In November, 2022, Spain’s GMV announced it had signed an agreement with Lockheed Martin Corporation, to develop two core elements of the Southern Positioning Augmentation Network (SouthPAN) system, the first SBAS (satellite-based augmentation system) in the Southern Hemisphere.
SouthPAN is a joint initiative, developed, deployed, and operated by government agencies Geoscience Australia and Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand. In September, 2022, Lockheed Martin was awarded a $1.18 billion contract to establish the system, expected to be fully operational by 2028, and to provide services for 19 years, with an option to extend.
GMV will develop SouthPAN’s Corrections Processing Facility (CPF) and the Ground Control Center (GCC) for navigation and precise point positioning (PPP) services. GMV will also be responsible for monitoring both of these services in the region and for ensuring compliance with committed performance levels, and will provide operational and maintenance support.
The SouthPAN CPF will generate correction messages for signals transmitted by GPS and Galileo satellites, delivering positioning accuracy down to 10 centimeters. The facility will also detect satellite malfunctions and generate warnings for users, enabling use of SouthPAN by civilian aircraft for navigation during various flight operations, including on precision landing approaches. This and other safety-of-life services are scheduled to become available in 2028.
The control center will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and will perform all the functions needed to monitor and control the system, while providing information to users about operational status and service availability.
SouthPAN is similar in design and function to other SBAS, such as the United States’ WAAS, Europe’s EGNOS, India’s GAGAN and Japan’s MSAS. It comprises reference stations, telecommunications infrastructure, computing centers, signal generators, and satellites. It will deliver services everywhere in the Australia and New Zealand region, independent of mobile, internet and radio communications networks, thus serving the most remote areas, as well as maritime zones.
On the road
GMV has also announced a new partnership with u-blox, the positioning and wireless communication technology and services provider. Together, the two partners plan to deliver ready-to-use, functional, safe positioning solutions for automated driving.
GMV has a track record in the supply of automotive software. Trusted GMV solutions include onboard positioning engine (PE) software and a GNSS correction service, which can be used together, optimizing end user performance, or independently, enabling combination with other third-party systems.
GMV’s high accuracy solution is currently being commercialized in multiple user domains, including in precision agriculture, robotics, space missions and other applications. The new partnership with u-blox will be aimed at developing an integrated, ready-to-use, end-to-end ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) product, leveraging GMV’s high accuracy and safety expertise with u-blox’s leading positioning hardware.
