Stratospheric Balloon Positioning System Ionospheric Interference
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional positioning systems, such as GPS, often face challenges in accurately determining a device's position due to signal reception issues and interference, particularly when signals need to traverse the ionosphere, leading to weak and unreliable positioning data.
Innovation Solution
A balloon-based positioning system is introduced, comprising a group of at least three balloons deployed in the stratosphere and a control system that determines spatial relationships between the balloons and a reference point, allowing for more accurate and reliable position determination by broadcasting these positions to ground-based receivers, which can then use triangulation techniques to determine their own position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If GPS satellite signals are used for positioning, then global coverage is achieved, but signal strength and reliability deteriorate due to ionospheric interference and long transmission distance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces stratospheric balloons as intermediary positioning beacons between GPS satellites and ground receivers. These balloons receive satellite signals and re-transmit them locally, reducing the effective transmission distance and avoiding ionospheric interference for the final leg of the signal path to ground-based receivers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from purely satellite-based three-dimensional positioning to a hybrid system that incorporates stratospheric balloons at an intermediate altitude layer. This adds a new dimensional layer to the positioning infrastructure, creating a multi-layered signal transmission architecture that improves signal reliability.
2Measurement precision
If GPS satellite signals are used for positioning, then global coverage is achieved, but measurement precision deteriorates due to signal distortion
Solution Approach 1:
The stratospheric balloons serve as intermediary nodes that receive GPS satellite signals and re-transmit them to ground-based receivers. This intermediary transmission path avoids the harmful ionospheric effects that distort direct satellite-to-ground signals, thereby improving positioning accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the signal re-transmission function from the satellite system itself and places it in stratospheric balloons. This separation allows the satellite signals to be received in the less disturbed stratospheric environment and then distributed to ground receivers, effectively removing the ionospheric interference from the critical measurement path.
3Reliability
If multiple frequency channels are used for balloon positioning signals, then signal reliability improves, but device complexity increases for ground receivers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs homogeneous single-frequency broadcasting by all stratospheric balloons in the network. This uniform approach simplifies ground receiver design compared to multi-frequency systems, while maintaining reliability through the cooperative network of multiple balloons transmitting on the same frequency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the positioning signal transmission function across multiple balloons into a unified single-frequency system. By combining the efforts of multiple balloons on the same frequency rather than using diverse frequencies, the system achieves reliable positioning coverage while keeping ground receiver complexity low.
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed herein are embodiments of a balloon-based positioning system and method. In one example embodiment, a system includes a group of at least three balloons deployed in the stratosphere and a control system configured for: determining a first set of spatial relationships relating to the group; determining a second set of spatial relationships relating to ai least a portion of the group and to a reference point; determining a position of the reference point relative to the earth; using the determined first set, the determined second set, and the determined position of the reference point relative to the earth as a basis for determining a position of a target balloon in the group relative to the earth; and transmitting the determined position of the target balloon relative to the earth.