Inside GNSS - Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design - Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design

IAC Dallara

September 23, 2021

Webinar Examines Fastest-Ever Autonomous Vehicles Equipped with GNSS, Inertial, LiDAR and More

The fastest driverless speeds yet achieved will occur during the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) on October 23. The autonomous competition will award a $1 million grand prize for the most successful R&D team that programs their driverless, GNSS-, inertial- and multisensor-equipped racecar to clock the fastest fifty-mile distance around the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Xona_1

September 22, 2021

Xona Space Readies for Launch of Its First Commercial PNT Satellite in LEO: Mid-2022

Xona Space Systems announced that completion of a new funding round will support the company’s first orbital mission, scheduled for mid-2022, to demonstrate the capabilities of its Pulsar precision low-Earth orbit (LEO) PNT service, an independent high-performance satellite navigation and timing system designed to meet the needs of intelligent systems.

OSNMA

September 22, 2021

First OSNMA Simulation Tools for Galileo Signal Authentication Now Available

Spirent Communications and Qascom announced a simulation test solution for the Galileo Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA), the security protocol which enables GNSS receivers to verify the authenticity of signals distributed from the Galileo satellite constellation.

China Summit

September 22, 2021

Enhanced BeiDou Short Message Service Displayed at International Summit

An enhanced version of BeiDou short message service (SMS) was showcased at the First International Summit on BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) Applications held in Changsha, central China’s Hunan Province, September 16–17.

Spirent webina

September 21, 2021

GNSS Foresight Heralds New Direction for Aviation, UAVs, Air Taxis and Entire PNT Industry

Spirent Communications has launched GNSS Foresight, a cloud-based solution that empowers GNSS users with advance knowledge about the strength and reliability of GNSS signals in exact locations within their operational areas. The service will have early application for aviation, unmanned and autonomous platforms, but Spirent VP Jeremy Bennington told Inside GNSS that its potential is far wider.

shutterstock_1391173079

September 21, 2021

Smartphone-based GNSS Positioning – Today and Tomorrow

This article reviews some of the recent results analyzing the feasibility of carrier-phase based positioning with smartphone data and highlights limitations largely arising due to the poor antenna quality. It shows how they might be overcome by antenna calibration or coupling to the phone’s inertial sensors. The goal is to perform a successful RTK positioning with the smartphone-quality data.

from-a-million-miles-away-nasa-camera-shows-moon-crossing-face-of-earth_20129140980_o_orig

September 20, 2021

The Shielded Zone of the Moon: Protecting Radio Astronomy from RF Interference

Discussions about spectrum allocation, familiar to GNSS designers and manufacturers on Earth, are now taking place regarding the lunar environment. ITU Radio Regulations constitute an international treaty governing all radio frequency activities. This article shows that GNSS operators in this region must transmit signals in the GNSS S-band rather than in GNSS L-bands.

Screen Shot 2021-09-19 at 9.13.45 PM

September 20, 2021

New Multipath Rejection Method: Multicorrelator Receiver with Extended Kalman Filter

A new method for multipath rejection employs a multicorrelator-based GNSS receiver with an extended Kalman Filter (EKF) as an iterative solver, replacing the conventional delay locked loop (DLL) code tracking. The technique significantly reduces the positioning error and has low complexity. It can therefore be implemented in a real-time processing environment.

UCF_image_for_web

September 16, 2021

Army Research Lab Funds Project for Ground Vehicle Navigation in GPS-denied Terrain with Computer Vision and AI

The U.S. Army Research Lab awarded the University of Central Florida a $4.5 million grant to develop a smart, computer vision-based navigation system for when GPS is unavailable or jammed.

Thales Alenia Space and EU Partnership

September 16, 2021

EGNOS Contract for Next-Generation, Dual-Frequency European SBAS Signed

The EU Agency for Space Programme (EUSPA) awarded Thales Alenia Space a contract to provide new capabilities to the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) satellite-based augmentation system.

shutterstock_1088000534

September 16, 2021

To what degree does the greater ionospheric activity in equatorial regions degrade GNSS positioning? How does this degradation occur? What mitigations are available?

Ionospheric delay is the largest source of range error for GPS Standard Positioning Service (SPS) users, at least during local daytime when solar emissions enhance these delays.

EU Railway Traffic Management1

September 15, 2021

EGNOS a Safe, Efficient Locator for Europe’s Trains

Europe’s Certifiable Localisation Unit with GNSS in the railway environment (CLUG) has moved the continent towards a cost-efficient train tracking solution based on satellite technology together with other sensors and data.

MUNS Color Image

September 15, 2021

Underwater Navigation System with M-Code Emerges

Collins Aerospace announced its Military Underwater Navigation System with M-Code (MUNS-M), a handheld diver navigation system that provides the diver with precise position and includes secure anti-jamming capabilities during deep-sea missions.

September 14, 2021

Washington View: Big Wheels Keep On Turning – Rolling On The River To 5G

Ligado Networks had an early-year win in the form of a Federal Communications Commission denial of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Stay Petition involving Ligado’s license for a terrestrial service in the mobile satellite services L-band. The company continues to roll toward deployment of a nationwide 5G network. While filings trickle in from the private sector, the feds work quietly behind the scenes on Congressional due-outs. In short, wheels big and small keep churning down the river to 5G.

By Dawn M.K. Zoldi (Colonel, USAF, Ret.)

Egnos with Copernicus

September 14, 2021

GNSS SBAS and Earth Observation Satellites Help Improve Farm Soil Drainage and Variable Rate Fertilization

Using in situ sensors, GNSS corrections and satellite remote sensing, it is possible to obtain information on soil anomalies, enabling farmers to take corrective actions in the field. This information is given through a pre-set field map which identifies areas needing a specific treatment, leading farmers to an improved cost-benefit ration for their agricultural crops.

Xona_1

September 22, 2021

Xona Space Readies for Launch of Its First Commercial PNT Satellite in LEO: Mid-2022

Xona Space Systems announced that completion of a new funding round will support the company’s first orbital mission, scheduled for mid-2022, to demonstrate the capabilities of its Pulsar precision low-Earth orbit (LEO) PNT service, an independent high-performance satellite navigation and timing system designed to meet the needs of intelligent systems.

OSNMA

September 22, 2021

First OSNMA Simulation Tools for Galileo Signal Authentication Now Available

Spirent Communications and Qascom announced a simulation test solution for the Galileo Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA), the security protocol which enables GNSS receivers to verify the authenticity of signals distributed from the Galileo satellite constellation.

Spirent webina

September 21, 2021

GNSS Foresight Heralds New Direction for Aviation, UAVs, Air Taxis and Entire PNT Industry

Spirent Communications has launched GNSS Foresight, a cloud-based solution that empowers GNSS users with advance knowledge about the strength and reliability of GNSS signals in exact locations within their operational areas. The service will have early application for aviation, unmanned and autonomous platforms, but Spirent VP Jeremy Bennington told Inside GNSS that its potential is far wider.

MUNS Color Image

September 15, 2021

Underwater Navigation System with M-Code Emerges

Collins Aerospace announced its Military Underwater Navigation System with M-Code (MUNS-M), a handheld diver navigation system that provides the diver with precise position and includes secure anti-jamming capabilities during deep-sea missions.

Spirent Photography by Roy Riley 07816547063

September 8, 2021

Spirent Federal Launches Alternative RF Navigation Simulator

Spirent Federal announces the launch of an alternative RF navigation simulator. As GPS jamming and spoofing continue to rise, interest in complementary sources of positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) data has likewise increased.

Tallysman HC990E

September 3, 2021

Embedded 12-gram Full-Band GNSS Helical Antenna for Weight-critical Applications

Tallysman Wireless Inc. has added its first full-band GNSS antenna to its line of helical antennas. The HC990E embedded helical antenna is designed for precise positioning, covering the GPS/QZSS-L1/L2/L5, QZSS-L6, GLONASS-G1/G2/G3, Galileo-E1/E5a/E5b/E6, BeiDou-B1/B2/B2a/B3, and NavIC-L5 frequency bands

Telit Smart Module

September 2, 2021

New Smart Module with GNSS, More for Android OS IoT Devices

Telit launched the SE150A4 system on module series for retail and POS devices, incorporating an embedded multi-constellation GNSS (GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS and Galileo) receiver for high-performance positioning and navigation.

BAE Systems

August 25, 2021

Ultra-Small M-Code Military GPS Receiver Emerges at JNC-ION

BAE Systems, Inc. unveiled its ultra-small MicroGRAM-M GPS receiver compatible with next-generation M-Code military GPS signals that are resistant to jamming and spoofing.

Microschip CSAC

August 18, 2021

New Chip-Scale Atomic Clock Targets Military Apps, Remote Sensing

Microchip Technology Inc. has released the SA65 chip-scale atomic clock (CSAC) for precise timing accuracy and stability in extreme environments. The product is designed primarily for advanced military platforms, ocean-bottom survey systems and remote sensing applications.

Facebook time card

August 18, 2021

Facebook Enters PNT Sector with Open-Source Time Appliance

Facebook engineers have built and open-sourced an Open Compute Time Appliance, a new contribution to modern timing infrastructure, linked to GNSS as the authoritative time source. They call their invention the Time Card

AIR-T Edge Series

August 10, 2021

Artificial Intelligence GPS-Disciplined SDR for Telecomm, Defense, Aerospace

Deepwave Digital has release a new Artificial Intelligence Radio Transceiver (AIR-T) Edge Series model, the AIR8201.

Robot2

August 9, 2021

What Has 72 Sensors, 8 Legs, 32 Wheels, Weighs 460 Tons and Uses BeiDou?

Chisha, that’s who. China’s first robot for assembling building components rolled off the production line in Nantong City in east China’s Jiangsu Province, according to the Science and Technology Daily.

Tallysman Accutenna

July 29, 2021

Antenna Filtering Mitigates GNSS Interference

Tallysman Wireless announced its new eXtended Filtering (XF) features to the TW3900 series of Accutenna precision antennas. The XF feature is designed to mitigate interference from all near-band signals.

Trimble MX50

July 22, 2021

New LiDAR System Expands Mobile Mapping Portfolio for Highway and Road Inspection

Trimble added to its mobile mapping portfolio with its new MX50 mobile mapping system for asset management and mapping.

Rx Starcourse Network

July 20, 2021

Evolution in Ephemeris Services Aids IoT Devices, Others with Power Savings

Rx Networks GNSS assistance service Location.io has added StarCourse, an evolution in extended GNSS satellite ephemeris services.

Jim LaMance

September 20, 2021

Focal Point Positioning Hires LaMance as CXO

Focal Point Positioning, a deep tech start-up whose technologies address the core problem of GNSS inaccuracies due to multipath and spoofing, hasannounced the hire of GPS industry veteran Jim LaMance as Chief Experience Officer

Scott-Pomerantz

September 8, 2021

Focal Point Names Scott Pomerantz, formerly of Global Locate and Broadcom, as CEO

Focal Point Positioning, a UK-based deep tech start-up whose patented technology improves the performance of GPS chips in smartphones, wearables and vehicles, announced the hiring of GPS industry veteran Scott Pomerantz as its new CEO.

D SUFARIU

September 3, 2021

Airmar Welcomes Diana Sufariu as Director of Engineering

AIRMAR®Technology Corporation, a world leader in ultrasonic transducers and Chirp technology, is pleased to welcome Diana Sufariu to the company as Director of Engineering.

Xona_1

September 22, 2021

Xona Space Readies for Launch of Its First Commercial PNT Satellite in LEO: Mid-2022

Xona Space Systems announced that completion of a new funding round will support the company’s first orbital mission, scheduled for mid-2022, to demonstrate the capabilities of its Pulsar precision low-Earth orbit (LEO) PNT service, an independent high-performance satellite navigation and timing system designed to meet the needs of intelligent systems.

ADVA Assured PNT Solution

September 14, 2021

Grandmaster Clocks Add Accuracy, Reliability and Resilience to Power Utility Infrastructure

ADVA announced that Portland General Electric (PGE) is deploying Oscilloquartz PTP grandmaster clock technology, incorporating multi-band GNSS receivers, as it upgrades to packet-based synchronization and protects its network against GNSS vulnerabilities and cyberattacks, while conforming to PNT Executive Order 13905.

T4S

September 1, 2021

Orolia Increases Controlling Interest in T4Science Joint Venture, Further Strengthening Position in the International Space Technology and Time & Frequency Markets

Analog Dev

August 27, 2021

Analog Devices Completes Acquisition of Maxim Integrated

Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADI) today announced the completion of its previously announced acquisition of Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. (NASDAQ: MXIM). The combination further strengthens ADI’s position as a high-performance analog semiconductor company with trailing twelve-month revenue of over $9 billion1, industry leading margins, and free cash flow of over $3 billion1 on a pro forma basis.

Emcore IMU

August 26, 2021

EMCORE’s SDI500 Series Inertial Measurement Unit Exceeds 5,000 Unit Sales Milestone

EMCORE Corporation, a leading provider of advanced mixed-signal products that serve the aerospace & defense and broadband communications markets, announced today that its dual-use SDI500 series MEMS (Micro-Electromechanical Systems) Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) has exceeded the 5,000-unit sales milestone.

Spirent Federal

August 19, 2021

GNSS Simulator Company Tests Inertial/GPS Integrations

Spirent Federal Systems, a provider of PNT/GNSS test equipment, announced plans to fully validate the inertial interface between Spirent GNSS simulators and both Northrop Grumman legacy and modernized inertial systems under the EGI-M program.

Topnet Live GNSS

August 12, 2021

Topnet Live GNSS network expands to meet increased digitalization demands

Topcon Positioning Group announces an expansion of the Topnet Live Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) network of correction solutions to support today’s work environments. The newly expanded global network now has more types of correction services and subscription options.

KDDI_Web

July 30, 2021

Skylark Wide-Area Corrections Expand to Japan

Swift Navigation of San Francisco and Tokyo-based KDDI Corporation, a telecommunications company have partnered to bring precise positioning to the Japanese market.

Fugro Spacestar

July 29, 2021

Spacestar PPP Service Heads into Orbit

Fugro’s SpaceStar GNSS Precise Point Positioning (PPP) service provides high-accuracy positioning in space. Highly accurate positioning in LEO is becoming increasingly important for Earth observation applications, safe constellations management, and space debris collision avoidance.

Racelogic Directors

April 16, 2021

RACELOGIC Officially ‘One to Watch’

RACELOGIC, the company behind LabSat, has been named as one of the ‘10 Ones to Watch’ in the 22^nd annual Sunday Times BDO Profit Tracker 100, which ranks Britain’s top private companies.

INDUSTRY VIEW

More Industry News

Xona_1

September 22, 2021

Xona Space Readies for Launch of Its First Commercial PNT Satellite in LEO: Mid-2022

OSNMA

First OSNMA Simulation Tools for Galileo Signal Authentication Now Available

Spirent webina

September 21, 2021

GNSS Foresight Heralds New Direction for Aviation, UAVs, Air Taxis and Entire PNT Industry

GNSS TIMELINE

Navtech GPS Training

September 1, 2021

Mission-Critical GNSS Training

IMG_7819crop

August 27, 2021

Joint Navigation Conference Brings 800+ to Exhibit Hall, Technical Sessions

Xpo2021

August 3, 2021

AUVSI Xponential 2021

COLUMNS & EDITORIALS

shutterstock_1391173079

September 21, 2021

Smartphone-based GNSS Positioning – Today and Tomorrow

This article reviews some of the recent results analyzing the feasibility of carrier-phase based positioning with smartphone data and highlights limitations largely arising due to the poor antenna quality. It shows how they might be overcome by antenna calibration or coupling to the phone’s inertial sensors. The goal is to perform a successful RTK positioning with the smartphone-quality data.

from-a-million-miles-away-nasa-camera-shows-moon-crossing-face-of-earth_20129140980_o_orig

September 20, 2021

The Shielded Zone of the Moon: Protecting Radio Astronomy from RF Interference

Discussions about spectrum allocation, familiar to GNSS designers and manufacturers on Earth, are now taking place regarding the lunar environment. ITU Radio Regulations constitute an international treaty governing all radio frequency activities. This article shows that GNSS operators in this region must transmit signals in the GNSS S-band rather than in GNSS L-bands.

Screen Shot 2021-09-19 at 9.13.45 PM

September 20, 2021

New Multipath Rejection Method: Multicorrelator Receiver with Extended Kalman Filter

A new method for multipath rejection employs a multicorrelator-based GNSS receiver with an extended Kalman Filter (EKF) as an iterative solver, replacing the conventional delay locked loop (DLL) code tracking. The technique significantly reduces the positioning error and has low complexity. It can therefore be implemented in a real-time processing environment.

MORE COLUMNS & EDITORIALS