GPS orbit approximation using radial basis function networks

We present solutions for GPS orbit computation from broadcast and precise ephemerides using a group of artificial neural networks (ANNs), i.e. radial basis function networks (RBFNs). The problem of broadcast orbit correction, resulting from precise ephemerides, has already been solved using traditional polynomial and trigonometric interpolation. As an alternative approach RBFN broadcast orbit correction produces results within the accuracy range of the traditional methods. Our study shows RBFN broadcast orbit correction performs well also near the end of data intervals and for short data spans ( 20min). Regarding limitations of polynomial and trigonometric extrapolation, the most significant advantage of using RBFNs over the traditional methods for GPS broadcast orbit approximation arises from its short time prediction capability. & 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.