2026-08-14 –, Room 4
JuliaGNSS is an open-source software stack for processing Global Navigation Satellite System signals entirely in Julia. With all core packages now at version 1.0, the ecosystem has reached production readiness. This talk demonstrates real-time GNSS positioning by connecting JuliaGNSS to a Software Defined Radio, acquiring satellite signals, and computing position and time live. I show how Julia's performance and composability enable a complete GNSS receiver that rivals traditional C/C++ implementations.
This talk demonstrates that Julia can power a real-time GNSS receiver. Using recorded SDR captures, I walk through the complete signal processing chain—from raw radio samples to a position fix—showing acquisition, tracking, decoding, and positioning as they happen in real time.
The talk centers on a demonstration of the full receiver pipeline:
- SDR signal capture – Raw I/Q samples from GPS satellites received by commodity hardware
- Satellite acquisition – The receiver detecting visible GPS satellites
- Signal tracking – Correlation loops locking onto and following satellite signals
- Position computation – Calculating position and time from the tracked signals
Attendees will see the complete journey from radio waves to coordinates, processed entirely in Julia.
Talk Structure (12 minutes)
- Introduction (6 min) – Brief context: what GNSS signals are and why real-time processing is challenging, walking through the receiver processing real SDR data: acquisition, tracking, and position fix
- Demonstration (4 min) – Demo (Either from live signals or recorded signals)
- Ecosystem & Next Steps (2 min) – The 1.0 milestone, package overview, and how to get started with JuliaGNSS
Live Demo
If the venue permits line-of-sight to GPS satellites (e.g., near a window), I will run a fully live demonstration—connecting an SDR on stage and computing our position at the conference in real time. GPS signals are weak and do not penetrate buildings reliably, so recorded captures serve as the primary demonstration with live acquisition as a bonus if conditions allow.
GNSS receivers are traditionally implemented in C/C++ or as dedicated hardware. A working real-time receiver in Julia demonstrates that the language is ready for demanding signal processing applications. Seeing satellites being acquired and tracked provides concrete evidence of Julia's performance in action.
This talk expands Julia's presence in SDR and embedded signal processing—domains where C/C++ still dominates. The JuliaGNSS ecosystem (GNSSSignals.jl, Acquisition.jl, Tracking.jl, GNSSDecoder.jl, PositionVelocityTime.jl, and GNSSReceiver.jl) is open source and available for researchers, educators, and hobbyists to use and extend.
Soeren Schoenbrod received his M.Sc. in electrical engineering from RWTH Aachen University in 2015. His research interests include multi antenna GNSS receivers, attitude and calibration estimation, robust interference and spoofing detection and mitigation.