The European Space Agency (ESA)-funded GOOSE-VTL project, realized by TeleOrbit, Fraunhofer IIS and the University of the Bundeswehr Munich, has developed a unique software defined receiver (SDR) capable of delivering the resilience and accuracy needed for next-generation autonomous systems in GNSS-challenged urban settings.
At a recent ESA-hosted event, Daniel Seybold of TeleOrbit said the goal of the project was to harden GNSS positioning in dense urban environments by replacing conventional scalar tracking with deeply-coupled vector tracking (VT) and INS-aided deep coupling (DC) inside Fraunhofer’s GOOSE (GNSS receiver with an open software interface). Seybold was joined in the presentation by Szu-Jung Wu of Fraunhofer IIS and Mohamed Bochkati of the University of the Bundeswehr Munich.
Key achievements of the project include a new, end-to-end architecture, with GOOSE v2 hardware-accelerated SDR integrating new VT and DC tracking loops, a real-time PVT engine, and a multipath/quality monitor (SQM) that flags distorted signals.
Robust performance was demonstrated under Spirent-based simulations in urban-canyon scenarios. VT maintained continuous tracking where scalar loops lost signal lock. Deep coupling was also validated in the field; ten-minute driving tests on the University of the Bundeswehr Munich campus confirmed that DC-aided GOOSE out-performed standalone GNSS.
Positive steps
The project took onboard lessons from prior work at Fraunhofer, enhancing existing VT technology through new synergies between software and GOOSE hardware. Work also highlighted important innovations in multipath mitigation; the system’s SQM functionality effectively detects and suppresses misleading satellite signals, a chronic threat in urban canyon conditions.
Under the consortium’s new roadmap, near-term priorities include tightening GNSS-INS synchronization, boosting update rates for improved Doppler resolution, and refining the system’s performance using enhanced urban 3D simulation models. Also under development is a smarter SQM engine capable of adapting detection thresholds in real time, based on environmental context.
The automotive sector is the primary target for this technology, although market entry, Seybold said, still poses challenges. The GOOSE-VTL team is considering direct industry partnerships, hybrid public-private co-funding, and leveraging ESA’s NAVISP EL2 or Business Applications programs.
Project partners believe GOOSE-VTL provides a solid foundation not only for safer, more reliable autonomous vehicles, but also for applications in UAVs and other mobile platforms that demand robust PNT solutions in signal-hostile environments.
Finally, with regulators increasingly defining the setting for safety-critical autonomous systems, GOOSE-VTL platform architecture anticipates standards from CEN, CENELEC, ETSI, and ISO. GOOSE-VTL was funded under ESA’s NAVISP Element 1 framework, which focuses on technology push in the European PNT domain.
.jpg "South Korea Developing an eLoran Network to Protect Ships from Cyber Attacks")
