Implementation of a parameterized interacting multiple model filter on an FPGA for satellite communications

In a communications channel, the space environment between a spacecraft and an Earth ground station can potentially cause the loss of a data link or, at least, degrade its performance due to atmospheric effects, shadowing, multipath, or other impairments. In adaptive coding and modulation, the signal power level at the receiver can be used to choose a modulation-coding technique that maximizes throughput while meeting a target bit error rate and other performance requirements. The goal of this research is to implement a generalized interacting multiple model filter based on Kalman filters for improving the received power estimation on software-defined radio technology applied to satellite communications applications. The interacting multiple model filter has been implemented in Verilog-2001 consisting of a customizable bank of Kalman filters for choosing between performance and resource utilization. Each Kalman filter is implemented using a Schur complement module. These modules were simulated and synthesized for the Virtex-II platform, which is the same FPGA family as the JPL Radio Experimenter Development System at NASA Glenn Research Center. The results for simulation and synthesis are presented.