The article presents an improved satellite tracking approach using the extended Kalman filter within the control systems of the moving antenna. The main focus is on the issue of maintaining the maximum signal strength during vehicle movement, gyroscope and GPS sensors error and the deterioration of reception due to changing conditions (weather, obstacles). Typically used techniques are based on ad-hoc scanning of the maximum value of the RF signal. The approach presented in this article might be used as a much more consistent and elegant alternative to these algorithms. To prove the function of the presented algorithm, simulations of several different scenarios are performed. Based on these simulations, the robustness and speed of the newly designed algorithm are evaluated.
Development of new SATCOM (Satellite Communications) antennas and their control systems is a complex problem, in which strict requirements for mechanical design, drives, sensors and the overall speed and accuracy of the control algorithm must be met. Therefore, a simulation model is often used at different stages of development, which greatly accelerates the process of designing and optimizing the whole system. The computationally most demanding part of the simulation is the dynamical model of antenna. This article proposes an alternative approach for dynamical model creation, and the results are compared to a model created by using a universal multibody simulation environment. It is shown that the proposed new approach gives nearly the same-quality results and it is several times computationally faster.
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