Which GNSS tracking loop configuration is most robust against spoofing?

Abstract

The use of GNSS positioning in highly automated systems, like packet delivering using drones or self-driving cars, demands a reliable position estimation. One major risk to the position estimation is the so called spoofing threat. A spoofer fakes satellite signals in order to mislead a GNSS receiver into estimating a wrong user position. A lot of research focuses on the detection and mitigation of spoofing by evaluating several metrics implemented in the receiver. However, beforehand it should be investigated under which conditions a receiver is affected by spoofing. In this work a simulation tool is described to simulate a scenario, where a receiver structure processes a signal containing an authentic and a spoofing signal. The parameters of the spoofing signal are variated. These simulations are repeated with different receiver settings in order to evaluate robust configurations for GNSS receivers. The results show that especially the coherent integration time in the receiver’s tracking loops has a large impact on the vulnerability of the receiver.