Electronic Tracking Message Encoding for Satellite Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic tracking systems, such as AIS, face challenges in reliable message detection due to noise, interference, and signal collisions, especially in low-power applications and congested environments, making it difficult to track vessels and objects accurately, particularly with LEO satellite reception.
Innovation Solution
The method involves generating an electronic tracking message with enhanced detectability by encoding a binary payload using error protection schemes like forward error correction, block coding, convolutional coding, and interleaving, and encapsulating it in a message wrapper, which allows for robust message recovery even with bit errors, using a transponder and receiver system that processes and decodes these messages effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If error protection encoding is applied to electronic tracking messages, then message detection reliability is improved, but message transmission time is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial error protection by selectively encoding only critical portions of the message payload rather than the entire message. This allows the most important tracking data to be protected against errors while minimizing the overhead time required for encoding and decoding operations, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and transmission time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts error protection parameters such as coding rate and block size based on channel conditions and message priority. When channel quality is good or message urgency is high, less aggressive error protection is applied to reduce transmission time. When channel quality degrades or message importance increases, stronger error protection is applied to ensure detection reliability.
2Reliability
If message wrapper is used to encapsulate binary payload, then message robustness is improved, but message complexity is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The message wrapper is segmented into distinct functional fields including header, payload, error protection codes, and trailer sections. Each segment serves a specific purpose and can be independently processed. This segmentation allows receivers to quickly validate and parse message components without having to process the entire message structure, thus reducing effective complexity while maintaining robustness.
Solution Approach 2:
The message wrapper acts as an intermediary layer between the binary payload and the transmission channel. It provides standardized interfaces for error protection encoding, message formatting, and protocol compliance without requiring changes to the underlying payload structure. This intermediary approach isolates complexity in the wrapper layer while keeping the payload simple and flexible.
3Reliability
If forward error correction is applied, then error correction capability is improved, but processing overhead is increased
Solution Approach 1:
Forward error correction is applied selectively to only the most critical message fields rather than the entire payload. For example, position coordinates and identification data receive full FEC protection while less critical fields use lighter protection or none at all. This partial application reduces the number of redundant bits and processing operations required while maintaining error correction capability for essential tracking information.
Solution Approach 2:
The payload is divided into multiple blocks, each independently encoded with forward error correction. This block-based approach allows parallel processing of encoding and decoding operations, reducing overall processing time compared to encoding the entire message sequentially. It also enables faster error detection and localized retransmission requests.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for enhancing the detectability of electronic tracking messages are provided. Transmitters apply error protection encoding to the payload portion of messages to be transmitted. Transmitted messages are received by a satellite or other surveillance platform employing a compatible radio frequency receiver to collect message signals over a large area or great distance. Candidate messages are identified and the error protection encoding decoded to recover messages.