement precision is improved, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ground control center acts as an intermediary that performs the difficult task of signal detection and angle of arrival measurement. It receives signals from the ground, processes them to identify abnormal signals, calculates the angle of arrival, and provides this information to the satellite. This eliminates the need for the satellite to directly detect and measure signals, reducing the difficulty of detection while maintaining measurement precision.
4Measurement precision
If the artificial satellite performs beamforming to detect target signals, then the signal recognition accuracy is improved, but the use of energy increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ground control center performs preliminary actions by continuously monitoring signals, identifying abnormal signals, and calculating their angles of arrival before the satellite needs to detect them. This allows the satellite to perform beamforming only when necessary, targeting specific directions based on pre-calculated angle information, thereby improving signal recognition accuracy while minimizing energy consumption compared to continuous beamforming operations.
Data Source
AI summary
A communication control apparatus and method of an artificial satellite are disclosed. The communication control apparatus includes a processor, a memory operatively connected to the processor, the memory being configured to store at least one piece of code to be executed by the processor, and a transmission and reception interface configured to communicate with a ground control center, wherein the memory stores code enabling the processor to receive location information of a signal generator on the ground from the ground control center, to calculate an angle of arrival for a target signal from the signal generator, received by the artificial satellite, based on the location information of the signal generator and location information of the ground control center, and to perform beamforming in a direction in which the artificial satellite detects the target signal based on the angle of arrival, when the code is executed by the processor.