ISSUE 3

EDITOR’S SPECIAL ON SPACE DATA FOR EUROPE 2020

GNSS User Technology Report

More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu).
Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2020

ISBN: 978-92-9206-049-7
ISSN: 2467-3854
doi: 10.2878/565013

Copyright © European GNSS Agency, 2020. This document and the information contained in it is subject to applicable copyright and other intellectual property rights under the laws of the Czech Republic and other states. Third
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GNSS User Technology Report
ISSUE 3 2020
4 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 INTRODUCTION

HOW TO READ THIS REPORT

High-volume
The GNSS User Technology Report is a continuously evolving publication that builds upon a similar structure and format used in previous issues. devices
This third issue of the GNSS User Technology Report is therefore structured into the following blocks:
The opening section, GNSS User Technology Overview, presents a summary of recent developments and future trends in GNSS. Updates on
Galileo, GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou and Regional Navigation Satellite Systems are described in detail as well as latest developments in the area of
GNSS augmentation. The chapter also gives a status update on multi-constellation and multi-frequency adoption in receivers. It presents different
position processing methods and the latest innovations in signal processing and antenna technologies expected to deliver more accurate, less
energy-hungry and more reliable PNT services. Specific focus is made on PNT vulnerabilities that affect GNSS and beyond. Relevant measures and
means to get protected against the growing jamming and spoofing threats to GNSS are introduced. The chapter concludes with a description of
EU GNSS downstream R&D programmes and examples of innovative technologies from members of Galileo Services organisation.
The second part of the report consists of four sub-sections where technology solutions and their use cases are presented, grouped into four
macrosegments.
Safety- and
High-volume devices – presenting devices (meaning chipsets, modules and receivers) manufactured in very large quantities primarily for con- liability-critical devices
sumer devices. Automotive (not safety critical), drones (limited to ‘open’ category according to EASA categorisation), smartphones and specialised
IoT devices from mHealth to robotics are all covered.
Safety- and liability-critical devices – presenting devices built in accordance with standards to deliver such solutions. Automotive, rail, aviation,
drones (others not belonging to the ‘open’ category according to EASA categorisation), maritime and search and rescue solutions are all covered.
High-accuracy devices – presenting devices designed to deliver the highest accuracy (position or time) possible. Agriculture, surveying, mining,
GIS solutions are all covered.
Timing devices – presenting devices delivering time and synchronisation solutions for the telecom, energy, finance or transport sectors.
In this issue, the Editor´s special focuses on Space Data for Europe, and the role of flagship European Space Programmes, Copernicus and Gali-
leo. It also provides a vision of major transformations underway within our society and our economy and the benefits that are expected from this
High-accuracy
digital transformation, including the enablement of the European Data Strategy and Green Deal. The Editor explores the various technologies
devices
involved in the exploitation of this massive amount of data, as well as the challenges to fit with and exploit the full potential of up-coming digital
age that lay ahead.
Finally, annexes close the report with a general overview of GNSS constellations and frequencies (Annex 1), augmentation systems (Annex 2), the
definition of key performance parameters (Annex 3), a summary of radio-frequency interference threats to GNSS (Annex 4), the list of acronyms
(Annex 5), the methodology used to write this technology report (Annex 6) and information about the authors (Annex 7).

Timing devices
 FOREWORD GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020
5

FOREWORD
Dear Reader,

I am pleased to write my first foreword to the GNSS User Technology issue 3 in the role of European GNSS Agency (GSA) Executive Director. The GSA’s GNSS User Tech-
nology Report Issue 3 takes an in-depth look at the latest state-of-the-art GNSS user and receiver technology, along with providing expert analysis on the evolutionary
trends that are set to define the global GNSS landscapes in the coming years.
A touchstone for the GNSS industry, academia and policy makers, the report is released at a time of significant changes for the Industry and the EU Space Programme.
The European GNSS Agency is currently in charge of managing operations, service provision, security, market development and user uptake for Europe’s Global
Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), Galileo and EGNOS. Soon, the Agency is slated to become the European Union Space Programme Agency (EUSPA). By providing
state-of-the-art, secure services, keeping close ties with the user community and contributing to the latest technology trends and innovations within its projects,
EUSPA will continue to serve and support the EU downstream industry including innovators and start-ups with its specific know-how. At the same time, EUSPA will
foster synergies at user level with other EU Space Programme components in Earth Observation and Satellite Telecommunications.
The third edition of the GNSS User Technology Report arrives at an important time for GNSS and the Galileo constellation in particular. The GNSS industry is evolving at
a rapid pace; new applications emerge, requiring customized, complex receiver technology. Production costs are dropping and an increasing number of dual-frequency
receivers become available for mass-market solutions. With numerous players coming from the fields of telecommunications, network operations and IT jumping in the
GNSS technology arena, the industry has already understood the potential of Galileo unique features. The future services will reinforce the opportunities to enhance
positioning, navigation and timing solutions for businesses and citizens.
The improvement of data technologies is changing the magnitude of data use. This is increasing the capacity to build value-added services. Therefore, in this Editor’s
special, we focus on the trends and the challenges connected to the data-driven revolution, on the specific space data contribution and on how the EU plans to shape
its digital future. Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus capabilities have a powerful role to play within this new technological shift which will benefit the European Data
Strategy and Green Deal.
This publication became possible with contributions from leading downstream industry and SMEs players, including GNSS receiver and chipset manufacturers, and
is meant to serve as a valuable tool to support your planning and decision-making with regard to developing, purchasing and using GNSS user technology. We look
forward to receiving your feedback and working with you in continuing this exciting evolution.

Rodrigo da Costa
Executive Director

The European GNSS Agency (GSA)

Prague, October 2020
6 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
With the recent completion of the BeiDou constellation and forthcoming launches of Galileo The introduction of these multi-frequency GNSS devices, the increased use of corrections services,
satellites, the two new GNSS are expected to reach their full operational capability shortly, the deployment in some countries of thousands of additional base stations of 5G infrastructure,
increasing the number of global operational systems to four. Meanwhile, the two historical GNSS actively support the democratisation of high-accuracy in the mass market. Combined with the
(GPS and GLONASS) pursue their modernisation, whilst the three regional satellite navigation attractiveness of low cost solutions, these benefits are spreading throughout other sectors.
systems (NavIC, the regional component of BeiDou and QZSS) continue their development
adding new navigation satellites in their respective coverage areas. Public augmentation sys- The safety- and liability-critical devices domain is traditionally constrained by regulations and
tems follow suit with four new Satellite-Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS) planned to be standards and therefore slower in adopting new technologies. However, noticeable changes can
fully operational by 2023 and upgrade their services to support multiple frequency bands and be observed in the less regulated and lower end part of this sector, which increasingly uses chips
multiple constellations in the years to come. from the upper end of the mass market combined with new approaches to support safety-critical
applications. While Dual-Frequency, Multi-Constellation (DFMC) solutions have been established
The first chapter of the report focus on the common technology trends for all types of GNSS devices. in these areas, other mature safety-critical sectors lag behind, pending the finalisation of standards
The GNSS world that embraced multi-constellation yesterday is now firmly adding multi-frequency and availability of the first certified receivers. However, the use of multiple frequencies and multiple
to its major trends. As new signals become available from an ever larger number of satellites, GNSS constellations, augmentation of various types, INS hybridisation, and sensor fusion all contribute
receivers across all domains now commonly feature multi-frequency support in order to deliver to the required ‘assured’ and safe positioning solutions.
better performances to end users, primarily greater accuracy and robustness to interference. The
increasing number of open signals in the E5 band mean that E5 is increasingly adopted in new In the professional domain, high-accuracy devices reign and steadily evolve towards exploiting
receiver models as the second frequency and today is present in 20% of all receiver models on the all frequencies and constellations as they become available. Modern devices consist of compact
market, while L2 adoption decreases. In 2020, the new generation of dual-frequency GNSS receivers sensor-enriched receivers, usually capable of supporting any type of augmentation service (RTK,
is already spreading in the high-volume device macrosegment, and the receivers are being actively NRTK, PPP and new PPP-RTK services) and offer flexible customisation by the end user. The continued
developed for traditionally long lifecycle regulated segments such as aviation and maritime. digitalisation of services, the increased reliance on sensor fusion for fully-connected automated
workflow management, and advanced data exploitation techniques supported by AI also gener-
One of the trends, already observed in the previous edition of the report, translates into a pleth- ate transformations in the sector. Finally, as high-accuracy geomatics solutions increasingly make
ora of high-accuracy services now available on the market to all categories of users. Demanding inroads into other mass-market sectors, mass-market devices become increasingly able to perform
applications such as autonomous vehicles, mobile robots, and outdoor augmented reality benefit low-end mapping and surveying activities. In that regard, the ‘Bring your own device’ (BYOD) trend
from this revolution and trigger this paradigm shift. No longer the exclusive preserve of commercial is emerging, whereby surveyors and mappers use their own smartphones as an alternative to
services providers, high-accuracy services are also proposed by core GNSS (e.g. the free Galileo proprietary data collection devices.
HAS and the QZSS CLAS) and in the plans of several SBAS service providers.
Lastly, regarding timing devices that deliver time and synchronisation solutions for the telecom,
Moreover, ensuring both safety and security of the PNT solutions remains a key driver of technol- energy, finance or transport sectors, research and development efforts have been made at various
ogy developments and innovations. Protection measures against GNSS jamming and spoofing are levels of the timing processing chain. In particular, multi-frequency and multi-constellation adoption
implemented through different combinations of technologies on both receivers and antennas, as well as innovative Time-Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (T-RAIM) and interference
through the use of multiple sources of positioning information as well as the authentication of GNSS monitoring algorithms aim to respond to the common demand for improved accuracy, increased
signals. The Galileo authentication capabilities (Open Service Navigation Message Authentication resilience and improved availability.
and Commercial Augmentation Service – OS-NMA and CAS, respectively) are expected to provide
good enhancements in this regard. Many of the technical advances observed in this report relate to the exploitation of digital data
from GNSS, Earth Observation and from an increasing variety of sources. From the enhancement
Lastly, sensors of all types, optical, inertial and others continue to drop in price and increase in of industrial processes and transportation paradigms, to the development of a new agriculture
performance, and are now routinely integrated with GNSS receivers and their outputs fused. While or the monitoring of essential climate variables, digital data are already everywhere and benefit
largely propelled by the emerging world of ‘autonomous things’, this trend widely benefits other both public and private sectors, as well as citizens. The ‘Editor’s special’ section of this report is
sectors. More than ever, we see GNSS at the heart of a ‘metasystem’, combining various technologies devoted to this ‘data-driven revolution’, which is indisputably changing the world we live in, while
that support ubiquitous localisation and timing, ubiquitous sensing, and ubiquitous connectivity, meeting technological and societal challenges.
where each subsystem contributes to the performance of the others and where the seamless
integration of space and ground components is paramount to achieving truly global ubiquity. The analysis of GNSS user technology trends is supported by testimonials from key suppliers of
receiver technology: Broadcom, ICaune, FieldBee, f.u.n.k.e, Google, Hexagon, Microchip, Rokubun,
In the world of high-volume devices for the consumer market, multi-constellation support is now Septentrio, Sony, Trimble, Unifly presenting their latest innovations in the field.
standard and dual-frequency capability is not only a strategic choice for high-end products but
gains momentum in smartphone devices.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020
7

FOREWORD 5

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6

INTRODUCTION 8

GNSS USER TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW 9

HIGH-VOLUME DEVICES 30

SAFETY- AND LIABILITY-CRITICAL DEVICES 46

HIGH-ACCURACY DEVICES 62

TIMING DEVICES 75

EDITOR’S SPECIAL: SPACE DATA FOR EUROPE 87

ANNEXES 95
ANNEX 1: GNSS CONSTELLATIONS AND FREQUENCIES 96
ANNEX 2: AUGMENTATION SYSTEMS 97
ANNEX 3: KEY GNSS PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS 99
ANNEX 4: RADIO-FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE THREATS TO GNSS 100
ANNEX 5: LIST OF ACRONYMS 101
ANNEX 6: METHODOLOGY 103
ANNEX 7: ABOUT THE AUTHORS 104
8 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 INTRODUCTION

GALILEO PREPARES FOR THE FUTURE

The continued diverging needs of hundreds of applications drive the customisation of GNSS Despite this busy agenda, Galileo already evaluates the feasibility of other services, including an
receivers with wide-ranging complexities, capabilities, and resource requirements. The expectations Early Warning Service and an extension of the SAR Return Link Service capabilities, and is fully
of users in different applications are often contradictory, but they do share some commonalities: engaged in the process of developing Galileo 2nd Generation. Procurement activities for System,
Satellite and Ground Segment will commence in 2020 with the ambitious goal of reaching full
• The need for continuous and dependable PNT services, and
operational capability in 2030.
• The quest for ever better performance at large, e.g. in terms of accuracy, cost, or autonomy.
The design of Galileo 2nd Generation is driven by overarching principles, including backward com-
Thus, with every edition of this report we witness new and innovative products enabled by pro- patibility and the quality of services, but also the absolute need to meet user demands in a timely
gress in receiver technology, as well as evolutions in the services proposed by core GNSS and RNSS and effective manner. Acknowledging the changing nature of these user requirements, Galileo
providers and by public or private augmentation providers. 2nd Generation is designed from the onset to evolve incrementally, and with sufficient flexibility
to provide new services or signal features, if and when required, without changing the satellites.
Indeed, the variety of user requirements calls for a diversity of solutions, both at receiver and
system levels. Similarly, the rapid and sometimes unpredictable evolution of these requirements The emerging application areas considered include the world of ‘autonomous things’ (drones,
demand a matching evolution of existing services, or the creation of new ones, in a timely manner. robots and cars), robust advanced timing services, the Internet of Things, safety-critical and
liability-critical transport and emergency warning services. Signal evolutions will enable increased
GNSS providers face the challenge of satisfying these emerging needs, without compromising exist-
user performance (reduced power consumption, faster TTFF, better accuracy, security with authen-
ing services. With satellite lifetimes well in excess of 10 years, the task would be almost impossible,
tication, etc.). Along with the evolution of other technologies, such as 5G-powered ubiquitous
if the original design had not ‘planned for the unpredictable’.
connectivity or ultra-secure quantum communications, there is little doubt that GNSS – and Galileo –
This report begins with the presentation of on-going and planned infrastructure evolutions of GNSS will remain an indispensable utility, continuing to provide users and society with countless benefits.
and SBAS, which in turn allow for the gradual introduction of new or enhanced services: GPS is
now launching its GPS III satellites, GLONASS is switching to the K2 satellites – both moves that will
enhance interoperability of the systems – and BeiDou is now focusing on regional services after an Emerging applications needs are driving the evolutions of GNSS
impressive effort to rapidly deploy its final constellation. Likewise, Galileo is preparing for the future.
For Galileo 1st Generation, this translates into substantial reinforcements of the system’s built-in Advanced timing services
redundancies and resilience and into the introduction of new services and capabilities:
• The OS Navigation Message Authentication and the Commercial Service Authentication;
Safety-critical and liability-critical transport
• Improvements of the I/NAV message, allowing a faster TTFF;
• The High Accuracy Service offering world-wide decimetre level position accuracy.
Besides these PNT services, Galileo has been pioneering MEOSAR, notably with the Return Link Autonomous cars
Service, fully operational since January 2020.

Drones and robots

Internet of Things

Emergency warning services

 9

GNSS USER TECHNOLOGY

OVERVIEW GNSS today 10
GNSS evolution 11
GNSS signals 12
Galileo ground infrastructure 13
GNSS augmentation 14
5G and GNSS 15
Receiver design 16
Position processing 17
Multi-frequency 18
© ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique Video du CSG - P Baudo

Signal processing 19
GNSS antennas 20
Receivers’ capabilities 21
GNSS vulnerabilities 23
Protecting GNSS 24
Authenticating GNSS 25
PNT beyond GNSS 26
European R&D 27
10 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 GNSS USER TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW GNSS TODAY

INTEROPERABLE MULTI-GNSS IS THE REALITY FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE

Continuous worldwide navigation services from multiple constellations Operational* GNSS Satellites
MEO only
The four GNSS – GPS (USA), GLONASS (RU), BeiDou (PRC) and Galileo (EU) – will continue to provide
navigation services with global coverage for the foreseeable future, with more than 100 GNSS
120
satellites in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO). BeiDou-3 satellites have been launched at an impressive
rate during 2018-2019, and Galileo ‘Batch 3’ satellites are due to follow suit from 2021 to complete
and maintain the constellation. 100
Three Regional Navigation Satellite Systems (RNSS), namely the Indian NavIC, the Chinese BeiDou
(phase 2, formerly known as Compass) and Japanese QZSS further increase the number of navi- 80
gation satellites in their respective coverage areas.
Satellite-Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS), such as the European Geostationary Navigation 60
Overlay System (EGNOS), broadcast GNSS-like signals primarily dedicated to the provision of
integrity information and wide area corrections, but can also be used as extra navigation signals. 40

Interoperability of open services for a true multi-GNSS world, with a multi-frequency dimension 20
International coordination between GNSS, RNSS, and SBAS providers has led to the adoption of open
signals of compatible frequency plans, common multiple access schemes (with GLONASS adding 0
CDMA to its legacy FDMA scheme), and modulation schemes (e.g. Galileo E1 and GPS L1C). This

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facilitates the design of multi-constellation GNSS chipsets and receivers, to the benefit of end users.

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Furthermore, all GNSS and RNSS constellations broadcast open signals in common multiple fre- GPS GLONASS Galileo BeiDou
quency bands, and SBAS will emulate them with plans to upgrade services to multiple frequencies
and multiple constellations in the coming years. The GNSS world that embraced multi-constellation * Excluding test satellites. Reporting global coverage only (Medium Earth Orbit).
yesterday is adding multi-frequency to its major trends today.
In addition to the baseline interoperable open signals, each GNSS/RNSS provides specific services
through dedicated signals and frequencies. This is the case of governmental services1 such as
Galileo Public Regulated Service (PRS) or GPS Precise Positioning Service (PPS), as well as value-added
services (e.g. Galileo High-Accuracy Service (HAS), QZSS L6 or BeiDou short messaging service). Frequencies: a scarce resource to be protected
All these systems transmit or plan to transmit navigation signals in two common frequency ranges:
L5/E5/B2/L3 signals in the lower L Band (1164-1215 MHz) and L1/E1/B1 signals in the upper L Band
(1559-1610 MHz). These frequency bands, often referred to by the signal names they contain (‘L1
or E5 band’), are allocated worldwide to GNSS on a primary basis and are shared with aeronautical
radio navigation service (ARNS) systems.
To allow harmonious development of GNSS and other radio services, the overarching principle
underpinning the rules of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Radio Regulations is
that countries should avoid causing interference to each other’s radio services. In this regard, coun-
tries operating GNSS determine radio-frequency compatibility with each other, and other systems,
using the ‘1dB criterion’ - interference that causes a 1dB rise in the noise floor of a GNSS receiver
1 Not discussed in this report will degrade its performance and is therefore considered as unacceptably harmful interference.
 GNSS EVOLUTION GNSS USER TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020
11

GNSS AND RNSS INFRASTRUCTURE IS CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVING

All GNSS or RNSS providers strive to improve the quality of the services they deliver, with new capabilities and enhanced coverage being announced. Better performance and higher interopera-
bility will result from these efforts, whilst preserving backward compatibility with existing receivers.

GPS (www.gps.gov) Galileo (www.gsc-europa.eu)

The USA are currently engaged in an ambitious GPS modernisation programme, After the declaration of early services on 15 December 2016, Galileo continues
which has deployed new satellites (GPS III) since the beginning of 2018. The two its deployment and will start launching its so-called ‘Batch 3’ satellites in 2021 to
first GPS III satellites, named Vespucci and Magellan, have joined the operational complete and replenish its nominal Galileo 1st generation constellation. In paral-
GPS constellation in January and April 2020, respectively. They are the first satel- lel, evolution studies are ongoing to prepare the first batch of the Galileo second
lites to feature the new L1C signal, almost identical to its Galileo OS counterpart on E1. They also generation satellites.
broadcast the legacy L1 and the more recent L2C and L5 signals, resulting in the future availability
In addition to providing a high quality open service based on innovative signals in the E1 and
of 4 civil GPS signals.
E5 bands, Galileo is also the first GNSS constellation to comprise a SAR capability, including the
The current (Federal Radionavigation Plan 2019) plan states: ‘it is expected that 24 operational provision of a return link to users in distress. Galileo also features unique capabilities, such as the
satellites broadcasting L2C will be available by 2020, with the corresponding ground segment provision of Navigation Message Authentication (OS-NMA) and of an encrypted navigation signal
capability available by 2023, enabling transition to L2C by 2023.’ and further: ‘Civilian users of GPS on E6, the Commercial Authentication Service (CAS). These functions offer the first protection
are encouraged to start their planning for transition now’. against spoofing available to civilian GNSS users. Finally, Galileo will provide free access to a High
Accuracy Service (HAS) through the use of an open data channel – also on the E6 frequency – used
to broadcast high-accuracy augmentation messages.
GLONASS (www.glonass-iac.ru/en)
GLONASS-K is the latest generation of GLONASS satellites. The first of these entered
QZSS (qzss.go.jp/en)
into service in February 2016. GLONASS-K satellites transmit CDMA signals (currently
at L3 = 1202.025 MHz in the E5 band, but also in future at the L1 and L2 frequencies) QZSS (Michibiki) has been operated as a four-satellite constellation from November
in addition to the legacy FDMA signals, and carry a SAR transponder. The previous 2018, and three satellites are visible at all times from locations in the Asia-Oceania
generation GLONASS-M satellites have been used until 2019 for constellation maintenance, but will region, while the current plan is to have a seven-satellite constellation by 2023. The
be superseded by GLONASS K1 and K2, from 2020 onwards. These satellites also feature improved primary purpose of QZSS is to increase the availability of GPS in Japan’s numerous
clock stability, and new control, command and ODTS technologies. In the longer term (post 2025), urban canyons. A secondary function is performance enhancement, increasing both accuracy and
the current MEO-only constellation could be complemented by 6 additional satellites in Highly reliability of GPS. QZSS provides a variety of services, from the basic Satellite PNT Service based
Elliptical Orbits (HEO). on the transmission of GPS-like signals, but also an SBAS Transmission Service, a planned Public
Regulated Service, a Sub-meter Level Augmentation Service (SLAS), a Centimeter Level Augmenta-
tion Service (CLAS) and a variety of other services exploiting the data links of QZSS (e.g. a Satellite
BeiDou (en.chinabeidou.gov.cn) Report for Disaster and Crisis Management).
The third generation of the BeiDou system (BDS-3) reached full deployment in
June 2020, with 30 satellites (24 MEO, 3 GEO & 3 IGSO) in the nominal constella-
NavIC (www.isro.gov.in/irnss-programme)
tion, providing global and regional services. The system transmits signals on the
B1 (E1/L1), B2 (E5/L5) and B3 (~E6) frequencies. Sharing frequency bands and NavIC-1l was successfully launched on 12 April 2018, to increase the NavIC constel-
closely resembling signal waveforms with GPS and Galileo, BDS-3 significantly contributes to the lation to 7 operational satellites. NavIC covers India and a region extending 1,500
interoperable, multiple GNSS world. BeiDou operates the largest constellation of 30 satellites plus kilometres (930 miles) around it, with plans for a further coverage extension by
possible in-orbit spares. The regional services include BDSBAS, China’s SBAS supporting single increasing the number of satellites in the constellation from 7 to 11. NavIC signals
frequency and Dual Frequency Multi-Constellation (DFMC) formats and meeting the International consist of a Standard Positioning Service and a Precision Service. Both are carried on L5 (1176.45
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) performance requirements, a Precise Point Positioning (PPP) MHz) and S band (2492.028 MHz).
Service and a Regional Short Message Communication (RSMC) Service.
12 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 GNSS USER TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW GNSS SIGNALS

MOST SYSTEMS WILL SHORTLY PROVIDE FULLY OPERATIONAL MULTI-FREQUENCY SERVICES

Ground segment updates SYSTEM PROVIDER SIGNAL 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
L1
GNSS ground segments continuously evolve L1 C
for better performance, reliability and secu- GPS L2
L2 C
rity. They also need upgrades to support new L5
signals and capabilities brought by the lat-
E1
est generations of satellites, such as GPS III GALILEO E5

GLOBAL COVERAGE
E6
or GLONASS K2. Consequently, whilst Galileo

SATELLITE NAVIGATION SYSTEMS

and BeiDou3 are in their first generation, both L1 FDMA
L1 CDMA
GPS and GLONASS are modernising their con- L2 FDMA
GLONASS
trol segments in parallel with the evolution of L2 CDMA
L3 CDMA
their space segment. L5 CDMA

As an example, the GPS ground segment is BEIDOU

B1
B2
being upgraded to the ‘Next Generation Con- B3

trol Segment’ or OCX. OCX Block 1, providing

full operational capability to include control L1C/A 4 satellites constellation 7 satellites constellation
REGIONAL COVERAGE

L1C 4 satellites constellation 7 satellites constellation

of both legacy and modernized satellites and QZSS
L2C 4 satellites constellation 7 satellites constellation
L5 4 satellites constellation 7 satellites constellation
signals, is expected to be delivered in 2021.
L1
IRNSS L5
S-Band

L1
WAAS
L5 Under development

L1
EGNOS
L5 Under development

L1
SDCM
L5 Under development
SATELLITE AUGMENTATION SYSTEMS

B1C
BDSBAS
B2A
REGIONAL COVERAGE

L1
GAGAN
L5 Under development
Development Plans L1 MTSAT based QZS3 based QZS3 / 6 / 7 based
MSAS
L5
The figure on the right shows the
current development plans for each QZSS
L1S
L6D/E
satellite navigation system over the
next five years. The signal sets and KAZZ
L1
L5
status are reported as follows:
L1
A-SBAS
Signal status L5

No service SPAN
L1
L5
Initial services
Full services
Disclaimer: System deployment plans based upon publicly available information as of July 2020.
 GALILEO GROUND INFRASTRUCTURE GNSS USER TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020
13

THE GALILEO GROUND INFRASRUCTURE ENSURES THE DELIVERY OF HIGH QUALITY SERVICES
The ground segment is an essential and critical component of each GNSS. It consists of a global network of ground facilities
that track the satellites, monitor their transmissions, perform analyses, establish the system time, compute the satellite orbits Introducing The Galileo Reference Centre
and clocks, and send commands and data to the constellation. As such, its functions can be compared to the role of the brain The Galileo Reference
and nervous system in a human body. Centre (GRC) is a cor-
nerstone of the Gali-
The Galileo ground segment leo service provision.

© Architekten Cie
The Galileo Ground Segment comprises two control centres located at Fucino (Italy) and Oberpfaffenhofen (Germany), a global Located in Noordwijk,
network of transmitting and receiving stations including Galileo Sensor Stations (GSS), Galileo Uplink Stations (ULS), Telemetry, the Netherlands, the
Tracking & Control stations (TT&C), and a series of service facilities, which support the provision of the Galileo services. GRC provides the Euro-
pean GNSS Agency
It also comprises a set of Medium-Earth Orbit Local User Terminals (MEOLUTs) serving Galileo’s Search and Rescue service. (GSA) with an independent system to monitor and evaluate the
performance of the Galileo services and the quality of the GNSS
Galileo ground segment signals in space. Monitoring activities are not limited to Galileo
but also include the performance of other systems, such as GPS,
GLONASS and BeiDou.
Svalbard
The GRC’s continuous monitoring of Galileo performance helps
Jan Mayen the GSA ensure the delivery of high-quality navigation services,
Kiruna
so users can better rely on, and benefit from, Galileo. The GRC is
fully independent of the Galileo system and of the operator both
with respect to the technical solution and operations.
St Pierre et Miquelon Redu Noordwijk All of the data obtained from the monitoring activities is stored in
Saint-Germain-en-Laye Oberpfaffenhofen
Toulouse a centralised archive. This is designed to store service performance
Fucino
Azores data over the entire operational lifetime of the Galileo system. As
Madrid Larnaca
Maspalomas a result, the GRC has ‘big data’ to support a number of aspects
related to GNSS performance analyses.
Kourou
For example, the GRC supports investigations of service perfor-
mance and service degradations, which is of relevance to the Gal-
ileo service provision. In addition, the GRC provides GNSS service
Papeete Wallis and Futuna
Réunion
performance expertise to the Galileo Programme and European
Nouméa
Aviation authorities in charge of different aspects, such as aviation
network management and safety policies (i.e. EUROCONTROL and
the EU Aviation Safety Agency, EASA).
Kerguelen The GRC is the European hub for these kinds of activities, integrat-
Troll ing contributions from European national entities, such as research
Image adapted from ESA Navipedia
centres, timing laboratories, and national space agencies with
its own functionality. The GRC is also the designated European
GCC (Ground Control Centre) – Fucino, Oberpfaffenhofen LEOPCC (Launch and Early Operations Control Centre) – Oberpfaffenhofen
GRC (Galileo Reference Centre) – Noordwijk SAR MEOLUT (Search and Rescue – Medium Earth Orbit Local User Monitoring and Analysis Centre for Galileo, part of a joint project of
GSC (European GNSS Service Centre) – Madrid Terminal) – Larnaca, Maspalomas, Réunion, Svalbard the International Committee on GNSS (ICG) of the United Nations
GSMC (Galileo Security Monitoring Centre) – Madrid, Saint-Germain-en-Laye SGS (SAR/Galileo Ground Segment) – Toulouse that includes contributions from the United States (GPS), Russia
GSS (Ground Sensor Station) – Azores, Fucino, Jan Mayen, Kiruna, Papeete, TGVF (Timing and Geodetic Validation Facility) – Noordwijk
Redu, Réunion, Kerguelen, Kourou, St Pierre et Miquelon, Svalbard, Troll, TT&C (Telemetry, Tracking and Control Stations) – Kiruna, Kourou, Nouméa, (GLONASS) , China (BeiDou), Japan (QZSS) and India (NavIC).
Wallis and Futuna Papeete, Redu, Réunion
IOT (In Orbit Test Center) – Redu ULS (Uplink Station) – Kourou, Nouméa, Papeete, Réunion, Svalbard
14 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 GNSS USER TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW GNSS AUGMENTATION

PUBLIC AUGMENTATION SYSTEMS ENHANCE GNSS PERFORMANCE AND MOVE TOWARDS NEW MARKETS
Future SBAS services look to exploit the increased accuracy
offered by dual-frequency systems for more demanding
SBAS indicative service areas
applications
Developed in the 1990’s to fulfil primarily the needs of the avia-
tion community, Satellite-Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS) SDCM 2021
EGNOS 2011
have been widely adopted by many other user segments that
require improved accuracy performance, such as agriculture
and maritime.
There are four operational SBAS with plans for continued improve-
ments (WAAS (USA), EGNOS (EU), MSAS (Japan), GAGAN (India)) SDCM*
and five additional SBAS in various phases of development (SDCM
(RU), BDSBAS (PRC), A-SBAS (ASECNA), KASS (South Korea) and EGNOS MSAS 2007

SPAN (Australia and New Zealand)). Whilst the first generation of WAAS
KASS
SBAS systems offers augmentation services to GPS L1, the second MSAS
generation intends to support both dual- (L1 and E5) and sin- BDSBAS
gle-frequency (L1) operations, along with supporting correction GAGAN
data for signals originating from multiple GNSS constellations. In KASS 2022
Europe, the upgrade of EGNOS (EGNOS V3) will augment Galileo
E1 and E5a and GPS L1 and L5 signals from 2025. A-SBAS BDSBAS 2022
WASS 2003
The move towards multi-frequency multi-constellation capabil-
GAGAN 2013
ities of future systems will enable greater positioning accuracy,
increase availability, and improve robustness to unintentional
interference and ionospheric perturbations. These technical A-SBAS 2024
SPAN
evolutions have created opportunities to meet the demand of
new markets outside the core aviation sector. Hence, EGNOS, SPAN 2023
BDSBAS, SDCM, A-SBAS and SPAN service providers consider the
possibility of providing value-added services, primarily a Precise
Point Positioning (PPP) service, thus targeting the booming ‘high
accuracy market for all’.
Operational/certified Under development/definition
The provision of a PPP service through SBAS is particularly rele- for civil aviation
Planning
*System not yet certified for civil aviation
vant for high-accuracy applications in remote areas with a low
density of GNSS reference stations and to serve a higher number
of users (a problem of Network RTK). It could support stringent
operations of inland waterways navigation, or machinery guid-
ance, to quote only few. An international coordination effort
Coordination efforts involve the SBAS Interoperability Working Group (IWG), which comprises the various SBAS service providers, as
is engaged to ensure that existing GNSS services (particularly
well as the International Committee on GNSS (ICG), and ICAO Navigation System Panel.
safety-of-life services) will not be adversely affected by the
move underway. The Annex 2 presents current plans for PPP delivery via SBAS.
 5G AND GNSS GNSS USER TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020
15

5G ENABLES UBIQUITOUS CONNECTIVITY AND CAN CONTRIBUTE TO POSITIONING

The 5G promises Examples of telecommunication applications profiting from 5G
Mobile technology has evolved from a predominantly people-to-people platform (3G) toward
people-to-information connectivity on a global scale (4G). 5G is the first mobile system designed Smart grids
to connect everything. 5G is expected to unleash a Massive Internet of Things (MIoT) ecosystem Security & eHealth Connected
and critical communications applications, where networks can meet the communication needs surveillance house
of billions of connected devices, with the appropriate trade-off between speed, latency, and cost.
5G will be used for: Domotics

• Enhanced mobile broadband (EMBB) enables real-world speeds of hundreds of Mbps and
higher. This delivers much more capacity to efficiently support unlimited data. These improve- Water
quality
ments to the network will extend cellular coverage into a broader range of structures including
office buildings, industrial parks, shopping malls, and large venues, and will improve capacity Smart
Smart
Smart car wearables
to handle a significantly greater number of devices using high volumes of data, especially in mobility
Utility Car-to-car Traffic
localised areas. management communication priority Smart

Adapted from EC
parking
• Massive Internet of Things (MIoT) is enabled by 5G’s improved low-power requirements, the
ability to operate in licensed and unlicensed spectrum, and its ability to provide deeper and Entertainment
more flexible wide-area coverage. These properties will drive significantly lower costs within Apps beyond imagination
MIoT settings and enable the full scale of MIoT.
• Mission Critical Services (MCS) drive new market opportunities for mobile technology, including
applications that require high reliability, ultra-low latency connectivity with strong security and
availability, such as autonomous vehicles, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) applications and remote 5G, Mobility and Automation
operation of complex automation equipment where failure is not an option.
With failsafe wireless connections, faster data speeds and extensive data capacity, 5G can provide
the connectivity backbone required to enable cooperative positioning as well as the safe opera-
tion of driverless cars, UAVs, mobile robots and, more generally, the world of Autonomous Things.
Positioning in 5G
In the automotive sector, 5G’s Mission Critical Services will support ‘mission critical’ Vehicle-to-vehicle
Contrary to existing radio networks where positioning has only been an add-on feature, for 5G
(V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) and some other Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) applica-
mobile radio networks the positioning is seen as an integral part of the system design and will play
tions, such as the next generation of driver-assisted cars, which will need real-time safety systems
a key role, enabling a huge amount of different location-based services and applications.
that can exchange data with other vehicles and fixed infrastructure around them. This will lay the
Technologies deployed in 5G networks include a wide bandwidth for better time resolution, new foundation for driverless cars.
frequency bands in the mm-wave range and massive antenna arrays, which in turn enable highly
In addition to its trend toward increased automation and autonomy, the transport sector is a
accurate Direction of arrival (DoA) and Time of Arrival (ToA) estimation especially in direct line-
significant beneficiary of wireless connectivity in ports, airports, and railways for logistics and
of-sight conditions. This makes 5G networks a convenient environment for accurate positioning,
digitalisation. The applications here include large-file and real-time data exchange, real-time
targeting metre or even sub-metre accuracies. This is all the more true as the networks will get
information, exchange of data from multiple domains (transportation, public administration,
denser, e.g. in urban and deep urban environments where GNSS reception is difficult or denied.
emergency services, weather sensing, etc.) requiring connectivity to infrastructure, supported
Thus, it is expected that hybrid GNSS/5G will be the core of future location engines for many appli- by 5G’s MIoT. These large volumes of data need to be accurately synchronised to a common time
cations in the LBS and IoT domains, with a significantly improved location performance in cities. source to ensure the systems can integrate and prioritise information effectively.
16 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 GNSS USER TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW RECEIVER DESIGN

GNSS RECEIVERS CONTINUOUSLY EVOLVE TO OFFER ENHANCED PERFORMANCE

The evolution of receiver design is enabled by technolog- Simultaneously, market pressures exert a pull towards increased This architecture is typical of a self-contained GNSS receiver. The
ical developments in the semiconductor industry, including accuracy, improved performance in all environments, reduced advent of multi-frequency receivers does not significantly affect
increased processing power to support more GNSS channels, time-to-first-fix (TTFF) and robustness against jamming or this functional diagram, but it does impact several components,
and the development of low-cost sensors that allows tighter spoofing. This simplified diagram presents the building blocks notably the antenna (1), the RF front-end (2), and the Baseband
coupling with different technologies and brings positioning to of a typical GNSS receiver with its main characteristics (the most processing (4) which are (in a gross approximation) replicated
GNSS-deprived locations. important or rapidly evolving of which are highlighted in red). for each frequency.

GNSS receiver functional block diagram

1. Antenna (+ preamplifier) 6. Input/ Output interfaces

1 Analogue Digital Raw Data &
Receives, amplifies, and band- Antenna IF IF Navigation message Converts data produced
pass filters GNSS signals. 2 3 4 5 in internal formats into
RF Analogue recognised formats such as
Dimensions: RF Baseband PVT
to Digital NMEA. After reformatting,
• Frequency band(s) Front-End Processing Processing
converter the data is output over a
• Active or passive
suitable data interface such as
• Gain
RS-232, Ethernet, Bluetooth
• CSWaP*
or a combination of several
• Selectivity
Inputs / Outputs of these. The selection of the
• Noise factor
interface is often application-
• Phase Centre
domain specific.
• (Controlled or fixed)
Radiation pattern Local Power User Interface
• Multipath rejection Oscillator Supply
6
• Jamming mitigation
• Spoofing mitigation

2. RF down converter 3. Analogue to Digital converter 4. Baseband processing 5. PVT (& Application) processing
Down-converts and filters RF signals Converts the analogue IF signal into Acquires and tracks incoming signals, Computes the estimated position and
to an intermediate frequency (IF) a digital representation. demodulates navigation data. receiver time offset relative to the
compatible with analogue-to-digital Dimensions: constellation’s reference time.
Dimensions:
converter (ADC)- acceptable input.
• Linearity • Number of channels Dimensions:
Dimensions: • Number of bits/Dynamic range • Signal components processed • Solution type (GNSS, DGNSS, RTK,
• Input frequency/ies • Jitter • Measurement rate PPP…)
• Phase noise • Bandwidth • Measurement noise (C/N0) • Sensor hybridisation
• Linearity • Interface to baseband • Continuous vs. snapshot or duty cycling • Supported augmentation services
• Automatic Gain Control (AGC) • Dynamics • Single or Multi constellation
• Isolation • Multipath mitigation • Update rate
• Interference and jamming mitigation • Latency
* Cost, Size, Weight and Power • Spoofing mitigation
 POSITION PROCESSING GNSS USER TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020
17

THE COMPLEX NATURE OF GNSS SIGNALS REQUIRES SOPHISTICATED PROCESSING METHODS

GNSS signal components are similar for all current constellations Errors affecting the observations depend on multiple physical parameters
The structure of GNSS signals comprises three main components: Satellite errors are mainly caused by residual errors in the Orbit Determination and Time Synchroni-
sation (ODTS) process in the GNSS ground segment, which predicts the satellite clock and ephemeris
• Carrier – sinusoidal electromagnetic waves generated by an oscillator synchronized with an
data, and some imperfectly known or modelled errors in the satellite electronics and hardware.
atomic clock on every satellite. Carrier frequencies are chosen in the range 1100-1600 MHz
and are used to transmit information (through modulation with spreading codes and data Environmental errors are caused by the ionospheric and tropospheric layers through which
component, when present), and for carrier phase ranging. the signal passes. The ionosphere modifies the electromagnetic wave’s propagation speed in a
frequency-dependent manner, while the troposphere generates frequency-independent delays.
• Spreading codes – seemingly random binary sequences, that can be reproduced in a deter-
ministic manner by intended receivers. They are mainly used to spread the signal spectrum Local errors are caused by sources that depend on either the measurement conditions (e.g. signal
for increased strength, immunity to interference and authorization of the signal usability for reflection/multipath and satellite geometry), the quality of the receiver (clock stability, processing
public, military, commercial or other services. Codes are typically generated at 1-10 MHz. After noise and hardware biases), the antenna phase centre offset, or variation.
de-spreading the signal in the correlator, the GNSS receiver is able to perform synchronization
over time and code phase ranging.
GNSS error components versus mitigation strategies
• Data component – low-frequency data streams (e.g. 125 Hz for Galileo I/NAV) containing
navigation information: primarily satellite clock and ephemeris data (CED) but also ionospheric GNSS satellite Code based Carrier based
correction models, service parameters, integrity and authentication indicators, and other data. DGNSS SBAS RTK PPP-RTK PPP
Some signals (named ‘pilot’) are not modulated with data for improved tracking performance. (OSR) (~SSR) (OSR) (SSR) (SSR)
GLOBAL SV orbit error
(system) SV clock error
Different observables provide scalable accuracy levels and services
SV bias
The PVT solution is computed using either code phase or carrier phase-derived satellite to receiver REGIONAL/LOCAL Ionosphere
ranges (so called ‘observables’), together with information from the data component and various (propagation) Troposphere
models for error mitigation. The precision achieved is inversely proportional to the frequency of
the processed signal, i.e. high frequency yields high precision. Hence, carrier phase observables LOCAL Multipath
(environment Receiver errors
typically lead to over 1000 times higher precision than code phase. However, the carrier phase is & reciever)
much more fragile (subject to cycle slips), while code, despite yielding lower precision is more robust.
Receiver / user
Carrier phase is used to determine highly precise fractional ranges to the satellites by measuring
the phase of the synthetic observable generated in the receiver (a combination of the received
signal and internally reproduced replica). Such measurements however provide only fractional (sub Position processing incorporates two major methods for error mitigation
one cycle) information, while the integer number of cycles remains unknown. The main difficulty
GNSS errors are usually reduced via two modelling methods: the Observation Space Representa-
lies in the estimation of the integer number of cycles, in a process called ambiguity resolution.
tion (OSR) provides a single compound ranging correction as observed in a nearby (real or virtual)
Code phase is used to measure the delay of the incoming code relative to its local replica, which reference station, while in the State Space Representation (SSR) method, the various error sources
yields an estimate of the approximate range to the satellite with a precision of up to several metres. are estimated separately by a network of continuously operating reference stations (CORS) before
Depending on the receiver capabilities, code measurements may be further refined through being sent to the receiver. Some parameters (e.g. environmental delays for PPP) are estimated
smoothing with the carrier phase without the need of ambiguity resolution. inside the receiver rather than from CORS networks. The PPP-RTK method combines elements
from both methods and provides scalable accuracy to all user segments – from Mass Market to
Positioning with code-based processing methods generally provides sufficient accuracy, with
High-Accuracy. The emergence of high-accuracy mass market applications shows a strong potential
adequate robustness. Where maximum accuracy is needed, carrier-based processing with centi-
for widespread utilisation of PPP-RTK.
metre-level accuracy is predominant: the carrier phase is observed through sophisticated receivers,
capable of complex multi-frequency combinations with ultimate precision levels. More details on the capabilities of these methods are given on page 68.
18 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 GNSS USER TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW MULTI-FREQUENCY

MULTI-FREQUENCY IS INCREASINGLY USED IN THE PVT METHODS

Major GNSS position computation strategies Multi-frequency significantly improves the overall positioning performance
Method * SPP DGNSS SBAS RTK PPP-RTK PPP Dual-frequency receivers offer significant advantages over single-frequency receivers in
terms of achievable accuracy, but also in terms of improved resistance to interference
Observable Code Code Code Carrier Carrier Code / Carrier
(owing to frequency diversity). Historically, dual-frequency use has been limited for many
Positioning Absolute Relative Relative Relative Absolute Absolute years to professional or governmental users and to expensive L1 + L2 receivers. The advent
(in the GNSS (in the (in the of four full GNSS constellations that provide high quality open signals in the E5 frequency
reference tracking tracking band has been a game changer, and has triggered widespread availability of E1 + E5 dual
frame) network network
reference reference frequency chipsets for the mass market.
frame) frame)
E5 brings a wealth of advantages: being supported by all GNSS and modernised SBAS,
Comm Link No Yes Yes (GNSS like) Yes Yes Yes these signals will be broadcast on more satellites than any other frequency. Furthermore,
this frequency band is shared with the Aeronautical Radio Navigation Service (ARNS) and
Single Frequency (SF) SF or DF SF SF current Mostly DF (SF) DF or TF (SF) DF or TF therefore subject to increased regulatory protection (similar to L1/E1) and suitable for safety
Dual Frequency (DF) DF planned
Triple Frequency (TF) critical applications. In addition, signals on E5 benefit from a high chipping rate and of a
higher received power than E1/L1 or L2.
Time To First Fix (TTFF) Rx TTFF As SPP + time As DGNSS As DGNSS + Faster than As RTK,
to receive time to resolve PPP, but but time to In terms of compatible PVT strategies, dual (or more) frequency processing brings even
corrections ambiguities slower than estimate more significant advantages. Despite the theoretical single frequency compatibility of all
RTK ambiguities processing methods listed in the table on the left, in practice dual frequency is the minimum
significantly
higher (more requirement for carrier phase-based algorithms (RTK, PPP-RTK and PPP).
unknowns)
Triple frequency can further improve the performance of the carrier phase ambiguity res-
Accuracy 5-10 m DF < 1 m to < 1m 1 cm + 1 ppm < 10 cm < 10 cm to olution algorithms along three characteristics: the maximum separation from a reference
Horizontal 15-30 m SF < 5m baseline < 1m station (for RTK and Network RTK), the reliability of the solution, and the time required to
obtain and validate this solution. However currently only high accuracy, professional grade
Coverage Worldwide Up to Up to Up to Regional Worldwide
100s Km 1000s Km 10s Km receivers have adopted triple or even quadruple frequency processing.
* Acronyms are defined in Annex 5.

Observables condition the available PVT methods

While there exist many strategies to compute a GNSS PVT solution, with accuracies ranging from centimetre GNSS frequencies in the L band
level to tens of metres, the choice is constrained by several factors:
• Availability of the carrier phase observable: This gives access to the most accurate methods; however L5 B2I E1
the carrier phase is not available in many receiver types, notably those implementing duty cycling or
snapshot techniques in mass market. B2a L3 E6 L1 C/A
L2C
• Environmental conditions: Whatever the receiver capabilities, in some environments where frequent E5a E5b L2 B3 B1I L1
interruptions of the direct receiver to satellite line of sight are present, ambiguity resolution becomes
unreliable, rendering all carrier-based PVT strategies unpractical.
Hz

Hz

M z
Hz

12 8.5 z
5M z
Hz

Hz

Hz

Hz

Hz
37 H

.7 H
M

12 0 M

12 4 M

78 2 M

2M

M
45

98

93

10
• Availability of the augmentation data: Except the Single Point Positioning method, all others depend

.4
5
.6
.14

16
15
.

12

.0
27

75
76

07

61
6
11

12

15
on the timely availability of correction or augmentation data, received through an appropriate com-
12

15
munication link. The loss of this communication link may prove to be as detrimental to the solution as BeiDou GPS Galileo GLONASS
the loss of the GNSS signals themselves.
 SIGNAL PROCESSING GNSS USER TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020
19

INNOVATIVE PROCESSING STRATEGIES ENABLE VERY LOW ENERGY PER FIX GNSS POSITIONING
Geolocated IoT devices require the availability of position fixes at very low levels of energy consump- Assisted GNSS: GNSS assistance works using the communication network to supply the GNSS
tion. For this reason, there has been a push to significantly reduce GNSS energy consumption over receiver with data that will help during the acquisition phase:
recent years, resulting in rapid advancements in receiver technology (with sub 10 mW consumption
• Acquisition assistance data includes coarse timing and Doppler information, used to shorten
in continuous tracking mode at 1 Hz) and the use of several innovative techniques. This includes
the power intensive signal acquisition;
mature solutions such as assisted GNSS (A-GNSS) or long-term ephemeris predictions, as well as
novel hybrid approaches leveraging the connectivity intrinsic to the IoT. • Clock and ephemeris assistance data replace the broadcast navigation message.
Receiver duty cycling: Duty cycling is to power off all the components of a GNSS receiver except A-GNSS minimises the overall GNSS energy consumption by tackling its two main drains, but it
those required to react to a location request, thus drastically reducing its power consumption. This comes at the cost of greater demands on the communication link.
technique is currently implemented in virtually all mass market receivers.
Snapshot acquisition: Going forward, snapshot techniques can reduce energy consumption even
Extended and autonomous ephemeris prediction: GNSS receivers consume the most energy further as they make it possible to determine the position by using only a minuscule interval of a
during the acquisition phase, covering both the signal acquisition and the navigation message GNSS signal that is subsequently processed to retrieve pseudorange information and compute the
retrieval. Navigation messages are broadcast by the GNSS satellites at a low transmission rate result- receiver position. For more details on snapshot positioning, please see page 40. These techniques
ing in long download times (several 10s of seconds), during which the receiver must remain fully however come at the cost of a reduced sensitivity and accuracy, and a proper balance must be found.
powered. To solve this problem, the navigation message can be obtained from alternative sources:
Cloud processing: To further reduce energy consumption, a paradigm shift in the way the position
• Either computed by the receiver autonomously, based upon past data, or is calculated is required. Instead of performing all GNSS tasks in a single receiver, energy-hungry
functions can be ‘outsourced’ to the cloud, where sufficient energy, processing power and clock
• Received via the telecommunication network, possibly with an extended validity to reduce
and ephemeris data are available in virtually unlimited quantity. This technique comes at the cost
the frequency of the downloads.
of increased demands on the communication link.

LPWAN configurations vs. snapshot techniques

Po we r-e ffi cie nt

po sit ion ing
Snapshot Most proprietary Most cellular
Internet of ThinforgTHE
configuration LPWAN LPWAN s
GSA White Paper on IoT Power Consumption Mer ging GNS S wit
low -pow er con
sol utio ns
h
nec tivi ty

Transmission Such technological solutions enable IoT devices to benefit WHITE PAP
ER

of raw Insufficient from GNSS positioning performance, whilst remaining

snapshot network uplink compatible with the very long battery life required by
many IoT use cases. These are discussed further on pages
39 and 40 of this report.
Transmission A more in-depth analysis can be found in the GSA white-
of pseudoranges
paper ‘Power-Efficient Positioning For The Internet Of
Things: Merging GNSS with low-power connectivity
Position solutions’, downloadable from the GSA website.
determination Insufficient
Source: GSA

on device network downlink

Many of these hybrid techniques impose requirements on the communication

network, and are therefore available only with compatible connectivity solutions.
20 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 GNSS USER TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW GNSS ANTENNAS

ANTENNAS ARE ESSENTIAL TO GNSS PERFORMANCE

Antennas are a critical part of any receiver design. The best chipsets and most sophisticated Jamming protection
signal processing cannot compensate for poor antenna performance. While this importance
It is rather common to encounter GNSS signal interference or jamming. Multi element adaptive
has long been recognised in high-accuracy segments, other segments including the mass
antennas (also named ‘phased array’ or CRPA for controlled radiation pattern antennas) are among
market are only now fully embracing this topic. Indeed, the widespread availability of dual
the most effective interference mitigation techniques that exist. The technology was developed
frequency receivers is opening new possibilities, but antennas are a limiting factor for the
several decades ago, but the early designs were bulky, involved an external Digital Antenna
overall performance.
Controller Unit (DACU), very expensive, and reserved for military use. The technology has gradu-
ally evolved over time, allowing the design of smaller,
Antenna KPIs self-contained antenna and the availability of products
There are many possible antenna designs, and those most commonly encountered for GNSS were for the civilian users.
reviewed in our GNSS User Technology Report 1.
In early 2020, Quantum Reversal – a company based in
Antennas are characterised by frequency range, gain, radiation pattern, noise factor, phase centre Calgary, Canada – introduced a new design that pro-
definition and stability, polarisation, and multipath and interference rejection, as well as size, shape, cesses the CRPA signal in the RF domain, eliminating the
electromagnetic and environmental constraints. need for extensive null-processing electronics. According
to the company, this results in very significant cost, size,

© Quantum Reversal
Size vs. gain and bandwidth weight, and power reduction (power reduced from
about 15–30 W to around 1 W, size is sub 10 centimetres
These characteristics vary greatly depending on the antenna design, and are not independent. For
in diameter versus nominal 15-20 centimetres); while
instance, antenna efficiency (or gain) varies with the size of its radiating element(s): the smaller
maintaining over 30 dB of interference or jamming
the antenna, the less efficient. This creates challenges for use cases where small size is a binding
rejection. While still a far cry from consumer electronics
constraint (e.g. wearables or smartphones), but difficult reception conditions are the norm.
demands, these reductions might allow CRPA to move into small drones applications, timing net-
Miniaturisation techniques and innovative designs can be used to reduce antenna dimensions works, transport applications or reference monitoring networks where continuous uninterrupted
while maintaining an acceptable gain, e.g. by folding the antenna wire or using high permittivity GNSS service is essential.
antenna dielectrics. However, a potential drawback is a narrowing of the bandwidth in which the
antenna operates most efficiently. Modern GNSS signals have wider bandwidth than legacy signals,
which offers a better discrimination between the useful signal and those unwanted. However, Multi-frequency Multipurpose Antenna for Galileo projects
this requires antenna bandwidth to match the signal’s band, which may not be the case for older
models optimised for legacy signals.
The GAMMA project aims to develop a multi-frequency, multipurpose
The challenge of high performance multi-frequency mass market antennas GNSS antenna with multi-stage interference protection based on different detectors, with the
scope to tackle different types of interferences. The novelty of the approach is that the antenna
Much is said in this report about the benefits of using E5/L5 as a second frequency, including for
is considered a crucial part in defining a strategy for detecting and mitigating interference,
mass market applications. Among other benefits, signals in this band have a stronger power level
not only jamming but spoofing too. The GAMMA antenna will present three interfaces: the
than their counterparts in E1/L1. However, this advantage has been observed to be totally lost in
RF-OUT for professional users with high-end GNSS receiver, Data Serial for professional users
some consumer devices, due to antennas with insufficient performance in this band.
to receive and process data, and Bluetooth interface for mass-market applications, exploiting
Multiple frequency is also an enabler of high-accuracy positioning, which is required to move in the the potential of raw data processing.
automotive domain to higher levels of automation (ADAS levels 3 to 5). While it can be reasonably The main objective of the MAGICA project is to develop a multi-frequency automotive GNSS
assumed that there is more room to accommodate an antenna and ground plane on a car than in embedded antenna. The new antenna technology obtained during the project will lead to
a connected watch, other constraints arise: decimetre-level accuracy requires proper multipath better equalisation between performance and cost of the GNSS high-accuracy systems to be
protection, continuity requires sufficient gain, and hybridisation e.g. with IMU sensors demands installed on the vehicle. The target application is autonomous driving where centimetre-level
that lever arm effects are duly accounted for, which is only possible when the antenna phase centre accuracy is a requirement.
is well defined and stable with respect to orientation.
 RECEIVERS’ CAPABILITIES GNSS USER TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020
21

MULTI-CONSTELLATION IS THE NORM IN TODAY’S RECEIVERS

The evolution of constellation support in GNSS receivers follows the evolution of the space infra- Multi-constellation is by far the preferred configuration owing to the benefits, it brings to receiver
structure, with a delay approximately corresponding to the product lifecycle. As a result, manu- performance, particularly in environments with constrained view of the sky such as urban canyons.
facturers now address all constellations in earnest, which has led to a dramatic increase in support The range of benefits includes:
for multi-constellation capabilities across the whole market.
• Increased availability* – particularly in the aforementioned constrained environments, where
The vast majority (76%) of current receivers are multi-constellation, and the most popular way to shadowing would prevent a single constellation from providing an adequate, or in some cases
provide multi-constellation support is to cover all constellations, which represents 52% of receiv- any, solution.
ers, an increase of 20 percentage points (p.p.) over the last 2 years. This trend is mainly fuelled by
• Increased accuracy* – better geometry, and more signals which allow the receiver to reject
increased Galileo and BeiDou support (~ +20 p.p.). GLONASS, QZSS and NavIC also show increased
compromised inputs (e.g. from multipath).
support, although to lesser extent.
• Improved robustness* – several independent systems are harder to spoof than a single source.
The legacy use of single or dual GNSS (GPS/GPS+GLONASS) is reserved for applications with strin-
gent power limitations or low performance requirements, or where regulations have not yet been
updated to multi-constellation.

Constellation capability of GNSS receivers1 Supported constellations by GNSS receivers2

100% 60% GPS only

GPS + Galileo
80%
GPS + GLONASS
40% GPS + BeiDou
60%
GPS + Galileo + GLONASS
40% GPS + Galileo + BeiDou
20%
GPS + GLONASS + BeiDou
20%
All
0% 0%
1 2 3 4
u

SS

SS

AS
GP

NS
ile
o

NA

QZ
iD

SB
l

IR
Ga
Be

O
GL

1
shows the percentage of receivers capable of tracking 2
shows the percentage of receivers capable of tracking 1, 2, 3
each constellation or all the 4 GNSS constellations

Analysis of GNSS receivers’ capabilities

The GSA’s independent analysis assesses the capabilities of almost 500 receivers, chipsets and modules currently available on the market (end of Q1 2020). For the analysis, each device is weighted
equally, regardless of whether it is a chipset or receiver and no matter what its sales volume is. The results should therefore be interpreted as the split of constellation support in manufacturers’ offer-
ings, rather than what is in use by end users.
Disclaimer: The above charts reflect manufacturer’s publicly available claims regarding their product’s capabilities and judgement on the domains to which they are applicable.
Use in actual applications may vary due to issues such as certification, implementation in the end user product, and software/firmware configuration.
* The Key Performance Parameters are defined in Annex 3
22 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 GNSS USER TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW RECEIVERS’ CAPABILITIES

MULTI-FREQUENCY BECOMES COMMON IN MOST DOMAINS

As new signals become available from an increasing number of satellites, receivers beyond the In the interest of simplicity, we report frequency capability at the frequency band level, namely the
traditional high-accuracy applications now feature multi-frequency support for better performance. L1, L2, E6 and E5 bands. As shown on page 18 and in Annex I of this report, there are multiple signals
Second generation dual-frequency receivers for the mass market became available in 2020, and or signal components present in each of these bands, which may be fully or partially exploited
are being actively developed for traditionally long lifecycle regulated domains. according to the receiver manufacturers’ strategy.
The primary driver beyond this trend is the increasing number of open signals in the E5 band, As an example, for Galileo E5 only, one can use the E5a (BPSK), E5b (BPSK), and E5a+b (AltBOC)
already outnumbering those in L2 (the legacy choice for a second frequency), and their adoption signal components, or any combination thereof. Whatever the case, such a receiver will be reported
in many receiver models. as ‘E5 capable’.
This has resulted in a steady increase in production of receivers that support E5 over the last two The chart below represents the current (2020) preferred choices of frequency bands. As previously
years, and reduction in those that support L2. In the current transition period (E5a/L5 signals rapidly noted, some products are reported as triple frequency (L1+L2+E5), based on claimed capability;
outnumber those in L2), several dual frequency mass market chipsets offer a configurable second while they are delivered to the customer as dual frequency. This results in an artificial decrease of
frequency (either L2 or E5) that is selected by the customer when placing the order. dual frequency products, and corresponding increase in those with triple frequency capabilities.

Frequency capability of GNSS receivers1 Supported frequencies by GNSS receivers2

100% 80% L1 only

70% L1+L2
80% L1+E5
60%
50% L1+L2+E5
60%
40% All
40% 30%
20% 20%
10%
0% 0%
L1 L2 E5 E6 1 2 3 4
1
shows the percentage of receivers supporting each frequency band 2
shows the percentage of receivers capable of tracking 1, 2, 3
or all the 4 frequencies

Analysis of GNSS receivers’ capabilities

The GSA’s independent analysis assesses the capabilities of almost 500 receivers, chipsets and modules currently available on the market (end of Q1 2020). For the analysis, each device is weighted
equally, regardless of whether it is a chipset or receiver and no matter what its sales volume is. The results should therefore be interpreted as the split of frequency support in manufacturers’ offerings,
rather than what is in use by end users.
Disclaimer: The above charts reflect manufacturer’s publicly available claims regarding their product’s capabilities and judgement on the domains to which they are applicable.
Use in actual applications may vary due to issues such as certification, implementation in the end user product, and software/firmware configuration.
* The Key Performance Parameters are defined in Annex 3
 GNSS VULNERABILITIES GNSS USER TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020
23

PNT VULNERABILITIES: GNSS AND BEYOND The trust perimeter

The security of PNT-based applications must be ensured at all stages The ‘trust perimeter’ of a typical
LBS application contains many
GNSS vulnerabilities are now commonly acknowledged, and widely described
interconnected building blocks.
e.g. in previous editions of this report. However, for users who entrust their safety
GNSS Augmentation Every block and connection is
or security to PNT-based systems or applications, the trust or confidence goes
contributing to the overall secu-
beyond GNSS and must encompass the end-to-end-application, which is only as
rity, or lack thereof.
safe or secure as its weakest component. This need for an overall ‘trust perimeter’
is schematically described in the figure on the right.
As immediately apparent, GNSS is but one component in a complex system, and not Trusted Location engine
User
necessarily the easiest to attack for maleficent actors: It might be easier or cheaper Terminal SBAS
Sensors
to hack the output of a receiver to report fake positions than to spoof the incoming INS
GNSS
SW
Others Authentication
GNSS signals. This is e.g. how maritime AIS can report positions thousands of miles GNSS
away from the vessel’s true position: out of reach of any spoofer, the non-secure Trusted PVT
communication link is the ‘point of attack’. Thus, GNSS authentication is a necessary
building block of the overall application security, but not the only one.
Application
Storage /Comms
Appraising the jamming and spoofing threats
GNSS jamming incidents are reported in very large numbers, the vast majority of Data communications
them caused by so-called ‘privacy protection devices’ (illegal in most countries).
Service Provider
A wide variety of tools allow the detection, classification, and even geolocation
of jammers. These include both terrestrial and space-based means, as recently Data communications
demonstrated by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin1. However, no
internationally coordinated effort to deploy jamming monitoring means or to
prosecute offenders exist as yet. This is in spite of the extent of potential damages. End-Users The Trust Perimeter
GNSS spoofing (including meaconing ) incidents are less frequently reported,
2

but they are increasing in number, and spectacular. The explanation for the lower The widely reported ‘Black Sea’
numbers is that successful covert spoofing attacks are not detected or not reported spoofing, effectively resulting in
by their victims for security reasons. Regarding the growing number of detected the loss of GNSS services over
spoofing attacks, it must be noted that these are of a new type: the culprits appar- the area. The coloured lines
ently do not attempt to be covert, but to deny GNSS usage. Indeed, as stated by show ships positions jumping
the University of Texas at Austin researchers ‘spoofing is more efficient for denial from truth to the location of
of service than jamming: a 1 watt spoofer is more potent than a 1 kilowatt narrow/ certain airports.

© OpenStreetMap contributors © CARTO

wideband jammer at the same stand-off distance’.
A rather crude ‘GNSS repeater’
as freely marketed for providing
seamless indoors coverage could
actually spoof all GNSS receivers
in the vicinity of its own position,
if used improperly.
1 ‘GNSS Radio Frequency Interference Detection from Low Earth Orbit’, INC 2019, Edinburgh
2 Relevant definitions are given in Annex 4 page 100
24 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 GNSS USER TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW PROTECTING GNSS

PROTECTING AGAINST GNSS JAMMING AND SPOOFING AT ALL LEVELS

Ensuring a clean RF environment
The very first layer of protection for GNSS users is ensured by the use of frequency bands allocated Multi-GNSS Barometer
by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the specialised agency for information and
communication technologies of the United Nations; as specified in its Radio Regulations (refer
to page 10 and to Annex I of this report for GNSS frequencies). However, enforcement of these Wi-fi Light sensor
regulations remains a national responsibility, which is unequal across countries.
3G/4G/5G Bluetooth
Authenticating the GNSS signals
GNSS authentication is achieved by incorporating specific features that cannot be predicted or 3-axis accelerometer Proximity sensor
forged by malicious actors in the broadcast signals. A receiver enabled for authentication can
interpret these features in order to distinguish genuine signals from imitations. This can be done 3-axis gyroscope NFC
at two complementary levels: at the data level, to authenticate the broadcast navigation messages;
and the range level, to authenticate the measured ranges to the satellites. As of 2020, only Galileo
has committed to deliver such features for the general public, as described on the next page.
3-axis magnetometer Cameras
Authentication can protect against spoofing, but not against jamming.

Using multiple sources of positioning information

A typical smartphone embeds a wealth of sensors that can be leveraged to ensure reliable positioning.
It is proper navigation practice never to rely on a single source of information and to always
cross-check it with independent measurements. For GNSS users, this translates into using mul-
tiple constellations, and possibly multiple frequencies. However, in many cases this is necessary,
but not sufficient to ensure the proper availability, continuity, reliability and overall performance
of the PNT solution. GNSS is therefore complemented by other technologies, which are varying
Implementing dedicated receiver techniques
according to the intended use, performance and constraints. As an example, smartphones (the most
numerous GNSS receivers) typically contain many sensors than can be used to provide redundant Receiver methods are based on the signal power or carrier to noise density ratio (C/N0) monitor-
positioning or movement information (see figure on the right, and refer to page 26 for a discussion ing, time of arrival (TOA) discrimination, distribution checks of correlator outputs and consistency
on complementary technologies). checks among different measurements such as ephemeris data, clock offset change or code and
carrier Dopplers.
Paradoxically, all these embedded complementary PNT technologies mean that consumer devices
may be more resilient than high grade, professional, but GNSS-only receivers. Signal Quality Monitoring (SQM) techniques, originally designed for multipath detection and wave-
form deformation monitoring, can be used to identify the deformation on the correlation function
of a typical spoofing attacks. The challenge for spoofing detection and rejection is to discriminate
Using a better antenna set up between true signals and unwanted signals. Multipath detection has the same objective and similar
As discussed on page 20, adaptive antennas (CRPA) can be a very efficient tool against jamming. techniques are therefore proposed.
But simpler configurations (2 antennas) can provide direction of arrival information, which is
Novel innovative approaches to the correlation process, such as the ‘Supercorrelator’, claim the
very useful in detecting incoming spoofing signals (ref. e.g. Dr Brad Parkinson ‘GPS for humanity’
capability to separate line of sight and non-line of sight signals during the correlation process,
conference of 7 Jan 2020).
providing multipath mitigation, anti-spoofing and signal arrival-angle determination.
As powerful as they are, such methods are currently (2020) implemented only in sophisticated high
grade receivers, but not widely available in other GNSS chipsets.
 AUTHENTICATING GNSS GNSS USER TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020
25

GALILEO AUTHENTICATION CAPABILITIES COME ONLINE OS-NMA principle of operation

Galileo authentication capabilities (OS-NMA and CAS) have been added to the original system
design to respond to the user need of anti-spoofing capabilities, due to the growing spoofing
E1-B
threat. This user pull has been balanced with a need to minimise changes to the Galileo core (OS-NMA)
infrastructure and limit the impact on the users’ receivers. Furthermore, the design has been
driven by the need to ensure backward compatibility for Galileo users.
Front end
signal
OS-NMA for data authentication processing
Signal
OS-NMA is a free additional capability of the Galileo Open Service (OS), that is going to be availa- Standard
correlator
ble worldwide. It authenticates data for geolocation information through the Navigation Message E1
(I/NAV) broadcast on the E1-B signal component. This is achieved by adding authentication-specific Measurements
& I/NAV
data (mainly message authentication codes (MACs) and keys, plus additional data for configuration I/NAV
Specific
OS-NMA Core
purposes) in previously reserved bits of this message. OS-NMA follows a protocol known as TESLA OS-NMA processing Infrastructure
(Timed Efficient Stream Loss-Tolerant Authentication), which only requires public keys to process
the OS-NMA data, avoiding the need to securely store private keys in the receivers. PVT
computation Standard OS receiver
Using only spare fields of I/NAV, OS-NMA does not introduce any overlay to the system, thus the OS OS-NMA receiver
navigation performance is untouched. Furthermore, as OS-NMA is designed to be fully backward PVT
compatible, standard OS receivers can continue to ignore the dedicated OS-NMA fields of I/NAV
and keep functioning with the same performance level. Only OS-NMA ready receivers will decode
these fields and be able to authenticate Galileo navigation data. Development of an advanced interference detection and
As depicted in the figure on the right, an OS-NMA capable receiver differs from a generic OS receiver robustness capabilities system
only by the additional firmware/software required to: In 2020 the GSA issued an invitation to tender with a view to establish a
new interference detection mechanism at receiver and antenna level based on crowdsourcing.
1. Retrieve the MACs and Keys fields in the navigation message; A system to share information sourced from a specified set of user communities will be defined
2. Process these data in the TESLA cryptographic chain to confirm whether data is authentic. and developed.
In particular, no extra hardware is required as long as the receiver has access to loose time syn- The planned activities will identify and engage with contributors (e.g. entities currently mon-
chronisation, and the extra computational burden remains commensurate with low-cost receiver itoring vast networks of devices with GNSS receivers, such as insurance, car rental, taxi, and
capabilities. Furthermore, the receiver only needs a public key, which can be updated when nec- fleet-management or logistics services companies). The enrolment scheme must ensure the
essary through an OTAR (Over The Air Rekeying) mechanism. provision of data either through self-selection of users or incentives to share information. The
objective is to maximise the granularity and coverage area of the monitoring network.
CAS for ranging authentication The project will also establish a scheme to protect privacy and confidentiality of all data provided
by the users to the system; without the system sharing back any sensitive information. Likewise,
CAS (Commercial Authentication Service) is a ranging authentication function implemented by major interference events shall be promptly communicated to the public spectrum authorities
encrypting the spreading code (SCE Spreading Code Encryption) of the E6C (pilot) channel with a of the EU Member States. Contract signature is expected by the end of 2020.
secret key. To perform E6C range measurements, the receiver needs to know (at least part of ) the
secret spreading code. To ensure backward compatibility, CAS is based on the only civilian signal
including cryptographic features (E6).
When using both OS-NMA and CAS, users will benefit from data (navigation message) and range
authentication, allowing PVT authentication.
26 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 GNSS USER TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW PNT BEYOND GNSS

INERTIAL NAVIGATION AND GNSS ARE IDEAL COMPLEMENTS

Among all non-GNSS positioning technologies (see e.g. the GSA User Technology Report issue On the GNSS side, high-end mass market chipsets currently provide access to processing techniques
1 for an overview), inertial navigation occupies a special position, not only because it is ubiq- such as PPP or RTK. When combined with inertial sensors in advanced fusion software, they enable
uitous, like GNSS, but also because it offers characteristics that make these two technologies superior positioning and orientation performance, making this combination the basis for a variety
natural complement of each other, and ideal candidates for integration: of new services requiring high reliability, continuity and accuracy.

GNSS Inertial Navigation System (INS)

Key factors for GNSS/INS integration
Absolute position fixing Orientation and relative positioning
Despite the obvious complementarity, integrating these two technologies requires attention in a
Outdoors Everywhere few areas including: i) good a priori definition of the carrier dynamics, to select suitable IMUs and
provide the filter with a good motion model, ii) efficient quality control of the GNSS measurements
Superior long-term stability Superior short -term stability
to reject potential outliers, iii) near-perfect synchronisation of the INS and GNSS measurements.
Subject to RFI Immune to RFI For high-accuracy solutions, the selection of a GNSS antenna with good phase centre stability to
allow level arm effects compensation is also required. When observing these conditions, GNSS/
Requires ground and space infrastructure Self-contained
INS integration is the ideal ‘core PNT’ solution that provides improved robustness and accuracy in
Some of INS and GNSS technologies characteristics all environments.

GNSS/INS integration strategies Loose INS/GNSS integration Loose INS/GNSS integration

The three most common strategies for integration of GNSS/INS are (ordered by increasing complex- IMU corrections
offers significant benefits.
ity and performance): loose coupling, tight coupling and ultra-tight integration. The fundamental The INS bridges short-term
difference between them is the type of data shared by the GNSS receiver and the INS sensors: Inertial GNSS reception gaps, pro-
Pos, Vel, Attitude
IMU Navigation vides attitude and low noise,
• In the loosely-coupled technique, position and velocity estimated by the GNSS receiver are Equations high rate position updates
merged with those from the INS navigation solution. Integration Pos, Vel,
between GNSS fixes. GNSS
Filter Attitude
• In the tightly-coupled method, GNSS raw measurements are processed through a unique provides long term stability and
Kalman filter alongside measurements coming from the inertial sensors to estimate the PVT. Navigation calibration of the INS errors.
GNSS rx
Solution Pos, Vel
• Ultra-tight or deep integration involves the baseband signal processing of GNSS receivers (i.e.
output of the correlator measurements and input of numerically-controlled oscillator (NCO)
commands), in a vector tracking manner. The integration filter sends control commands to the Tight and ultra-tight INS/GNSS integration Tight and ultra-tight architec-
NCO, thus enabling superior GNSS tracking performance. tures start providing benefits
IMU corrections
Historically, ‘lower grade’ (> 10 nautical miles of error per hour) IMUs have been used in loosely with as few as one GNSS satel-
coupled solutions, while the more sophisticated tight or ultra-tight solutions integrate ‘navigation Inertial lite in use. Access to GNSS raw
Pos, Vel, Attitude
grade’ (1 nautical mile of error per hour) IMUs and high-grade professional GNSS receivers. IMU Navigation measurements enables, inter
Equations alia, very accurate velocity cali-
Integration Pos, Vel,
bration for the INS. In the ultra-
Sensors are improving Filter Attitude
tight case (at the baseband
Small, robust and low-cost inertial sensors (e.g., Micro Electrical Mechanical Sensors (MEMS) have GNSS Raw / Correlator Data processing level) the integration
GNSS rx
been available on the market for several years and are delivering ever increasing performance. filter can interact with the GNSS
As an example, the best MEMS-based accelerometers are currently navigation grade. In parallel, GNSS rx tracking loops to provide supe-
progress in optical technology and photonics enable miniaturisation and manufacturing of fibre Feedback rior anti-jamming performance.
optic gyroscopes (FOGs) at low C-SWaP (cost, size, weight and power).
 EUROPEAN R&D GNSS USER TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020
27

EUROPEAN GNSS DOWNSTREAM INDUSTRY AT THE FOREFRONT OF INNOVATION

European downstream GNSS industry is at the cutting
edge of innovation in some GNSS solutions thanks to SATGUARD by FUGRO GIDAS by OHB Digital
substantial investment in R&D. SATGUARD™ is a Navigation Message Authentication system GNSS Interference Detection & Analysis System is used as a
Some members of the industry have benefitted from covering all GNSS constellations. SATGUARD servers validate standalone monitoring station for interference detection and
European R&D funding mechanisms including Horizon the messages using information collected from our proprietary classification. Features include real-time GNSS signal monitoring,
2020 and Fundamental Elements. global receiver network, and provide signatures allowing users multi-signal band monitoring (GPS: L1, L2, L5; Galileo: E1, E5;
to authenticate the navigation messages they receive. A similar GLONASS: G1, G2; BeiDou: B1, B2; SBAS), GNSS interference detec-
This page features four innovative technologies devel- protection of the correction data for the G4 PPP service is also tion, classification of GNSS interference signals, and analysis and
oped by Galileo Services members. included. SATGUARD provides a simple means of detecting faked comparison of interference events in post-processing.
There are still many unexplored opportunities for GNSS GNSS signals. More information at: ohb-digital.at
applications and services in Europe. More information at: fugro.com

Galileo Services
The leading industry organ-
isation focusing on down-
stream in the European GNSS
programmes:
• Non-profit organisation founded in 2002
• Network representing more than 180 companies
GSS9000 by Spirent
• Member companies active across the whole value
chain and in all domains of applications The GSS9000 simulator features up to 320 channels and 10
outputs in one chassis. With sub-0.3 millimetres RMS pseudor-
• Stimulates downstream technology (terminals,
ange accuracy, a stable 1 KHz simulation iteration rate, and main-
applications and services) to maximise the poten-
taining full specification performance at channel capacity and
tial of the GNSS applications market
maximum dynamics, the GSS9000 is a test tool for critical and
More information at: http://www.galileo-services.org demanding applications. MOSAICTM-X5 by Septentrio
More information at: spirent.com Compact, Low-power, multi-band
Page provided by Galileo Services
& multi-constellation GNSS
receiver module, supporting all
Galileo bands and ready for E6.

© Septentrio
Designed for mass market appli-
cations. Advanced anti-jamming
and anti-spoofing technology.
Uncompromising RTK performance which provides highly robust
centimetre-level positioning with extremely low latency and
very high update rate at 100 Hz.
More information at: septentrio.com
© Spirent
28 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 GNSS USER TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW EUROPEAN R&D

GSA TOOLS THAT DRIVE INNOVATION OF GNSS APPLICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY

GSA GNSS downstream R&D programmes Horizon 2020
To foster the adoption of Galileo and EGNOS-powered services across all market segments, the Horizon 2020 is the current EU Research and Innovation programme, offering nearly €80 billion
GSA supports two complementary R&D funding mechanisms: in funding over 2014 – 2020. European GNSS applications are part of the Space Theme, having
synergies with topics on societal challenges. All five H2020 calls on E-GNSS market uptake have
Fundamental Elements (FE) focuses on supporting development of innovative chipsets, receivers,
now been launched, with a total budget of €139.3 million.
and other associated technologies that integrate Galileo and EGNOS into competitive devices for
dedicated user communities/target markets. More information about the projects can be found here: gsa.europa.eu/gnss-h2020-projects
Horizon 2020 (H2020) encourages the adoption of Galileo and EGNOS via content and application
development. It also supports the integration of E-GNSS services into devices, along with eventual
There are currently 70 H2020 projects granted within H2020 E-GNSS market uptake calls (excluding
commercialisation.
the 5th call projects to be signed by the end of 2020). These projects have supported 434 benefi-
ciaries from 29 countries. SMEs have receive important support, accounting for 34% of the sum
of the EU grant budget.
The Fundamental Elements of European GNSS
Overall, H2020 projects help to maximise the uptake of Galileo and EGNOS and to realise the
With a budget of €100 million over 2015 – 2020, Fundamental Elements
potential of the European GNSS industry, and contribute to growth, competitiveness and jobs in
aims to develop market-ready GNSS chipsets, receivers, and antennas. The markets targeted by
the sector, while enabling public benefits.
these end-products include all segments, to varying degrees: Aviation, Consumer Solutions, Agri-
culture, Surveying, Rail, Road, Maritime, Timing and Synchronisation and government-approved More information can be found here: gsa.europa.eu/r-d/h2020/introduction
users (PRS). By end of June 2020, three projects were successfully concluded, with 19 ongoing
and many upcoming. There have been 73 entities involved from 13 different European countries.
Horizon Europe
The funding of Fundamental Elements supported activities including grants of up to 70% of the
The upcoming Framework Programme will bring new funding opportunities for E-GNSS down-
total budget as well as tenders/procurement.
stream applications. During consultations on E-GNSS Research and Innovation funding priorities,
In line with the current developments, a next FE Work Programme (WP) is being defined. It will stakeholders agreed that after 2020 the priorities are the following:
continue to be driven and prioritised by application user needs and target commercial products
• Continue the development of fundamental elements and close-to-market E-GNSS applications,
with the implementation of current Galileo unique value-added services.
linked to EU strategic challenges.
More information can be found here: gsa.europa.eu/r-d/gnss-r-d-programmes/fundamental-elements
• Foster market uptake in regulated market segments that has longer-term implementation cycles.
• Position Galileo as a leader in segments where its unique features/differentiators make a
difference.
• Support the Public Sector as a customer of Galileo.
• Foster competitiveness of the EU downstream industry and SMEs/start-ups and leverage
regional competences.
More information can be found here: gsa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/uploads/european_gnss_down-
stream_research_innovation_priorities_and_consultation_results.pdf
 EUROPEAN R&D GNSS USER TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020
29

STATISTICS ON FOUR H2020 E-GNSS CALLS HIGHLIGHT STRONG EUROPE-WIDE INTEREST

E-GNSS H2020 calls: number of partners
and coordinators per country

Member States of the European Union Four E-GNSS H2020 calls in a nutshell
1 Number of coordinators EU27:
1 Number of partners • Entities from 23 member states involved
• 60 coordinators and 374 partners involved
in total
Outside EU27:
Non-EU • Entities from 29 countries involved
countries SE FI • 10 coordinators and 87 partners and
Number of 27 3
(outside of involved in total
Partners
depicted NO
area) 23

Australia 1
Brazil 5
European Space Week 2020:
EE
Canada 3
Make space in your calendar
China 3 LV Mark your calendar for European Space Week 2020,
Egypt 1 and don’t miss out on the leading European space
LT
India 4 programmes conference, connecting business,
1 and 2 IE 2 UK policy-makers, international experts and space
Israel coordinators 5 23 PL application user communities. The event takes
Japan 3 NL 18 2 10
BE DE place online from 7 to 11 December 2020.
Malaysia 1 3 25 6 48 CZ
Morocco 1 LU 1 1 16 UA
SK 2 3
Palestine 1 AT 10 MD
FR HU 3
Samoa 2 10 58 CH 1 9 1
Senegal 3 IT SI 1 HR RO 2
19 69
Thailand 2 RS 2
Togo 1 ME 1 XK 2 BG 2
United States 1 ES NMK 1
PT 14 75
VietNam 2 14 EL
Taiwan 3 1 12 TR 3
Korea 2
Dominican MT 1 CY
1
Republic 12

Member States of the European Union (EU): AT Austria, BE Belgium, BG Bulgaria, CY Cyprus, CZ Czech Republic, DK Denmark, DE Germany, EE Estonia, EL Greece, ES Spain, FI Finland, FR France, HR Croatia,
HU Hungary, IE Ireland, IT Italy, LT Lithuania, LU Luxembourg, LV Latvia, MT Malta, NL Netherlands, PL Poland, PT Portugal, RO Romania, SE Sweden, SI Slovenia, SK Slovakia, UK United Kingdom (until 31 January 2020).
Non-EU countries: CH Switzerland, ME Montenegro, MD Moldova, NMK Republic of North Macedonia, NO Norway, RS Serbia, TR Turkey, UA Ukraine, UK United Kingdom (as of 1 February 2020), XK Kosovo.
30

HIGH-VOLUME DEVICES

Macrosegment characteristics 31
Receiver capabilities 33
Industrial landscape 34
Receiver form factor 35
Drivers and trends 36
E-GNSS added value 45
 MACROSEGMENT CHARACTERISTICS GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 31

FAST AQUISITION AT LOW POWER DESIRED IN THE HIGH-VOLUME MARKET

Characterisation of high-volume devices Key performance parameters for mass market
High volume devices are those devices intended for widespread use and produced in large volumes. The definition of the key performance parameters for the high-volume market have not changed
Within this report, they refer to the GNSS-technology solutions related to the following applications: since the previous report. However, the importance of the parameters vary among different
high-volume applications.
• Consumer solutions: smartphones/tablets, wearables and portable devices;
All high-volume applications are interested in high availability and low Time-To-First-Fix (TTFF),
• Internet of Things (IoT): physical devices connected to the internet;
however, a low TTFF is of prime importance for drones, robotics and automotive solutions. Indoor
• Automotive solutions: tracking and navigation (as self-driving vehicles are safety-critical, penetration is also a key concern for most high-volume applications, while it presents a medium
they have been included in the next macrosegment chapter); priority for drones, as most consumer drones are used outdoors. Power consumption is important
across all high-volume solutions but is a key priority for IoT applications.
• Drones: devices with chipset technology similar to other high-volume devices, and with
less stringent performance requirements on parameters such as accuracy than safety-and Accuracy is of moderate importance in most applications, while augmented reality, robotics and
liability-critical devices. Typically, high-volume devices relate to the ‘Open’ category of the automotive applications place higher importance on this parameter. Latency has a lesser impor-
EASA drone categorisation, which includes drones that fly below 120m and within visual line tance for most high-volume applications, except for robotics and augmented reality applications,
of sight (VLOS); which require low latency to provide a truly immersive experience.
• Robotics: tracking and navigation with a focus on those that require outdoor positioning;
• Augmented Reality; and High-volume devices key performance parameters

• Sports solutions, including leisure maritime and aviation solutions. Key Performance Parameter (KPP)* High-volume Devices
In many areas, there is a trend towards using high-volume devices for professional applications. A Accuracy
key example of this is innovative devices developed for leisure maritime and aviation are being used
Availability
in professional and even military applications due to their advanced features. These technologies
include smartwatches and portable navigation devices developed for consumer use, which are Continuity
now sophisticated enough to be used as backup navigation devices in professional and military
settings. Smartphone applications are also beginning to rival the capabilities of dedicated profes- Indoor penetration
sional navigation and chart plotting/route planning technologies in the aviation and maritime fields. Integrity
Latency**
Power consumption
Robustness
Time-To-First-Fix (TTFF)

High priority
Medium priority
Low priority
* The Key Performance Parameters are defined in Annex 3
** Latency is of high priority for robotics and augmented reality applications, but is of lesser priority to other high-volume
applications
32 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 MACROSEGMENT CHARACTERISTICS

HIGH-VOLUME DEVICES RESPOND TO DIVERSE PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

High-volume device applications vary in their level of maturity. Applications such as location-based The figure on the bottom right charts the performance requirements with relation to accuracy and
services and automotive navigation have well-defined use cases and established market players. update rate for common high-volume GNSS applications.
Applications including consumer drones and mHealth are beginning to reach maturity after years
High-volume device applications with high performance requirements regarding both accuracy
of technology and market development. Other applications including augmented reality, robotics
and update rate include AR applications, robotics, and mapping and GIS.
and smart clothing are emerging markets with rapidly developing use cases and technological
needs. The figure below (left) shows a summary of the level of maturity of main applications. The middle of the chart shows applications that require moderate accuracy levels and update rates,
including LBS, automotive navigation, fitness tracking, geocaching and drones.
In addition to having diverse levels of maturity, high-volume applications vary in their performance
requirements. Applications differ in the level of accuracy they require from GNSS chipsets, as well Applications that require periodic updates and accuracy in the range of 5-10 metres include mHealth
as in the frequency of position updates. and leisure maritime and General Aviation navigation.

Level of maturity of high-volume device applications Relative performance requirements of high-volume device applications

LBS
Navigation Augmented Automotive

Continuous
Mapping & GIS Robotics Reality Navigation
Geocaching
Automotive
Navigation
Leisure Maritime
& GA Navigation
Geocaching Consumer Leisure Maritime
drone & GA Navigation
Fitness &

UPDATE RATE
Fitness & Performance Monitoring Performance
Maturity

Mapping & GIS Monitoring

mHealth
People, pet & asset tracking LBS
Navigation
Consumer drone
People, pet &
asset tracking mHealth
Augmented Reality

Smart Robotics Smart clothing

Periodic

clothing

Time on the market >1m Accuracy 5-10m

 RECEIVER CAPABILITIES GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 33

DUAL FREQUENCY IS THE NEW DIFFERENTIATOR WHILE MULTI-CONSTELLATION EXPANDS IN BUDGET DEVICES
Multi-constellation is now standard for high-volume chipsets. In the high-end and
mid-range smartphone chipset market, dual frequency is becoming the norm. All
large players have released dual-frequency chipsets, and the first dual-frequency
chipsets targeting the budget device market are now becoming available. Frequency capability of GNSS receivers1 Constellation capability of GNSS receivers2

100% 100%
Maximum use of constellations
The inclusion of all possible constellations is a key trend, as providers now move 80% 80%
to include all available constellations in their chips in order to achieve enhanced 60% 60%
availability and accuracy. This is becoming the case even in mid-range and budget
phones, showing the democratisation of multi-constellation technology and the 40% 40%
blurring of the divide between premium and low-cost devices. Some chipsets
20% 20%
announced in 2020 saw NavIC added to the mix of constellations in chipsets for
the first time. 0% 0%
L1 L2 E5 E6

ou

eo

SS

AS
A majority of silicon chipsets are manufactured in fabrication plants in the Asia,

AS

GP

vI

QZ
lil
iD

SB
Na
ON
Ga
Be
including in particular, the ‘low end’ of the market. As a result there is a boom in

GL
the low-end market from companies based in the region. These companies adopt
1
shows the percentage of receivers supporting each frequency band 2
shows the percentage of receivers capable of tracking
each constellation
BeiDou and GLONASS by default.

Dual frequency becoming widely available

Supported frequencies by GNSS receivers3 Supported constellations by GNSS receivers4
Dual frequency has not only become a strategic choice for high-end devices but
is also entering the mid-range smartphone market. 100% 70%
90%
2017 saw the introduction of the first premium high-volume chipsets incorporating 60%
80%
L5/E5a signals. Smartphones incorporating these chipsets were first launched in 70% 50%
June 2018, with encouraging high-accuracy positioning results. Until June 2020, 60% 40%
50%
more than 50 smartphone models with dual-frequency capabilities have been 30%
40%
launched.* Although there are many different dual frequency smartphone models, 30% 20%
they share a smaller number of chipsets and as a result the dual frequency support 20%
10%
in the charts may be underestimated. 10%
0% 0%
The market is expected to adopt dual frequency as a mainstream option for mid- 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
range and, subsequently, budget phones. However, single frequency still dominates L1 only L1+L2 L1+E5 GPS only GPS + Galileo
the chipsets currently on offer in terms of models. Dual-frequency receivers offer L1+L2+E5 All frequencies GPS + GLONASS GPS + BeiDou
GPS + Galileo + GLONASS GPS + Galileo + BeiDou
improved accuracy and robustness, and potential access to high-accuracy tech- GPS + GLONASS + BeiDou All
niques. Previously, such techniques were only common in professional products. 3
shows the percentage of receivers capable of tracking 1, 2, 3 4
shows the percentage of receivers capable of tracking 1, 2, 3
However, challenges still persist with the use of high-accuracy techniques within or all the 4 frequencies or all 4 global constellations
most high-volume devices, due to issues including the use of low-quality antennas,
the use of duty cycling and the lack of phase tracking.

Disclaimer: The above charts reflect manufacturer’s publicly available claims regarding their product’s capabilities and judgement on the domains to which they are applicable.
* Visit usegalileo.eu for a comprehensive list of dual-frequency smartphone models Use in actual applications may vary due to issues such as certification, implementation in the end user product, and software/firmware configuration.
34 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE

DESPITE VERTICAL INTEGRATION OF THE SMARTPHONE SUPPLY CHAIN, FLAGSHIP MANUFACTURERS RETAIN
THEIR MARKET POSITION
Key players retain dominance, new players enter smartphone market Increasing adoption of dual frequency and wideband E5 only chipsets entering the market
Qualcomm, Broadcom and Mediatek dominate chipset sales to the high-end and mid-range Broadcom became the first chipset manufacturer to offer dual-frequency chips in 2017. In 2020,
smartphone market. New players from Asia, such as Allystar and Unisoc, provide chipsets to the Qualcomm released three dual-frequency Snapdragon chipsets and Lenovo and Allystar released
Asian and African smartphone market, and are gaining market share. Another tendency is the the first smartphone chip capable of tracking BeiDou’s B2a signal. In September 2020, oneNav
move towards in-house production of chipsets by smartphone providers, including Samsung, announced its entry into the market with the first ever single frequency, wideband E5 GNSS receiver.
Huawei and Apple. This helps controlling costs, and guards against over-dependence on external Because of its simplicity, the single frequency design is well suited to highly size constrained
manufacturers. However, it often comes with a trade-off in terms of functionality. Indeed, for high- devices such as smartphones and wearables. This is an important milestone, leveraging the high
end devices, smartphone providers continue to purchase chipsets from flagship manufacturers. quality wideband E5 signals, and a potential turning point for high-volume devices, achieving high
performance with innovative designs.
DJI leads the drone market, while u-blox provide platform-integrated chipsets. In automotive,
u-blox, Qualcomm and Broadcom are active in the navigation segment, while u-blox and STMi-
croelectronics lead the smart mobility segment. In wearables and IoT, Broadcom, Mediatek and Acquisitions help strengthen the position of dominant players
u-blox hold significant market shares.
In 2019, Apple acquired Intel’s GNSS division as part of a wider acquisition of Intel’s smartphone
modem business. Apple and Qualcomm have reportedly reached a multi-year agreement for the
supply of parts, so Apple may follow the path of Samsung and continue to source a share of chips
A major step forward in dual frequency GNSS with BCM4776 externally. u-blox has diversified its IoT offering by acquiring Rigado’s Bluetooth business. Rigado’s
With flagship smartphones already benefiting from L1/E1 + L5/ portfolio of Bluetooth products includes low-energy modules providing Edge-as-a-Service for IoT.
E5 dual frequency GNSS, Broadcom has focused on raising the The acquisition is intended to open new markets for u-blox in the smart home, wearables and
bar yet again. fitness segments.
Complex technology success stories are always a team effort. No single entity can achieve the
same results as a synchronised team. That is an important factor behind this year’s GNSS inno-
vation by Broadcom, tapping into the completion of the BeiDou3 constellation by including Leading components manufacturers
its signals in the L5/E5 band. The brand new BCM4776 chip adds support for the B2a and B1C
signals of Beidou3 and optimises support for the L1/E1 + L5/E5 signals of GPS and Galileo. APPLE (INTEL) North America intel.com
The entire Galileo programme is fully committed to the dual frequency L1/E1 + L5/E5 and pilot BROADCOM North America broadcom.com
signals technologies, and has driven it to maturity during the last decade. With the combination
of Galileo+BeiDou3, results are now spectacular – 30 additional L5 and pilot signals – and avail- HUAWEI (HISILICON) Asia-Pacific hisilicon.com
able in BCM4776, which provides higher location accuracy, higher sensitivity and lower power.
MEDIATEK Asia-Pacific mediatek.com
This L1+L5 maturity level achieved in BCM4776, coupled with the now ubiquitous L5 signals,
has enabled very exciting new features. A good example is the much improved L5-based urban QUALCOMM North America qualcomm.com
pedestrian performance. Another example is the use of advanced corrections to the L5 signals
to achieve lane-level accuracy for motorway driving. This Broadcom technology, called HDGPS, SAMSUNG Asia-Pacific samsung.com
is expected to power next year’s flagship smartphones. STMICROELECTRONICS Europe st.com
Synchronising different teams towards the common goal of higher
GNSS performance is definitely worth the effort, and the industry U-BLOX Europe u-blox.ch
collaboration around BCM4776 has proven that. Broadcom has raised UNISOC Asia-Pacific unisoc.com
the performance bar again!
Note: This list does not include system and terminal integrators, and therefore some key industry players may not appear in the list. Manufacturers appear
Testimonial provided by the company in alphabetical order.
 RECEIVER FORM FACTOR GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 35

HIGH VOLUME CHIPSETS VARY BETWEEN LBS, IOT, DRONES AND AUTOMOTIVE
Typical state-of-the-art receiver specifications for the high-volume devices macrosegment

Automotive*
Features LBS chip IoT chip Drones module
module
Dimensions 4 x 4 x 0,5 mm 4 x 4 x 0,5 mm 24 x 24 x 4 mm 12 x 12 x 2 mm LBS and IoT manufacturers often adopt System-on-Chip (SoC) solutions including
wafer-level packaged GNSS receivers, while the drone and automotive manufactur-
Weight 0.1 g 0.1 g 8g 1g
ers prefer to adopt module solutions. LBS devices remain primarily L1 and support
Operating temperature range -40 to +85°C -40 to +85°C -40 to +85°C -40 to +105°C multiple constellations. The multi-constellation reception feature maximises the
Power supply 1.4 - 3.6 V 1.4 - 4.3 V 1.8 - 5.5 V 1.65 - 3.6 V number of satellites in view and offers more opportunities to apply smart power
management strategies to reduce power consumption. The adoption of dual GNSS
Current Hibernate 10 µA 10 µA 15 µA 15 µA
frequency bands is now spreading not only to premium, but also to mid-range
consumption
Acquisition 19 mA 17 mA 37 mA 24 mA smartphones. Duty-cycling remains the favoured approach to reduce power
Tracking 3-8 mA 0,5-8 mA 22 mA 22 mA consumption, and A-GNSS remains integral to delivering the required fast TTFF.
Number of channels 72 72 72-184 72-184 For the IoT, significant hardware advancements have helped to reduce the
Number of frequencies 1-2** 1 1-2** 1-2** overall energy consumption and some GNSS chipsets are now able to consume
less than 1,5 mW (0,5mA for a 3V power supply) in continuous tracking mode.
Time-To-First-Fix Cold start <30 s <30 s <30 s <32 s Latest developments in Low Power Wide-Area Networks (LPWAN) offer further
Hot start <1.5 s <1.5 s <2 s <2 s opportunities to reduce the GNSS energy consumption by providing assisted data,
Aided starts <3 s <3 s <2 s <4 s autonomous ephemeris prediction as well as cloud-based snapshot positioning
and outsourced position calculation (see page 19 for more on power strategies).
Sensitivity Tracking -167 dBm -160 dBm -167 dBm -167 dBm
Drone receivers are required to provide high accuracy and are typically supplied
Acquisition -160 dBm -160 dBm -160 dBm -160 dBm
to drone manufacturers as a module (or an OEM board) incorporating MEMS
Cold start -148 dBm -148 dBm -148 dBm -148 dBm accelerometers/gyros and other functions. Automotive and drone applications
Hot start -156 dBm -157 dBm -157 dBm -157 dBm now share similar requirements for high accuracy GNSS receivers and rapid con-
vergence time. Automotive and drone missions time are not constrained by the
Max navigation update rate 5-10 Hz 2-10 Hz 10-25 Hz 5-30 Hz
current GNSS receivers’ power consumptions. As a result, GNSS receivers have
Velocity accuracy 0.05 m/s 0.05 m/s 0.05 m/s 0.05 m/s started to adopt multi-frequency (L1, L2 and E5), as well as concurrent constellation
Horizontal position Autonomous 2.5 m 2m 1.5 m 2.5 m reception mode and offer to track SBAS satellites as well as local base stations to
accuracy achieve sub-metre accuracy.
SBAS 2m N/A 1m 1.5 m
Accuracy of time RMS 30 ns N/A 30 ns 30 ns
pulse signal
99% 60 ns N/A 60 ns 60 ns
Frequency of time pulse signal 0.25 to 10Hz N/A 0.25 to 10Hz 0.25 to 10Hz
Operational limits Dynamics <4 g N/A <4 g <4 g
Altitude 50,000 m N/A 50,000 m 50,000 m
Velocity 500 m/s N/A 515 m/s 515 m/s
Disclaimer: The above specifications represent a typical chip/SoC package or module based on manufacturer’s published literature for their latest products.
Consequently discrepancies may exist between the installed receiver’s characteristics and those stated above.
  * Excludes chipsets for safety-critical/autonomous applications.
** Premium chipsets now incorporate dual frequency.
36 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 DRIVERS AND TRENDS

DUAL FREQUENCY IMPROVEMENT PROVEN IN TESTING

Over recent years, smartphones have evolved from using GPS-only to multi-constellation GNSS. Summary of achievable accuracy with single- and dual-frequency smartphones
Since 2018, more and more smartphones (e.g. Xiaomi Mi 9, Huawei Mate 20 Pro, Samsung Galaxy
Note10) are able to receive E5a (L5) as an additional frequency allowing smartphones to estimate Single-/
dual- Position
and correct for the ionospheric delay and reduce the multipath impact. Positioning Positioning Additional
frequency accuracy in
technique mode information
In 2019, the GSA launched an extensive testing campaign in order to assess the GNSS performance GNSS meters
of dual-frequency smartphones. The test campaign was conducted in different modes (static and chipset
dynamic) and environments (e.g. open sky, urban, motorway) in order to understand and measure
Smartphone: Samsung Galaxy S10+
the benefits of dual-frequency smartphones.
single- Test case: the highest accuracy
Standalone Real time 5 – 25
The testing campaign was based on both live and simulated signals. In total six smartphones (three frequency corresponds to open sky static test and
of them able to receive dual frequency) were tested. The smartphones were selected to ensure a the lowest to urban pedestrian case
variety in terms of chipsets manufacturers and date of release.
Smartphone: Xiaomi Mi 9
Three setups were considered for the live tests: static, pedestrian and vehicle. Tests with the sim- dual- Test case: the highest accuracy
ulated signals were performed at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. A radio Standalone Real time 2 – 15
frequency corresponds to open sky static test and
constellation simulator was used to generate the signals to the anechoic chamber. Among others, the lowest to urban pedestrian case
the following metrics were monitored:
• Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) of the horizontal position error – presented in Figure 1.
dual- Smartphone: Xiaomi Mi 8
• Number of tracked satellites per constellation and frequency over time – presented in Figure 2. PPP Real time 2
frequency Test case: suburban pedestrian
Figure 1 presents the results for the best performing single- and dual-frequency smartphones that
were used in the testing campaign. It shows the cumulative distribution of the horizontal error for
Xiaomi Mi 9 (dual-frequency chipset) in red and for Samsung Galaxy S10+ (single-frequency chipset) Post- dual- Smartphone: Xiaomi Mi 8
in blue. It can be observed that Xiaomi Mi 9 outperforms Samsung Galaxy S10+ in all the scenarios PPP 0.2
processing frequency Test case: open sky static
(suburban, urban, highway). Figure 2 presents the number of tracked Galileo and GPS satellites by
Huawei Mate 20 Pro on E5a and L5 respectively. For the whole test Huawei Mate 20 Pro tracked more
Galileo satellites on E5a than GPS satellites on L5.
dual- Smartphone: Xiaomi Mi 8
RTK Real time 1
frequency Test case: suburban
CDF of the horizontal position error
Samsung Galaxy S10+ (SF) vs Xiaomi Mi 9 (DF) Number of tracked satellites, E5a/L5 signals,
Smartphone: Xiaomi Mi 8
Dynamic tests Open Sky 4h assisted
1 10
Test case: open sky
0.9 Additional details: choke ring platform
CDF of the horizontal position error

9 Huawei Mate 20 Pro (Galileo) Post- dual-

RTK 0.01 was used to reject ground multipath,
Number of tracked satellites

0.8 8 Huawei Mate 20 Pro (GPS)

processing frequency
0.7
Samsung Galaxy S10+ (SF)
7 smartphone was placed on the rotating
0.6 6
0.5
Urban pedestrian
5
platform, base station was established
Suburban pedestrian
0.4 Highway 4 next to the test setup
0.3 Xiaomi Mi 9 (DF) 3
The table above presents a summary of achievable accuracy with single- and dual-frequency smartphone GNSS chipsets (or for short single- or dual-fre-
0.2 Urban pedestrian 2 quency smartphones) when using different positioning techniques or modes. The presented results are based on the actual testing campaign and on
Suburban pedestrian
0.1 Highway 1 a literature review. The benefits of using dual-frequency smartphones are clear in urban environments in which smartphones face strong multipath. In
0 0 open sky environment, the benefits of using dual-frequency smartphones are lower especially during nominal ionospheric activity. Position accuracy
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 05:30 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 08:30 09:00 can be improved by using techniques like Real Time Kinematic (RTK) and Precise Point Positioning (PPP). High accuracy can be achieved especially in
Horizontal position error [meters] Time the post-processing when using final orbit and clock products.
The final configuration uses an external antenna whilst other configurations use the integrated antenna in the smartphone.
Figure 1 Figure 2
 DRIVERS AND TRENDS GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 37

ANDROID GNSS RAW MEASUREMENTS UPDATES Benefits of GNSS Raw Measurements

Scientific use and research and Increased Accuracy

Android GNSS Raw Measurements Task Force Workshop development • Access to raw measurements allow developers to
GSA organised its annual GNSS Raw Measurements Task Force Workshop online on 27-28 May • Observations provided in a coarse form can employ advanced positioning techniques (RTK,
2020 with more than 200 participants from 32 countries. The objective was to share the Task Force be used for testing hardware and software PPP) and create a solution that is currently only
members’ experience and progress around the use of raw measurements within Android devices. solutions and for new post processing available in professional receivers. It results in a
algorithms e.g. for modelling ionosphere technological push to develop new applications.
GNSS raw measurements allow developers to use the carrier and code measurements, as well
or troposphere.
as the decoded navigation messages from mass-market devices. This enables the creation of
advanced GNSS positioning algorithms, more ambitious smartphone-based services, and access
to data contained in the navigation message, such as OS-NMA (see the box on the right for more Integrity/Robustness Testing, performance monitoring and education
information on benefits of GNSS raw measurements). • Access to raw measurements will offer new • Raw measurements can be used for monitoring
ways to detect RF interferences and to performance (data, accuracy, receiver clock),
During the workshop Google reviewed the achievements on the Raw Measurements project includ-
locate the interference source by combining testing and to compare solutions from individual
ing more than 17,000 downloads of the analysis tools and the generation of hundreds of research
the measurements from multiple devices constellations, eliminate specific satellites or test
papers. Google also announced updates in tools for logging and analysing GNSS measurements,
(crowdsourcing), or verify the data source for worst scenario performance.
such as logging in RINEX format, logging of other sensor data (in the GNSS Logger app), new PVT
(OS-NMA). • Understanding GNSS, signal processing or
filters, and ‘select satellite for position’ (in GNSS Analysis software). Additional features (e.g. antenna
phase centre offset), to be available with the release of Android 11 in the third quarter of 2020, • SBAS corrections can be incorporated displaying orbits, signal strength and other aspects
were also highlighted. without the need for additional equipment. is a valuable tool for educational purposes.

Discussions and more than 20 presentations at the workshop from the Task Force members confirmed
that GNSS raw measurements are increasingly used in educational and scientific projects around
the world, leading to increased knowledge and interest in GNSS technology and better implemen- Google solving GNSS wrong-side-of-street problems in cities
tation of GNSS within smartphones. In addition, there is already a growing body of evidence that Google has provided raw GNSS measurements from Android phones
sub-metre positioning is feasible in real time with current smartphones when using RTK and other since 2016. Now Google is using these raw measurements to gen-
erate corrections to the errors caused by reflected GNSS signals in cities. These reflected signals
techniques. So, it is just a question of when, rather than if, it will be used widely.
produce locations on the wrong-side-of-street (WSS). Almost everyone has experienced this
when using GNSS in cities, particularly when walking.
Thanks to Google’s extensive database of maps and 3D building models, a solution to the WSS
problem is now at hand. In 2020 Google released ‘Project Bluesky’. In its first release Bluesky
The Android GNSS Raw Measurements Task reduced the WSS occurrence by 50%. In its second release, Bluesky further reduces WSS occur-
Force rences by 75%.
The Android GNSS Raw Measurements Task Force Google has been working closely with all major GNSS chip manufacturers to implement and
is dedicated to promoting a better and wider use test an API that provides corrections to the errors produced by the GNSS
of GNSS raw measurements. Since its launch in reflections. These corrections enable a much more accurate location in cities.
GNSS signals in the L5/E5 band are key to the solution, and Galileo plays the
2017, the Task Force has expanded from a handful
largest role of any GNSS system, with all its satellites providing high accuracy
of experts to a community of over 150 agencies, signals in the E5 band.
universities, research institutes and companies.
Users can experience these ‘Bluesky’ benefits in any Android phone that runs
Membership is open to anybody interested in
version 8 or later. If the phone has Galileo E5 the accuracy improvements will
GNSS raw measurements. To join the Task Force be greater.
contact: [email protected]
Google has also released LiveView, a new paradigm for walking navigation in
Further information about the Task Force and workshops’ presentations can be found at: cities. LiveView uses images and Bluesky for unprecedented accuracy in cities.
gsa.europa.eu/gnss-applications/gnss-raw-measurements Testimonial provided by the company
38 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 DRIVERS AND TRENDS

HIGH ACCURACY CORRECTION SERVICES ENTER HIGH-VOLUME DEVICES

In recent years there has been a grand push towards delivering high-accuracy services to high-vol- These companies also compete on coverage, generally focussing on coverage of the continental
ume devices. Numerous players traditionally targeting high-accuracy services have entered this US and Europe, and on availability, which is often achieved using low-bandwidth data transfer
competitive arena, as well as players from other fields, including telecommunications network over cellular networks.
operators. In addition to this, most public GNSS providers have released, or have plans to release,
Other companies combine dual-frequency receiver capabilities with cloud-based correction
high-accuracy services. It is clear that the demand for high accuracy from high-volume devices
services to achieve high levels of accuracy. At the Consumer Electronics Roadshow 2020 (CES),
appears as an attractive business opportunity for a large and varied group of organisations.
HERE Technologies announced a cloud-based service called HD GNSS, providing sub-metre level
accuracy worldwide to high-volume devices. The service relies on dual-frequency receivers to
Public high-accuracy services come to the high-volume market deliver PPP-RTK services.
Most GNSS and SBAS providers have released high-accuracy services in recent years or have plans
to release such a service. Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) launched its Centimetre Level Telecom operators enter the high-accuracy market
Augmentation Service (CLAS) in 2018. Galileo has plans to release the High Accuracy Service (HAS),
Japanese telecommunications network operators such as Softbank and NTT DoCoMo have cre-
which will be based on the free transmission of Precise Point Positioning (PPP) corrections through
ated RTK services that draw their 5G base stations, which are used as GNSS reference stations.
the Galileo E6 signal and will allow users to obtain a positioning error around twenty centimetres.
SoftBank has installed RTK reference stations in 3,300 of its 5G base stations. As 5G infrastructure
These high-accuracy services by public providers are free to use and represent attractive options
is expensive, the opportunity to generate additional revenues from this infrastructure is attractive
for the price-conscious high-volume device market.
for network operators.
Other operators, such as Deutsche Telekom are adopting PPP-RTK based corrections, in which
New commercial approaches to high-accuracy services mobile infrastructure is used to broadcast correction data collected from GNSS data providers, who
Developments in the area of autonomous and connected vehicles have been a key driver of the maintain their own network of GNSS reference stations. In this setup, the value-added by telecoms
launch of commercial high-accuracy services targeting high-volume devices. Various approaches operators is the ability to transfer corrections data quickly, leading to real-time positioning updates
have been taken to address this large perceived market opportunity from a technology standpoint. for devices using the service. This is achieved through advanced mobile connectivity methods,
including edge computing.
Companies like Sapcorda and Swift Navigation use QZSS CLAS to deliver accuracy of less than 10
centimetres and cite their methods to achieve low convergence time at less than 30 seconds as a With so many new services on the market, and highly performant free services offered by public
key competitive advantage. GNSS providers, it is likely that winners and losers of this race will emerge, as some players achieve
a strong position on the market while others are left behind.

Timeline for launch of high-accuracy augmentation services

Deutsche Telekom, Swift Navigation partners with

Fraunhofer ESK, Hexagon Arm on high-accuracy augmentation
and Nokia complete tests service; Trimble & Qualcomm partner SoftBank launch HERE announce sub-meter
of RTK solution on high-accuracy positioning service RTK service positioning service

Jun. Sept. Oct. Nov. Jan. Mar.

2019 2019 2019 2019 2020 2020

Septentrio and Sapcorda NTT Docomo launch GNSS Hyundai, Hexagon and Deutsche Telekom and
demonstrate ‘Safe And Precise Position Correction Information Valeo announce High Precision Swift Navigation partner
Augmentation’ solution Distribution Platform Positioning system in partnership on PPP service
with a mobile network operator
 DRIVERS AND TRENDS GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 39

ADVANCEMENTS IN RECEIVER TECHNOLOGY ENABLE GNSS TO MEET IOT LOW-POWER REQUIREMENTS

Recent advancements in low power consumption open up new markets that GNSS could not pre- GNSS chipset manufacturers have developed intelligent power management strategies to reduce
viously serve. These developments, discussed on page 19, are particularly relevant for IoT devices. overall power consumption by using the minimum resources required during tracking whenever
Many IoT applications stand to benefit from the precise localisation offered by GNSS, such as asset, possible (CPU is kept asleep as much as possible, Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) and clocks do not have
people and animal tracking, eBike applications, and wearables. However, many of the devices used to be ON all the time). With these strategies, the full-power scheme is solely activated to maintain
for these applications use infrastructure-based localisation methods (such as WiFi and LPWAN posi- positioning performance in case of weak signals or a low number of visible satellites. Therefore,
tioning) which come at virtually no cost since the technology is already built-in. In this context, the the increasing use of multi-constellation contributes to reducing the average power consumption.
benefit-cost ratio of adding GNSS may look unattractive, especially if considering the full energy Improvements in the development of specialised low-power hardware such as Analogic Digital (AD)
consumption of older GNSS chipsets. converters, low noise amplifiers and electronic circuit phase-locked loops (PLL) for the RF circuit
also contribute to reducing the overall power consumption.
Advancements in receiver technology and in computational techniques make the trade-off between
power consumption and positioning accuracy increasingly swing in favour of GNSS for outdoor IoT The figure illustrates the typical battery life of three different applications (smartphones, sport
applications. Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS) uses the communication network of the IoT device to down- watches and drones) when the GNSS is ON or OFF. Activating GNSS has a negligible impact on the
load clock, ephemeris and other support data at faster transmission speeds than those of satellite drone mission duration. The smartphone battery life is less affected by GNSS power consumption
navigation messages. A-GNSS allows the GNSS receiver to achieve a position fix much faster, at than previously owing to the use of intelligent power management strategies as well as the control
lower energy consumption. When communication networks with very low downlink capacity are of the GNSS receiver duty cycle. However, GNSS receivers are much more important in sport watch
used (such as some proprietary LPWAN networks), autonomous ephemeris prediction techniques mission durations. The implementation of intelligent power management strategies as well as the
can be used instead of A-GNSS. However, as ephemeris data are subject to frequent change due combined use of snapshot GNSS technologies (see page 40) and Low Power Wide Area Networks
to satellite orbit perturbation and other environmental effects, ephemeris prediction techniques (LPWAN) contribute to the development of ‘ultra-low’ power GNSS receivers, which are able to
come with a trade-off in accuracy. consume significantly less than in full power mode (bellow 10 milliwatts in tracking mode).

Some use-cases of battery life

Low-power implementation and high accuracy further increases the appeal of GNSS
Sports wearable users demand accuracy Number of
minutes
and near-continuous tracking when run-
ning, cycling and swimming. For mass 2,500
deployment and user acceptance, driver
behaviour monitoring devices deployed 2,200 min.
2,000 With GNSS (acquisition)
by insurance companies require update
rates of 1Hz and simple installation for the customer i.e. no connection to vehicle power supply and battery life of 1+ years. With GNSS (tracking)
Tracking goods shipments at the level of individual assets requires small, robust, very low-cost trackers with long battery life. 1,500 Without GNSS

Duty-cycle techniques alone are insufficient to meet the use cases defined above. To meet this challenge and widen the use
of GNSS, Sony launched a range of GNSS L1 receiver integrated circuits several years ago. These circuits use innovative silicon 1,000
942 min. 812 min.
design techniques such as the Silicon-on-Insulator process and very-low voltage RF circuits, the latest product, CXD5605, 781 min.
573 min. 743 min.
consumes just 6mW when continuously tracking. 500
26 min. 7sec.
Each use-case requires specific algorithms to optimize performance. For example; sports wearables benefit from an algorithm 26 min. 3sec.
26 min.
to compensate for arm swinging during running and vehicle tracking applications benefit from untethered dead-reckoning 0
algorithms when the GNSS signal is temporarily lost e.g. in tunnels. Users continue to demand even higher levels of accuracy, Sport Watch Smartphone Drone
so Sony has created a new L1 + L5 device, the CXD5610GF, which uses the same design techniques as CXD5605GF, maintains 220 mAh 2,800 mAh 3,700 mAh
the very low-power consumption, and has significantly improved accuracy when compared with L1-only receivers. Source: FDC internal study
Disclaimer: Battery life depends on the chipset power consumption. The durations above have been
Testimonial provided by the company
assessed based on typical receiver specifications. Consequently discrepancies may exist between the
actual battery life and the one stated above.
40 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 DRIVERS AND TRENDS

SNAPSHOT POSITIONING, AN INNOVATIVE METHOD TO REDUCE CHIPSET POWER CONSUMPTION

Snapshot positioning
As discussed on the previous page, snapshot positioning is a technique that records
a digital copy of a received GNSS signal for a very short time: usually 2ms-100ms Accurate GNSS POsitioning for Low power and Low-cost Objects
compared to 1-10s for a traditional receiver. The recorded digital copy is used to (APOLLO)
determine the signal frequency and code phase before calculating the pseudorange. APOLLO aims at providing a Galileo-based location solution for IoT,
The receiver’s coarse position and time are required as input to eliminate ambiguities reducing device complexity and reducing energy consumption
on the pseudorange. The collected pseudoranges are then used in combination by a factor between 10 and 300.
with ephemeris data provided as input to compute the receiver’s accurate position APOLLO is delivering to the market:
and time. This technique saves on battery consumption by removing the need for
continuous tracking of GNSS signals, and by simplifying hardware requirements. • A 100% software GNSS receiver getting rid of chip and the
related constraints (consumption, size etc.);
Snapshot positioning can be used in tandem with other techniques such as remote • An optimized location algorithm with unequalled computation
processing to further reduce power consumption. With remote processing signal speed between about 100ms and 3sec to acquire and treat the
processing, pseudorange, and position estimation can be offloaded to a cloud-based data necessary on the receiver side to compute the object’s
server. When using snapshot positioning combined with remote processing, there PVT in the Cloud depending on the partitioning method used;
is a price to pay in power consumption for the communication channel, making it
critical to choose an economical network technology. • A distributed architecture with part of the algorithm executed
on the IoT processor and part of it on a remote server in the
As the key limitation is the overall lifetime of the IoT device’s battery, it is impor- Cloud.
tant that techniques to reduce GNSS power consumption do not cause a larger
increase in the power consumption of the communications module. With the goal
to optimise the sum of power consumption from the GNSS and communications
module, the method chosen to do so will depend on the available communica-
tions infrastructure (e.g. cellular or proprietary LPWAN). The GSA whitepaper on
Power-efficient positioning for the Internet of Things discusses these trade-offs and
the potential power reductions achievable in more detail.

Snapshot receiver configurability Galileo Of Things (GOT)

For applications which do not require real-time positioning, signal data can be GOT aims to increase Galileo relevance in the high-volume market
captured and stored for processing. This allows the GNSS receiver to turn on for a by delivering a Galileo Semiconductor Intellectual Property (IP) core
very short amount of time, and enables energy-consuming computation tasks to that combines with narrowband-IoT IP.
be carried out when battery is less critical, such as during recharge. For real-time Such combination will enable:
applications, signal data be processed immediately. • Lower chipset cost and, furthermore, the lowest complete complexity;
Snapshot receivers can be configured such that signal processing and position • Lower power consumption on both GNSS and connectivity;
estimation occurs on the device, but ephemeris data is retrieved from the cloud • Minimum electronic area size;
server at convenient times, e.g. during battery recharge. The Apollo and Galileo of • Best trade-off between accuracy & power owing to the Galileo constellation.
Things projects are two examples of R&D initiatives exploring these new features.
The developed IP will consist of sub-components that are ready-to-integrate and match the requirements of
targeted customers of the consortium.
More information at: ubiscale.com/gnss-ip-core-galileo-of-things/
 DRIVERS AND TRENDS GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 41

ACHIEVING SEAMLESS POSITIONING WITH HYBRIDISATION

Indoor positioning and challenges for hybridisation with GNSS GRETEL: ubiquitous accurate and affordable
Technology providers often use a mixture of methods to achieve indoor positioning, which represents a urban navigation
challenge in terms of hybridisation with GNSS signals in order to provide seamless positioning. Recent WiFi can be now utilised for precise location leveraging the ranging measurements of the
advancements in the area of WiFi positioning and Ultra Wide Band (UWB) technology and their continued Round Trip Time protocol of IEEE 802.11mc. The advent of precise satellite positioning
adoption in high-volume devices such as smartphones, make these technologies attractive candidates in smartphones and the initial penetration of hardware compliant with the 802.11mc
for hybridisation with GNSS. protocol, makes it possible to foresee an accurate, scalable, and ubiquitous mainstream
navigation technology serving high-volume applications in the next five-year period.
WiFi RTT, UWB and Ultra-sonic to achieve high accuracy indoors Rokubun is prototyping a new navigation technology, GRETEL, oriented to smart cit-
Important advancements have been made in WiFi positioning with Round Trip Time (RTT) technology, a ies. GRETEL hybridises GNSS raw and WiFi ranging measurements in order to provide
protocol which allows devices to measure the distance between the device and nearby WiFi routers. WiFi accurate ubiquitous navigation able to seamlessly transit from outdoors to indoors
RTT uses time-of-flight to measure the time it takes for a signal to be sent from a WiFi router to a device and vice versa, and enhance navigation in harsh urban environments. One of the
such as a smartphone, as well as the time it takes for a message acknowledging receipt of the signal to be major challenges for the uptake of such a technology is the precise geolocation of WiFi
sent from the device back to the WiFi router. Implementing this technology with a single WiFi router results RTT access points, in order to subsequently use them as pseudo-satellites providing
in accurate distance measurement between the router and the receiving device. With three or more WiFi ranging measurements. Rokubun’s GRETEL addresses this challenge and, in addition
routers, trilateration can be utilised to give an accurate position. This improves WiFi positioning from 5-15 to the hybrid positioning engine in the user device, promising results which point to
metre accuracy to the level of 1 metre accuracy. metre-level navigation accuracy are already being delivered.

UWB technology is a relatively new technology in the sphere of consumer devices. UWB offers accuracy
between 10 and 30 centimetres in an indoor environment. It requires that the user or object to be tracked
carries a UWB tag, which transmits UWB signals to static ‘anchor’ UWB tags. It requires a direct line-of-sight
between the moving and anchor tags.
Ultra-sonic solutions can be used to achieve accuracy of 1-2 centimetres. As ultra-sonic signals do not travel
through walls they can be used to position a user within a room. Rebounding signals and requirements
for the wearing of mobile tags by users, however, causes potential issues for adoption. Ultra-sonic tech-
nologies largely target professional applications in places such as hospitals and may not be as relevant
for high-volume devices.

Greater adoption of WiFi RTT and UWB in smartphones

In 2018 Google moved towards greater reliance on WiFi positioning by adding support for RTT to Android
Pie and later Android versions. This suggests that, in future, WiFi will continue to be a leading technology
for indoor positioning.
In August 2019, Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo and other industry players created the FiRa consortium in order to
foster the development of an interoperable UWB ecosystem. The creation of this consortium demonstrates
the desire of some smartphone industry players for widespread adoption of UWB. In September 2019 Apple
released iPhone 11, which includes a UWB chip. As the required UWB anchor technology for indoor locations Demonstration of full indoor WiFi RTT-based navigation using WiFi RTT compliant routers
was not yet widespread, the applications of this iPhone technology were limited at the time of release. The (yellow diamonds). Blue points represent position estimation, and orange and red circles
inclusion of UWB technology in the iPhone, however, represents a step towards greater adoption of UWB, are 3m and 5m deviations relative to the reference position (white circle).
as well as opening up the potential for greater hybridisation of UWB and GNSS for seamless positioning. Testimonial provided by the company
42 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 DRIVERS AND TRENDS

QUANTUM TECHNOLOGIES: SOLVING COMPLEX NAVIGATION PROBLEMS

Quantum technologies and potential for navigation Quantum Sensing
Quantum computing can be used to address complex problems that are difficult for traditional An aspect of quantum mechanics known as entanglement can be used to overcome current
computers to solve. Traditional computers rely on binary processors called bits, which can exist in hardware constraints, which limit the speed and accuracy of sensors. Entangled particles are tied
a state of 0 or of 1. This forces computer programmes to work through problem sets one by one. together so anything that happens to one particle affects the particles with which it is entangled.
For complex problems this can take significant amounts of processing time. By contrast, quantum Researchers at the University of Arizona have demonstrated1 that a network of several sensors can
computers work with qubits which can exist in multiple states at a time. This enables quantum be entangled with one another, meaning they all receive the information from probes and correlate
computers to work through all possible problem sets at the same time, arriving at the solution it with one another simultaneously. For applications that use a network of sensors, such as those
much faster. used to detect RF waves, this can significantly improve sensing performance. In the case of GNSS,
the greater speed and improved accuracy of time delay or angle of arrival measurements for GNSS
While GNSS is a well-established technology domain, certain navigation and GNSS applications
signals via the use of quantum sensing could enable better indoor localisation and spoofing detection.
stand to benefit from quantum technologies due to their complex nature and the ability to improve
outcomes using quantum methods.
Quantum Encryption
Quantum navigation algorithms As society enters the Quantum Era, current cryptographic methods will be challenged by the greater
computing power of quantum computers. In order to deal with this technological leap and stay
Quantum algorithms are designed to solve problems using quantum methods. As quantum hard-
ahead of potential attacks, encryption techniques might need to adapt by employing quantum
ware is still in its infancy, most of these algorithms are currently being simulated on traditional
technologies and methods as well. This could be the case for encrypted GNSS signals, such as the
computers in order to demonstrate their potential impact.
Galileo PRS, OS-NMA and CAS signals. While the threat of quantum attacks on encrypted signals
Automotive navigation in densely populated areas is a perfect example of a problem involving is some years from realisation, owing to the immature nature of current quantum technology,
complex computation. The complexity occurs when numerous drivers, each with a different starting research into protection against this threat must begin now to keep pace with potential attacks.
location and end location, request an optimal route. A consortium including the University of Darmstadt and the Fraunhofer Institute began work on
the QuantumRISC project in 2019, which seeks to protect against quantum attacks on embedded
Current navigation systems first steer drivers towards the most direct routes, and then divert sub-
systems with a focus on automotive engineering applications. With extensive levels of funding
sequent drivers when these routes becomes congested. These systems currently employ traditional
currently available we can expect to see more new studies emerging in this area as quantum
computing techniques are not advanced enough to compute all possible routes and distribute
techniques develop.
drivers optimally among them.
Volkswagen and Ford have completed tests of quantum algorithms for navigation, showing a
significant reduction in traffic delays. Ford, in partnership with Microsoft, demonstrated a scenario
with 5,000 cars requesting routes simultaneously. Using quantum algorithms they were able to
reduce average commuting times by 8%.
Quantum computing can be used to solve another difficult navigation problem; when a traveller
has multiple destinations planned, what is the shortest overall route? This is known as the ‘travelling
salesman problem’ and has been studied in the field of optimisation for several decades.
Quantum computing, with its ability to break the travelling salesman problem into subsets and
consider each combination simultaneously, allows this problem to be solved efficiently. Quantum

© Gettyimages
computing opens future possibilities in fields such as logistics and transport.

1 Physical Review Letters, April 2020

 DRIVERS AND TRENDS GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 43

NEW FRONTIERS IN MASS-MARKET APPLICATIONS: ROBOTICS AND AUGMENTED REALITY

GNSS and sensor fusion supporting robotics navigation As concluded by the 2018 GSA User Consultation Platform, AR applications have high require-
ments for accuracy and continuous positioning. The popularity of smartphone-based software
The 2018 GSA User Consultation Platform (mass market section) showed a clear focus on continu-
development kits (SDKs) like ARKit and ARCore among augmented reality developers mean that
ous positioning updates and high levels of accuracy for the robotics sector. While GNSS can meet
several recent developments in the smartphone market, such as dual-frequency smartphone chips,
these requirements to a certain extent, as use cases of service robots move increasingly towards
should facilitate the higher accuracy needed for location-aware augmented reality applications.
outdoor urban environments, buildings can frequently obstruct GNSS signals and other moving
objects can obstruct planned navigation routes. Therefore sensor fusion techniques are needed Additionally, AR is likely to be a key driver for the adoption of PPP and RTK services in consumer
to address challenges and prevent unwanted collisions. applications, and technology development efforts stand to benefit from projects such as Flamingo
and telecommunications-GNSS service provider partnerships that will bring sub-metre accuracy
to the high-volume market in the near future (see page 38).
Sensor fusion to meet all navigation requirements
Inertial technologies are commonly used to augment GNSS signals to ensure robots adhere to
the planned navigation path. Accelerometers and gyroscopes are used to calculate direction and First-of-a-kind GNSS receiver with integrated corrections
speed, and are merged with GNSS signals to provide accurate and continuously updated posi- for robotics and other industrial applications
tioning information. As adoption of high accuracy GNSS positioning spreads through industrial markets, convenience
Visual navigation systems incorporating Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) technology and ease-of-use become increasingly important. GNSS corrections are a key component in
and object recognition are key to avoiding objects in busy environments. An example of this is KiwiBot, enabling receivers to provide high accuracy in the sub-decimetre range. Until now users have
a service robot designed for last-mile food delivery. The robot combines visual-based navigation and always needed to select, subscribe and maintain a correction service to enjoy the high accuracy
GNSS technologies to ensure it stays on-route, without colliding with unexpected obstacles. of their receivers. At Septentrio we have taken on the challenge to simplify this process. That is
why we created the AsteRx-m2 Sx, a first-of-a-kind receiver with simple plug-and-play always-on
accuracy, without the need for additional subscriptions. This is made possible by integrating a
Addressing accuracy and durability sub-decimetre correction service with short convergence time into Septentrio’s latest core GNSS
In order to address GNSS accuracy requirements, Septentrio released a triple-frequency module technology. Through 2020 we plan to expand our new SECORX-S product family with housed
called mosaic which uses RTK technology to guarantee maximum accuracy and availability (see receivers, modules and more, all with similar built-in GNSS corrections.
details on page 27). It is not common for modules focussed on the high-volume markets to support Emerging autonomous applications in the air, land and sea demand new GNSS correction mech-
RTK, however, this shift in design choice is a response to the clear requirement for high accuracy anisms which are both accurate and scalable for a multitude of users. The right correction service
within robotics applications. for each application depends on its location, its accuracy and reliability needs, as well as budget.
Durability is also a key concern for service and other robots. Swift Navigation have partnered with As the corrections market continues to expand, it is now more important than ever that users
Carnegie Robotics to design a product called Duro Inertial, which combines GNSS and inertial tech- are assisted in selecting the best correc-
nologies to deliver a continuous positioning solution. The Duro range of modules is ruggedised, tion method for their industrial or profes-
demonstrating the need of robotics hardware to be reliable under harsh or unexpected environments. sional application.
By selecting innovative correction services,
broadcasting of corrections across larger
Augmented Reality areas, and with flexible levels of accuracy,
While Augmented Reality (AR) technology experienced a surge in popularity in the mid-2010s, it is is now possible. This brings benefits in
poised for another growth spurt due to the enhanced AR capabilities enabled by 5G. pricing as well as accessibility, scalability,
and ease-of-use. It makes accuracy simple
5G has the potential to reduce latency problems that have so far plagued AR applications, allowing
and more accessible to users, opening new
AR to become more mainstream and ubiquitous. In order to realise the potential for providing fully
opportunities for GNSS applications.
immersive experiences, however, it is also key for many AR applications to benefit from highly
accurate location capabilities. Testimonial provided by the company
44 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 DRIVERS AND TRENDS

HIGH GNSS PERFORMANCE IS REQUIRED IN LEISURE, SPORTS AND FITNESS SOLUTIONS

Blurring of professional and high-volume applications For PNT needs in outdoor environments, GNSS is a very important technology, appreciated in a
wide range of sports. Usage of GNSS signal technology does, however, feature some well-known
As high-volume GNSS technologies continue to improve, the lines between professional and
limitations, such as indoor reception issues and increased power consumption. For seamless and
high-volume devices are increasingly blurred. This is most clearly seen in the aviation segment,
accurate positioning, Geonav is testing a solution that hybridises GNSS and UWB to ensure conti-
where leisure aviation devices are now being used as backup navigation solutions by military users.
nuity during rugby games in partially closed stadiums (see box below for details).
An example of this is Garmin’s line of aviation watches, which now include required features such
Another innovation is to offset the power needs of GNSS by using the available energy sources;
as moving maps and the ability to track satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) to act as an
namely the body heat of the person wearing the watch, and solar energy (see the Power Watch
emergency backup navigation system for professional pilots. According to statements by Garmin,
Series 2 below).
their Charlie D2 watches are being used by United States Air Force pilots of the Lockheed U-2
aircraft. In 2018, Garmin added Galileo capabilities to their new aviation watch series, the D2 Delta.
Other advanced devices such as portables navigation devices (PNDs) now include synthetic
vision and user-friendly touchscreens that are not yet seen in commercial airliners. Newer PNDs
and head up displays (HUDs) also enable certified leisure pilots to fly instrument flight rule (IFR)
procedures allowing for safer landings in all weather conditions, further aligning the professional
Seamless Positioning in a Stadium Environment
and high-volume segments.
(GEONAV)
GEONAV is an example of a professional sports application, designed to deliver highly accurate
In addition to the improvement in device capabilities, mobile applications such as SkyDemon allow positioning and performance data for the French national rugby union team.
pilots to plan routes in a matter of seconds, significantly changing a once lengthy manual task.
GEONAV combines GNSS technology with Ultra Wide Band (UWB) to achieve high levels of accuracy.
These innovations on a range of lightweight and often interconnected devices are placing general It is an example of a seamless positioning application (discussed in detail on page 41).
aviation on the cutting edge of avionics and allow pilots to fly more safely than ever. GNSS tracking device are worn between the shoulder blades of players. They have been miniatur-
Sports and fitness applications also display the democratisation of solutions traditionally foreseen ised down to roughly smartphone-size and incorporate accelerometers based on MEMS as well as
for professional players. Monitoring and tracing equipment for runners, bikers and skiers have GNSS receivers.
become an indispensable part of every workout. More determined runners compare route and Further information can be found at: gsa.europa.eu/galileo-dual-frequency-5g-iot-devices-and-services-
speed measurements from multiple applications and devices. drones-assets-management-and-elite-sport
Specialised watches and wearables are expected to deliver more accurate tracking results compared
with smartphones, and added value is clearly expected from the purchase of additional hardware.
Dual frequency multi-constellation features have therefore entered the smartwatches market and
users are even able to select the constellation mix directly on the device.

From Low-Power to No-Power Consumption

SuperHalfs Marathon (Power Watch Series 2)
Galileo partnered with ‘Run with Galileo’ by SuperHalfs – a GNSS-enabled watch. Announced at CES 2019, it is charged based
series of five half marathons across Europe – to bring a on the body heat of the wearer, as well as solar-powered technology.
precise fitness tracking and navigation experience to thou- Retailing at $499 it is in the price range of premium consumer smart-
sands of runners. Originally taking place in Lisbon, Prague, watches. However, it provides less functionality than its counterparts

© Matrix Industries
Copenhagen, Cardiff, and Seville, due to Covid-19 the such as Garmin. It can be expected that the high price point will
Superhalfs turned into Virtual Superhalfs, going beyond decrease as the highly innovative no-charge technology becomes
borders and reaching a global audience with thousand of runners competing across the world. more mainstream.
More information at: superhalfs.com More information at: powerwatch.com/products/powerwatch-2
 E-GNSS ADDED VALUE GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 45

E-GNSS SUPPORTS UBIQUITOUS POSITIONING IN CITIES AND CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENTS

PNT performance delivered by European GNSS, including both Galileo E-GNSS Contribution to Key Performance Parameters
and EGNOS, provide a relevant contribution to high-volume device users.
Key Performance
Galileo satellites are effective in boosting ubiquitous positioning in chal- EGNOS contribution Galileo contribution
Parameter (KPP)*
lenging environments, such as cities, where many users in high-volume
markets often operate. Modern chips embedded in smartphones and Accuracy
other high-volume devices are indeed capable of receiving signals from
Availability
many GNSS constellations, including Galileo. This has a positive impact
in all the key performance parameters, including accuracy, availability Continuity
and TTFF. Nevertheless, Galileo provides specific features capable of
Indoor penetration
‘making a difference’. Among these, a relevant contribution is better
resistance to multipath interference. This is especially true in the Robustness
case of dual-frequency smartphones owing to the unique shape of the
E5 signal provided by Galileo satellites, which further makes it easier to Time To First Fix (TTFF)
distinguish direct signals from those reflected by buildings. The popu-
* The Key Performance Parameters are defined in Annex 3
larity of dual-frequency chips is increasing (more than 50 smartphone
models currently offer this feature). Major contribution, capable of enabling new GNSS applications
Medium contribution, enhancing the user experience
Additionally, Galileo is the only GNSS that offers navigation message
authentication (OS-NMA), a feature expected to be of high interest for Low contribution, performances improved but no major difference at user level
application and service providers as it could enable innovative commer-
cially-sensitive applications.
Enhanced positioning accuracy creates opportunities for many new
applications in areas such as augmented reality, vehicle navigation, FLAMINGO Project & Raw Galileo Hackathon
and mapping. It will also support the potential use of smartphones for FLAMINGO was a Horizon 2020 project that developed a FLAMINGO
professional activities and as an alternative to existing dedicated devices. positioning service along with an API, which allowed users
EGNOS, with applications traditionally designed for aviation, adds value with either Smartphones or IoT devices to obtain their position accurate to metre-level or better in a seamless manner,
in drone solutions and general aviation applications using high-volume with a simple interface to be subsequently integrated into apps and Location Based Services.
devices, reducing the ionospheric error and thus improving accuracy FLAMINGO was an innovation rather than an invention, in that processes and protocols in common use within the GNSS
and robustness. industry were re-used and adapted for use for mass-market devices. The user interface was a Google geolocation style API,
and behind the scenes FLAMINGO used the RTCM format and NTRIP protocol to deliver various GNSS data and services,
and PPP and RTK approaches within the positioning engine. The FLAMINGO service made use of Galileo to its utmost
extent given the current limitations of high-volume devices, as the service provided corrections to both E1/L1 and E5/L5.
The Raw Galileo 24-hour hackathon took place in March 2020, organised by the University of Nottingham and the GSA as
part of the FLAMINGO project. Participants were challenged to develop solutions on two topics; develop new or enhanced
solutions using Galileo and the high-accuracy positioning and navigation services provided by FLAMINGO, and demonstrate
non-navigation uses of GNSS raw measurements. For the first topic, VastMapping won with an app that used Galileo and
FLAMINGO accuracy to provide real-time computer vision for asset-mapping and management. For the second topic, first
prize went to ClaimR app, a verified location signing service.
Further information can be found at: flamingognss.com
 46

SAFETY-*AND LIABILITY-**
CRITICAL DEVICES
© Gettyimages

Macrosegment characteristics 47
Industrial landscape 48
Receiver capabilities 49
Receiver form factor 50
Drivers and trends 51
E-GNSS added value 61

* S afety-critical devices are

defined as those for which
misperformance of GNSS
can lead to potential direct
or indirect harm to humans
(death or injury), destruction
of the carrier vehicle, damage
to external properties or
to the environment.

** Liability-critical devices
are defined as those for
which undetected GNSS
misperformance can result in
significant legal or economic
consequences.
 MACROSEGMENT CHARACTERISTICS GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 47

INTEGRITY REIGNS SUPREME EVEN AS APPLICATIONS DEMAND INCREASED ACCURACY

Characterisation of the transport safety- and liability-critical devices
macrosegment The key performance parameters for this macrosegment are:
This macrosegment covers receiver technology for safety- and liability-critical applica- 1. Integrity: In safety-critical applications, specifically alerting if accuracy limits are exceeded is essential to
tions in aviation, maritime, rail and road transportation. These sectors utilise mature avoid catastrophic events (including loss of life). In liability-critical applications, integrity is paramount to
technology built in accordance with rigorous standards and often subject to certifica- avoid incorrect application of charges or fines.
tion, driving a need for similar levels of performance. These segments, however, also
2. Continuity: It is important to ensure that the application is successfully delivered. For example in aviation, a
exhibit different technical constraints based upon their operational environments,
loss of navigation during a procedure will result in abandoning the procedure. Liability-critical applications
which can impose unique requirements.
need continuity in order to ensure records are valid and there are no adverse economic impacts.
Critical to improvements across all domains, that often support increased automa-
3. Robustness: Whilst jamming (particularly self-jamming in the case of liability-critical applications) can
tion, is the ability to track vehicles in a traffic management system. Increasingly this
disable applications, and spoofing (including self-spoofing) could introduce serious safety or liability risks,
is delivered through an integrated communications, tracking and navigation super-
unintentional RF interference (e.g. man-made or solar-induced) can cause serious disruption of services.
system, with the vehicle at the centre reporting its own location. This places addi-
tional requirements on time synchronisation. Examples include ADS-B in aviation, 4. Accuracy: An increasing number of applications are required to operate within denser populated envi-
AIS in maritime, V2X systems in road and ERTMS in rail. This continues to require an ronments, requiring high performance accuracy, so this parameter is becoming a higher priority for the
always-available positioning system, with integrity, continuity, and robustness macrosegment.
of paramount importance, and demand increasing accuracy to support new appli-
5. Availability: Applications need to be able to function at any point in time and across large geographical
cations. GNSS receiver technology, as part of a tightly coupled suite of sensors, is at
areas, with lower dependence on infrastructure and weather conditions.
the heart of this supersystem – including provision of timing to support transport
infrastructure, which is discussed in detail in the chapter on timing solutions.
Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs) including phone applications and smart watches Safety-and Liability-Critical Devices Key Performance Parameters
are increasingly being used within the leisure aviation and maritime markets for
moving maps or chart plotters, bringing benefits of better integrated communica- Key Performance Parameter (KPP)* Safety - and Liability- Critical Devices
tion, tracking and navigation. These devices, however, rely on the availability of high- Accuracy
volume (mass market) technology, and as such are discussed more extensively within
the ‘high-volume devices’ chapter of this report. The lower price point and refresh Availability
rate of technical improvements enabled by the use of such high-volume chips, bring
Continuity
additional benefits when integrated within both aviation and maritime consumer
products to support safety-critical applications. As robustness, reliability and accuracy Indoor penetration
of these devices has improved, this has led to development of applications with lower
Integrity
deployment costs, allowing safety benefits and supporting Search and Rescue (SAR).
Latency
Key performance parameters* Power consumption**
Assurance is the keyword for safety-critical systems. Before entering into service/ Robustness
operation, any application must be approved, based on suitable assurances that the
overall system (which includes processes, people and procedures as well as equip- Time-To-First-Fix (TTFF)
ment) will be safe. This invariably pivots on the confidence in the navigation or posi-
tioning performance, which must be established before commercial operations are High priority     Medium priority     Low priority
deployed. * The Key Performance Parameters are defined in Annex 3
** Power consumption could be critical for aerial drones
48 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE

THE MATURE TRANSPORT SECTORS ARE STEADILY MOVING TO INCREASED RELIANCE ON GNSS FOR
FUTURE APPLICATIONS
LEADING COMPONENT MANUFACTURERS Receiver industry The regulatory environment of safety-critical value
chains continues to be influenced by large innovators
The receiver industry in this segment is characterised by little
BROADCOM North America broadcom.com
change in the companies that are active. The characteristics The macrosegment is divided into domains with specific
COBHAM Europe cobham.com historically have been focused on developing receivers that regulatory, certification, and operational frameworks. Each
meet high certification requirements governing environ- domain has its own regulatory and standards bodies, and key
COLLINS AEROSPACE North America collinsaerospace.com mental interference, software performance, and fall back players tend to integrate vertically up and down the value
procedures – especially given GNSS’s criticality to positioning chain rather than horizontally. Sector expertise and reputa-
DJI Asia-Pacific dji.com
of aircraft and marine vessels. tion override economies of scale for these sectors, where the
ECA Europe ecagroup.com priority on safety means that the cost of specialised products
This regulatory hurdle also means that innovation and adop-
can be accommodated.
ESTERLINE North America esterline.com tion of new technologies will tend to lag behind other sectors,
until standards are updated and manufacturers are able to This is being challenged by the performance of new chips
FURUNO Asia-Pacific furuno.com develop new products that comply with the new standards. incorporated into new low-cost products or targeted at the
As such, the path to market has been difficult for new entrants. drone industry. At present, the drone industry is a dominant
GARMIN North America garmin.com
influencer in the regulatory environment. The promise of
Each of the transport sectors has depended on a plethora of
GMT Asia-Pacific gmtc-global.kr significant investment and the potential for spillover tech-
different systems, but increasingly there is now dependence
nologies from other users make this a novel area for testing
HEXAGON AB* Europe hexagon.com on GNSS for the highest levels of performance, whilst integra-
new approaches to regulation and approving operations
tion with sector-specific solutions is maintained. Increased
dependent on GNSS capabilities.
HONEYWELL North America honeywell.com automation also depends on information sharing and data
being passed about own position and intentions. The rapid This promise is, however, constrained by the continuation of
JRC Asia-Pacific jrc.co.jp developments in mass-market segments are being utilised historical approaches whereby regulators assess and adapt
KONGSBERG Europe kongsberg.com by new entrants especially within drones and lower cost to these new developments, e.g. by adjusting existing frame-
aviation, and are challenging the traditional approach that works with new proposals to reap potential benefits.
MEDIATEK Asia-Pacific mediatek.com requires certification to support safety-critical applications.
Given the challenges that changes in frameworks can have
NAVICO Europe navico.com New entrants are firmly targeting the lower cost and less for all users, the industry is finding that the new innovators
regulated areas of this sector, by using new approaches to can be useful collaborators to help shape future regulations,
OROLIA Europe orolia.com ensure safety in the absence of certification, e.g. through tech- and to enable them to support the adoption of innovative
QUALCOMM North America qualcomm.com niques such as Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA) technologies within safety-critical environments. This moves
for drones. As some automotive chips themselves adopt standards and specifications to focus on addressing perfor-
SEPTENTRIO Europe septentrio.com certification standards, this will aid the momentum toward mance, requirements in which GNSS becomes a key compo-
their integration and mitigate the inherently high develop- nent. This is being seen now in the development of standards
STMICROELECTRONICS Europe st.com ment costs, long life cycles, and corresponding technology and the finalisation of sector specific requirements covering
THALES AVIONICS Europe thalesgroup.com obsolescence, as shorter lifecycles are adopted. Dual-Frequency Multi-Constellation (DFMC) receivers. This
is also supported by the European Commission and a key
TRIMBLE North America trimble.com component in the SESAR ATM Masterplan.
U-BLOX Europe u-blox.com
Note: This list does not include system and terminal integrators, and therefore some key industry players
may not appear in the list.
* Includes LEICA and NOVATEL
 RECEIVER CAPABILITIES GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 49

STANDARDS DICTATE THE GNSS CAPABILITIES THAT CAN BE USED IN THE SAFETY-CRITICAL MARKET

Overcoming regulatory hurdles

For genuine safety-critical applications, certification is required. Current regulations Frequency capability of GNSS receivers1 Constellation capability of GNSS receivers2
and standards only mandate use of GPS, meaning that GPS-only receivers are still
in the majority. SBAS continues to be essential in delivering the required integrity 100% 100%
and as such is included in the majority of receiver models. One of the reasons for
the slower acceptance of other GNSS signals could be linked to integrity require- 80% 80%
ments. The augmentation of GNSS signals through SBAS, and other technique now 60% 60%
in development such as ARAIM, are leading to acceptance of augmented GNSS as
a suitable means of compliance in all sectors. The adoption of newer GNSS con- 40% 40%
stellations and related systems and techniques within this sector has often been
20% 20%
linked to regulatory progress due to safety requirements.
DFMC (Dual-Frequency, Multi-Constellation) standards, in combination with rapidly 0% 0%
L1 L2 E5 E6

ou

eo

SS

AS
maturing road, rail, and drone safety-critical applications are set to transform this

AS

GP

vI

QZ
lil
iD

SB
Na
ON
Ga
Be
picture, and are the next anticipated development within the sector. Safety-critical

GL
applications, particularly those with higher levels of automation, are increasingly
1
shows the percentage of receivers supporting each frequency band 2
shows the percentage of receivers capable of tracking
each constellation
demanding higher accuracy, combined with the traditional priorities of integrity and
robustness. This is required as a result of the environments in which they will need
to operate. As standards are updated, regulatory processes will be able to adapt
and industry will follow with updated certified GNSS receivers supporting DFMC. Supported frequencies by GNSS receivers3 Supported constellations by GNSS receivers4
Autonomous driving provides a case in point where the stringent regulatory
90% 70%
environment of aviation and maritime has not limited adoption in the same way.
80% 60%
The operational environment is also completely different to these mature safe- 70%
ty-critical sectors, and so are the standards and system requirements. As a result, 50%
60%
bespoke receiver architectures are being developed and tested. Naturally these 50% 40%
architectures take advantage of DFMC, as well as integrating other sensors directly 40% 30%
into the PVT solution. 30%
20%
20%
Liability-critical applications have more freedom to utilise DFMC capabilities and 10% 10%
have done so for some time, but only account for a small percentage of the receiver 0% 0%
models available. The use of DFMC (or even more frequencies) receivers for non- 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
safety applications within these domains adds pressure to reform standards to L1 only L1+L2 L1+E5 GPS only GPS + Galileo
exploit their capabilities. L1+L2+E5 All frequencies GPS + GLONASS GPS + BeiDou
GPS + Galileo + GLONASS GPS + Galileo + BeiDou
Safety-critical receivers for the rail industry are still only in the development stage, GPS + GLONASS + BeiDou All
as standards are in development at the time of writing. As a result they do not 3
shows the percentage of receivers capable of tracking 1, 2, 3 4
shows the percentage of receivers capable of tracking 1, 2, 3
or all the 4 frequencies or all 4 global constellations
contribute to the statistics.

Disclaimer: The above charts reflect manufacturers’ publicly available claims regarding product capabilities, and judgement on the domains to which they are applicable.
Use in actual applications may vary due to issues such as certification, implementation in the end user product, and software/firmware configuration.
50 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 RECEIVER FORM FACTOR

REGULATION AND CERTIFICATION FOCUS RECEIVERS ON INTEGRITY

Typical state-of-the-art receiver capabilities for the transport safety- and liability-critical devices macrosegment Traditionally, receivers utilised in this sector have been subject to high
levels of regulation and certification. GNSS receivers have become a
Features Aviation Maritime Automotive critical component of electronic systems supporting each element that
Number of channels 12-100+ 12-100+ 32-52 drives high levels of performance (integrity and accuracy), and the ability
Code/ Phase processing Code and carrier phase Code and carrier phase Code and carrier phase to maintain this accuracy in the event of system faults. For example, the
Doppler latest certified airborne receivers are able to track 100+ GNSS satellite
Constellations/ Signals GPS L1 GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, signals in addition to SBAS channels, support the latest in area naviga-
QZSS, NavIC QZSS, NavIC tion and surveillance specifications and include features such as RAIM
Sensitivity (typical) -135 dBm acquisition -130 dBm acquisition -147 dBm acquisition and augmentation. There continues to be a push for dual-frequency to
-140 dBm tracking -135 dBm tracking -162 dBm tracking improve resilience.
Multipath rejection Usually yes Not documented Usually yes The same drive for certification and approval exists in the maritime world,
techniques but the requirements were linked predominantly to the performance
SBAS/ A-GNSS readiness SBAS (E)TSO 145/146 SBAS supported (non-safety SBAS supported (non-safety of of navigation aids in ports and coastal waters where there would be
of life) life)/A-GNSS supported reception of DGNSS solutions. Standards for GNSS with SBAS receivers
Receiver connectivity Per ARINC 429 RS422/ NMEA 0183/ NMEA2000 for maritime use have lagged compared to aviation, which is why the
GSA, EC, ESA and ESSP have drafted ‘Guidelines for the use of SBAS in
TTFF Cold Start: <75s Cold Start: <60 to 120s Cold Start: <33s maritime receivers’ within RTCM to foster this adoption, and support
Warm Start: <30s Warm Start: <30s Warm Start: <30s
standardisation activities for SBAS receivers in the maritime context.
Re-Acquisition: <3 to 10s Re-Acquisition: <1 to 10s Re-Acquisition: <1s
Horizontal accuracy (95%) GNSS: 5 – 15m GNSS: 2.5 – 13m GNSS: 2.5 – 13m There is still an absence of mature GNSS receiver specifications for rail, and
DGNSS: N/A DGNSS: 0.3 – 5m DGNSS: 0.3 – 0.5m hence they cannot be presented in the table opposite. The operational
SBAS: 3m SBAS: 2 – 8m SBAS: 2 – 8m and environmental aspects in rail pose unique challenges compared
Vertical accuracy (95%) GNSS: 10 – 20m GNSS: 4 – 20 m GNSS: 4 – 20 m with aviation and maritime. Reception of GNSS is challenged by terrain,
DGNSS: N/A DGNSS: 0.5 – 7.5 m DGNSS: 0.5 – 7.5 m and operation in close proximity to buildings, tunnels, and deep cul-
SBAS: 4m SBAS: 3 – 12 m SBAS: 3 – 12 m verts. These limit the line of sight and the number of satellites in view,
Antenna External External External and hence the availability of GNSS signals with the timeliness required
Standards & Certification DO-229D, DO-245, IEC60945, 61108-1/2/3/4, AEC-Q100 to support all safety applications. The availability of SBAS and DFMC
DO-246, DO-208 61162-1/3, 62288, ISO16750 receiver specifications is expected to improve the performance from a
DO-178C/ED-12C, NMEA0183/2000, RTCM SC104 ISO26262 ASIL rail perspective and is the subject of ongoing research and development.
DO-254/ED-80, USCG or Wheelmark (EC MED)
Both road and rail will benefit from the ongoing developments and
DO-160/ED-14G,
DO-253/ED-88, ED-114A, tight coupling of multi-frequency GNSS receiver technologies within the
ARINC743 high-volume chipsets supporting the trends in automation. Particularly
(E)TSO C115/129/145/146 important as part of this evolution is the coupling of navigation and
Form Factor Complete unit conforming to Complete unit with built-in or Receiver Chip or Module communication capabilities. This coupling benefits all domains in the
standard (e.g. 2 MCU) External remote CDU & Ext. Antenna sector, including surveillance and communication applications where
Antenna Remote CDU Alt. ‘Smart Antenna’ incl. the integration with 5G positioning could be envisaged for drones,
receiver with remote CDU road, in and around airports, and in coastal regions. This future usage
Others Internal Radiobeacon DGNSS May include up to 6 axis mems of multi-frequency receivers will achieve significant improvements in
receiver measurement and positioning accuracy, preceded by applications not
Disclaimer: The above table provides the typical capabilities of a GNSS receiver based on manufacturers’ published literature for their latest products. Consequently discrepancies may exist between
requiring the full oversight of regulation, and so benefiting from the
the installed receivers’ characteristics and those stated above. evolution in capabilities of mass market chipsets.
 DRIVERS AND TRENDS GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 51

FOCUS ON DFMC STANDARDISATION

DFMC Receiver Standardisation
EDG²E: Equipment for dualfrequency Galileo GPS and EGNOS
The deployment of new constellations with additional signals and frequencies led to the realisation
that these could be coupled with the existing core constellations of GPS and GLONASS, introducing DFMC standardisation projects, such as EDG²E, have been funded by
the technological concept of Dual-Frequency, Multi-Constellation (DFMC). From a general point the GSA in order to accelerate the introduction of DFMC within the
of view, a DFMC receiver will acquire more lines of sight (i.e. more satellites) when using several GNSS community.
constellations, and benefit from two separate frequency links to each satellite, improving over-
EDG²E intends to develop a dual-frequency multi-constellation receiver,
all availability, accuracy and robustness. The availability of multi-constellation will also provide
enabling enhanced navigation capabilities, support standardisation, and certification prepara-
considerable benefit for receivers that are working in severely obstructed environments, often
tion. It targets applications across aviation, rail and drones.
masking satellite signals.
It is a two-phase project:
Galileo is expected to achieve its Full Operational Capacity shortly. GPS is expected to complete its
incorporation of L5 later, by 2027 according to current (2020) plans. This implies that full EGNOS 1. Phase 1 ended in 2019 and included the development of a software prototype using raw
DFMC performance will not be available before 2027 at best. Earlier service milestones may offer data (measurements and navigation data bits), computing the positioning solution in the
reduced levels of DFMC service for some user communities including for aviation, if intermediate different integrity solutions (RAIM/FDE, SBAS L1 and SBAS DFMC) according to the standards
commitments are published for GPS L5 performance prior to Full Operational Capacity. developed by EUROCAE WG-62 (ED-259). The software was designed to be compliant with
the hardware platform developed in Phase 2.
As far as SBAS is concerned, SBAS DFMC will enable augmentation of up to four constellations on
both the L1 and L5 frequencies. In Europe, next generation EGNOS v3, from version v3.2, will intro- 2. Phase 2 will end in 2021 and is developing the full GPS / Galileo / SBAS dual-frequency
duce this concept of DFMC and will augment both GPS and Galileo, resulting in more satellites in prototype, integrating the software modules developed in phase 1, complemented by new
use. SBAS DFMC will improve accuracy compared to legacy SBAS enabling lower protection levels functionalities such as the H-ARAIM/FDE capability. Once the verification phase is completed,
(contingency levels), and thus more stringent operations could be carried out in maritime (at port flight tests will be carried out with the prototype allowing raw data to be stored for further
entrances when traffic is denser), in aviation and in rail. Also with the use of two frequencies, SBAS post-processing replay.
DFMC will be more robust to interference, jamming, and ionospheric perturbations. The same
Further information is available at: gnss-edge.eu
applies to the application of DFMC to other augmentations such as ARAIM and GBAS, which are
discussed in more detail on page 55.
Currently GPS and Galileo SBAS DFMC is being standardised by ICAO, EUROCAE and RTCA, with
joint activity between EUROCAE WG-62 and RTCA SC-159 WG2 on DFMC SBAS Minimum Opera-
tional Performance Standards (MOPS). At ICAO, the DFMC SBAS SARPs sub-group has produced a
DFMC SBAS technical baseline approved in NSP/5 (Navigation System Panel) in November 2018.
The objective is to have complete validation of the DFMC SBAS SARPs by the end of 2020, so that
they are effective from 2022. At EUROCAE, WG-62 is now working on an updated MOPS to define
the minimum requirements for GPS / Galileo SBAS DFMC receivers. The first version of the MOPS,
ED-259, was released in February 2019 with its update available for consultation from the end of 2020.
52 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 DRIVERS AND TRENDS

SEARCH AND RESCUE NOW BENEFITS FROM GALILEO RETURN LINK SERVICE (RLS)
RLS operational capacity RLS compatible product offerings
The Galileo Return Link Service (RLS) was declared operational on 21 January 2020. The service, a joint effort Due to the recent introduction of the Galileo RLS, the number of
between Cospas-Sarsat and the Galileo programme, is free of charge, and available to all Cospas-Sarsat RLS-com- compatible SAR distress beacons available is still limited. Orolia
patible beacons. The Galileo satellites are able to pick up emergency signals emitted from distress beacons at a Maritime is the only manufacturer to have released a Galileo RLS
frequency of 406 MHz and transmit a Return Link Message (RLM) signal back to the beacon through the Galileo Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) for aviation and maritime use. Orolia
Navigation Message (I/NAV E1). have worked closely with the GSA on the Galileo RLS project, and
were therefore selected as the lead on development of the next
The availability of the Galileo RLS is equally of benefit to both the aviation and maritime sectors. The IMO estab-
generation of SAR distress beacons. As such, the FastFind Return
lished in 1988 the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), with the intention of allowing vessels
Link PLB is the first PLB of its type on the market. In addition, under
to be able to send and receive maritime safety information at all times. This reached operational status by 1997.
the Helios project funded by the GSA, Orolia is developing and has
Such a system did not exist for aviation, leading to calls to establish an equivalent given the length of time taken
successfully tested EPIRB and ELTs with RLS.
to locate aircraft after air disasters such as AF 447 or MH 370. The result was the establishment of the ICAO Global
Aeronautical Distress and Safety System (GADSS). Under the current aircraft tracking standards and recommended Several other developments are being supported by the GSA through the H2020
practices (SARPs), aircraft under normal flight conditions need to be tracked every 15 minutes. The latest update of and Fundamental Elements programmes, including manufacturers such as ACR
ICAO Annex 6 requires autonomous position reporting every minute when the aircraft is in distress. The standard Artex, ECA Aerospace, Syrlinks, Marine Rescue Technologies, Ocean Signal and
for the distress tracking element of GADSS is planned for implementation by January 2023. Mobit Telecom.

Galileo SAR infrastructure

There are two high level dimensions to the Galileo SAR infrastructure. These consist of service facilities and a core TAUCETI:
infrastructure consisting of space and ground assets. The space elements of the Galileo SAR consists of 24 Medium Next generation
Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites arranged in three orbital planes. These satellites are fitted with SAR repeater instru- Survival ELT (ELT-S)
ments, enabling them to receive distress signals at 406 MHz, and to retransmit them in the L-band at 1544.1 MHz. The TAUCETI project, lead by Orolia, aims at providing a new range of Survival
The ground dimension of the Galileo SAR is extensive and consists of numerous interoperable components. These ELT (ELT-S) for large aircraft cabin crew, and for life rafts equipped onboard
can be broadly grouped into two segments: aeroplanes or helicopters, integrating Galileo SAR RLS.
The project is defining and developing distress beacons that are compatible with
1.     Forward Link service comprising three multiple GNSS constellations and meet the latest end-user requirements. The
Galileo SAR within MEOSAR Medium Earth Orbit Local User Terminal project also includes GNSS & SAR system validation in the field. Certifications
(MEOLUT) facilities which track the Gali- for the new Ultima-S range include:
leo satellites in view, and detect beacon
distress alert messages. • Medium Earth Orbit Search And Rescue (MEOSAR) Cospas-Sarsat compatibility;
GPS-III Glonass Galileo
• Navigation Satellite System constellations, including Galileo GNSS naviga-
2.    Return Link service which is facilitated
tion data;
through the Cospas-Sarsat French Mis-
sion Control Centre and the ground • Compatible with legacy LEO- and GEOSAR satellites;
406 Mhz RLS FLS
mission segment of Galileo, and uplinks • Optional Galileo RLS automatic acknowledgment service.
Distress
Beacon return link messages to the Galileo sat- The project is moving forward towards mature and certified products in 2021,
ellites. which will be the first Galileo capable equipment serving the needs of the SAR
Galileo community and aviation industry onboard a civil aircraft.
Return Link
Service
Provider
Further information is available at: tauceti-gsa-project.eu.
RCC Meolut / MCC
 DRIVERS AND TRENDS GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 53

E-GNSS SUPPORTS GLOBAL MONITORING FOR SAFETY AND SURVEILLANCE

In addition to the global monitoring supporting maritime and aviation from a distress perspective,
the use of satellite assets coupled with GNSS to support surveillance is increasing in importance f.u.n.k.e. AVIONICS provides affordable
and is seen as one possible route to support monitoring of drones. The distinction between the GNSS-based surveillance products for General Aviation
services provided by GMDSS and GADSS and that of a surveillance system is the continuous and
Similar to road traffic, air traffic in low altitudes is self-organized by
real-time aspects of the surveillance system, which can continuously monitor GNSS position
the pilots on the ‘see and be seen’ principle. While airliners are separated by air traffic control
reports from space.
using radar technology and instrument flight procedures, all visual flights rely on detection
For several years there have been initiatives in both maritime and aviation that enable the broadcast and avoidance based on visual contact between the traffic participants. Observation through
of position, track and speed information from vessels and aircraft. The technologies are similar in the cockpit window, however, is not always sufficient to ensure detection of all nearby traffic.
intent to the Automatic Identification System (AIS) for maritime and Automatic Dependent Surveil- Expensive GNSS-based traffic alert and collision avoidance solutions are available for the air
lance Broadcast (ADS-B) for aviation. The monitoring of the different AIS and ADS-B signals from transport sector, but such products are too expensive for many General Aviation participants,
space already exists, with examples from MarineTraffic.com and more recently the official launch a sector which is dominated by private aircraft and aeroclubs.
of the Aerion Alert service on 9 July 2019, following the earlier successful operational launch of
f.u.n.k.e. AVIONICS has developed and offers a low-cost, portable device called PlaneSight,
its service with ANSPs.
which uses standard GNSS technology (multi-constellation and SBAS enabled) and combines
Satellite based position monitoring requires full power transmissions from the ground. The improved this with a radio transceiver on the 1090 MHz transponder frequency in one product. PlaneSight
performance, low cost and DFMC capability of mass market chipsets however is leading to a prolif- permanently measures its position and sends it to the surrounding air traffic as ADS-B messages
eration of lower cost GNSS receivers, and ADS-B receivers and transmitters targeting drones, sport, on 1090 MHz to make itself ‘be seen’ by other aircraft. Likewise it receives ADS-B messages on
general aviation and rotorcraft communities with lower power output settings (e.g. <25 watts 1090 MHz from nearby aircraft and depicts them on an internal or external map display so that
compared with 120 watts in certified products) – including that proposed by f.u.n.k.e Avionics the pilot can ‘see’ all relevant traffic around the actual position. Such devices have been proved
opposite – as well as innovations on form factor and installation scenarios. The lower output so far to support threat detection and collision avoidance in the SESAR JU GAINS project in 2019,
may mean that they are undetectable from a spaced-based ADS-B service such as that provided clearly demonstrating that GNSS is contributing to achieve the objectives of a ‘Single European
by Aerion and alternative solutions need to be found. Sky’. The PlaneSight product contributes to promote the broad use of this safety enhancing
technology ‘for everyone’.
As the quality and performance of these lower cost products means they will be used on an
increasing basis to support reductions in ground infrastructure, greater dependency on GNSS for
surveillance and monitoring is expected.

Testimonial provided by the company

54 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 DRIVERS AND TRENDS

AUTHENTICATION: A USEFUL TOOL TO PROTECT PNT AGAINST SPOOFING

GNSS spoofing occurs when a fake GNSS signal is transmitted to fool the receiver to believe it is in The European Commission is exploring the possibility of improving the security of SBAS navigation
a different position. Authentication methods can be used to verify the source of GNSS navigation data (and signals) through the SPARC project launched under the H2020 Framework Programme,
message data. Alongside the availability of more frequencies through DFMC, this makes GNSS led by Qascom and managed by the GSA. The primary objective of SPARC is to identify how to
more resilient to spoofing attempts. The addition of authentication data within the main Galileo authenticate SBAS messages, and potentially those GNSS constellations SBAS augments, direct from
messages provides a way for the end user to verify that the received signal is from a genuine the satellite. Currently four technical solutions for the authentication scheme are being studied.
source, and not a spoofed signal. This does not prevent a spoofing attack from occurring, but it One solution will transmit authentication messages on the L5-I channel, whereas the other three
does enable it to be detected. Within the Transport and Safety Liability Critical sector, authenticity will broadcast on the L5-Q channel.
of PNT becomes more and more critical with increasing levels of automation. This applies across
all sectors, and increases the reliance on other communication links that might be used to support
the decision-making process.

Galileo authentication DRACONAV: a breakthrough

technology to secure GNSS
The European Commission is committed to adding authentication as an enhanced feature of Galileo,
for Open Service (OS-NMA), and for the CAS (Commercial Authentication Service), to enable the GNSS jamming and spoofing are now
receiver to clearly identify spoofed signals and protect end users. The main complexity of GNSS common threats with the potential for severe impacts on several critical segments of the
authentication lies in the broadcast nature of the signals. This means that the authentication of wider economy and on daily lives. The DRACONAV secure GNSS module has been developed
the GNSS signal depends on protection at the satellite end (through encryption or other secure to combat these threats and mitigate their effects, particularly for applications requiring trust,
mechanisms) and a test on the authenticity of the received signal on the receiver end. involving financial transactions, or where reputation and privacy are at stake. This encompasses
road tolling, insurance telematics, smart mobility, logistics, smart digital tachographs but will
also include critical infrastructure network synchronisation, rail operations, and autonomous
SBAS authentication
vehicles in the coming years.
A preliminary concept of operations for SBAS Authentication has been agreed and a small task force
Fully integrated and with several advanced algorithms protecting against GNSS spoofing and
set up in October 2019 to finalise SBAS Authentication for the 3rd meeting of the GNSS Sub-Working
jamming, the DRACONAV module offers end-to end security in a format that is autonomous and
Group (GSWG) of the ICAO Navigation System Panel (NSP).
simple to integrate. The DRACONAV module provides a level of confidence by indicating the
The main issue to be solved in the coming months is whether SBAS authenticated data will follow trustworthiness of each computed PVT output, and implements security features compliant with
the scheme ‘authenticate then use’ or ‘use then authenticate’. The impact on SBAS continuity, REGULATION (EU) No 165/2014 ANNEX I C related to smart digital tachograph. With a compact
availability and integrity of performance is at stake. Indeed, introducing authentication for SBAS form factor (22.8 x 21.6 x 3.1 mm), DRACONAV can track several constellations simultaneously
data streams could delay the use of SBAS messages and have an impact upon stringent operations (GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, QZSS, BeiDou and SBAS) and supports dead reckoning using embed-
that require low Time To Alert (TTA). ded 6‐axis gyrometers and accelerometers, odometers, or via the CAN bus interface (when
embedded in a vehicle). Module outputs are delivered to the application via ISO 7816 secure
and/or UART interfaces.
DRACONAV is the first product range of ICaune, a start-up spe-
cialised in secure sensors for critical applications. Its unique and
powerful hardware and firmware is the result of several years of
R&D. The prototype development has been supported by the
European GNSS Agency under the H2020 FOSTER ITS project.
For more information on DRACONAV: icaune.com
 DRIVERS AND TRENDS GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 55

AUGMENTATION TO ENSURE INTEGRITY AND ACCURACY OF CRITICAL PNT ACROSS ALL SECTORS
GNSS satellites signals can be critically delayed when crossing the ionospheric layer that is located at an altitude between 80 Advanced Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (ARAIM)
to 800 kilometres. If electromagnetic signals hit the free electrons that move within this dense layer, the overall delay from
ARAIM attempts to estimate an upper boundary for GNSS ranging
this perturbation can range from a few metres to several tens of metres. The capability to account for this delay as well as
errors, which in turn translate to positioning errors. It is being developed
other sources of GNSS error is essential across all transport domains. The use of augmentation is a critical tool to enable the
within the aviation context, where GNSS is currently the only means of
end receivers to provide Position, Velocity and Time (PVT) information at the required integrity and accuracy to support all
supporting certain operations. The potential benefits of ARAIM however
applications. Various types of augmentation and applications are in use and under development to account for these issues.
extend beyond aviation and are equally applicable to the maritime and
In the following paragraphs we focus on two such systems in particular; namely GBAS and ARAIM.
rail communities. Users in both segments typically operate in areas
where they are unable to receive signals from land-based augmentation
Ground-based augmentation for aviation and maritime systems. ARAIM is therefore considered as part of a more complex inte-
grated solution with multi-sensor fusion, also in autonomous vehicles.
Ground-Based Augmentation Systems (GBASs) are regarded as highly accurate systems and are a modernised development
of older DGNSS concepts tuned to address the needs of the aviation community. GBAS consist of two types, referred to as The EU-US WGC ARAIM technical sub-group has provided several reports
GBAS Approach Service Type (GAST) and addressing single (GAST-D) and dual (GAST-F) frequencies, respectively. Currently detailing its vision of an evolution of the ICAO Aircraft-Based Augmen-
only GAST-D stations have been standardised, which allows for a final user GBAS corrected position residual error of one tation System (ABAS) RAIM implementation in a DFMC context. This
metre. This allows for aviation CAT I minima at best. ABAS evolution is referred to as ARAIM. The main objective of the ARAIM
activity is to determine an appropriate airborne integrity monitoring
Ionospheric disturbance errors are the main contributor to the final residual error, however, and can sometimes be difficult to
algorithm to sustain ABAS/RAIM operations with the introduction of
correct for. This applies particularly in the case of scintillation phenomena occurring mainly at high and low latitudes, during
additional constellations (Galileo, BeiDou) and frequencies (L1 and E5),
which ionospheric gradients can arise. With the emergence of Galileo and the design of new signals on L1/E1 and on L5/E5,
along with maintaining maximum operational benefits.
a new concept GBAS GAST-F (i.e. GBAS DFMC) is being developed.
Standardised RAIM algorithms as currently integrated into aircraft pro-
Indeed, GBAS that provide augmentation to Galileo and GPS on L1 and on E5 signals could have the potential to overcome
vide integrity monitoring capabilities which sustain RNP 0.3 NM and
strong ionospheric perturbations and improve aviation minima.
Non-Precision Approach operations. The modernised ARAIM concept
The ionosphere is a dispersivemedium, meaning that two frequenciescrossing the layer will get two different delays. This takes advantage of the new constellations and the iono-free solution
enables a DFMC receiver to estimatethe ionospheric error precisely and mitigate it. from two frequencies. ARAIM is targeting for horizontal service (H-ARAIM)
RNP 0.1, and for vertical service (V-ARAIM) a CAT I precision approach
In early 2018, the International Association
(also known as LPV 200) at a global level.
of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Illustration of GBAS DFMC advantage
Authorities (IALA) published ‘Guidelines G-1129 ARAIM standardisation is at an early stage with prototyping ongoing
on the Retransmission of SBAS Corrections for GPS and Galileo; nevertheless, the third version of the draft ARAIM
using MF Radio beacon and AIS’. The guidelines, Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) was circulated during
drafted in conjunction with the GSA, provide Ionospheric GSWG/3 (GNSS Sub Working Group).
information for any maritime authority to Spatial Gradient
The main issue to be addressed lies in the standardisation of the Integrity
implement SBAS information as the source of
Ionosphere Support Message (ISM), which is a channel that broadcasts messages
corrections to be transmitted by their shore
containing parameters such as the probability of satellite failure or of
infrastructure, either IALA radio beacons or AIS
constellation failure. This information is used in the computation of
stations. Following a successful GSA pilot pro- Corrections &
Integrity messages protection levels. As there will be a dedicated ISM per constellation, the
ject EGNOSforATON, six countries have already
GBAS ICAO need to have a consolidated version of core constellation SARPs and
implemented retransmission of EGNOS correc- Reference confirmation that the performance commitments published in the core
tions using either IALA beacons or AIS stations Station
constellation specifications are firm prior to freezing requirements for
(France, Spain, Germany, Hungary, Latvia and Runway the ISM. Work is ongoing with the development of the Minimum Oper-
Estonia) to date.
ational Performance Standards (MOPS) and will continue beyond 2020.
56 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 DRIVERS AND TRENDS

DRONE REGULATIONS AND LARGE DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS SUGGEST INCREASED INTEGRATION

Regulations beginning to enable the market further
E-GNSS aids safe integration of unmanned
Since GNSS User Technology report issue 2, regulations EU 2019/947 and EU 2019/945 have defined aircraftin very low-level airspace
the rules and procedures for operations of unmanned aircraft and the technical requirements for
drones operating within the EU, respectively. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) As unmanned air traffic increases exponentially, maintaining safety is of paramount importance.
intends to support the drone industry by fostering particularly open and specific categories of E-GNSS offers accuracy, reliability and integrity for drone flights operations. The Unmanned
drones, with EU Member States implementing the rules specified under these regulations. The Traffic Management (UTM) system displays tracking data in real-time.
requirement for Direct Remote Identification under EU 2019/945 could impose a performance
Leading UTM provider Unifly contributes to several ambitious E-GNSS projects for the GSA and
requirement on GNSS signals relating to positioning of a drone in the air.
ESA in 2020. The TRACE project, funded by GSA Aviation grants, develops an EGNOS-based smart
As of September 2020, January 2021 is the official deadline for Member States to implement these beacon to fulfil requirements for drones. It integrates real-time positioning, Line of Sight (LOS)
new EU rules. In order to better understand these complex rules, EASA issued Guidance Material communication and anti-collision lighting. The SUGUS project promotes the use of EGNOS and
(GM) and Acceptable Means of Compliance (AMC) in October 2019. Meanwhile EASA has published Galileo (E-GNSS) in the drone services market.
‘Standard Scenarios’ which enable UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) Operators to simply declare an
aerial operation with low risks to their civil aviation authority, rather than submitting and waiting
for approval.
This is expected to have a major impact on the EU drone market, supporting the diversity of ser-
vices on offer and builds on the EC initiative to develop Urban Air Mobility (UAM). It represents
an opportunity for smart cities to solve urban congestion, reduce fossil energy consumption, and
benefit from the new regulations to boost Air Taxi, Air Metro and logistics by drones in major cit-
ies. As part of the integrated transport picture, this will also increase the demand of geolocation.

DELOREAN: Drones and E-GNSS for Unifly provides both projects with a UTM Broadcast Location and Identity platform (BLIP).
LOw aiRspacE urbAN mobility Project partners can prepare and validate their flights, monitor ongoing flights and integrate
the real-time tracking and e-identification information. The Unifly platform facilitates the
As of January 2020, the GSA is supporting the Delorean
operational use of E-GNSS by the operators as well as the situational awareness by aviation
Project which aims to test E-GNSS capabilities supporting future urban air services such as
authorities. Unifly’s BLIP enriches the UTM platform with location and identity information.
Urban Air Mobility, by developing experimental avionics that benefit from EGNOS and Galileo
BLIP complies with EU legislation and combines GNSS tracking and e-identification to support
differentiators. The project responds to user needs by providing innovative mobility solutions
the safe integration of unmanned aircraft. It transmits tracking data to the UTM platform over
as real alternatives to traffic congestion in urban environments.
the LTE 4G network. Remote identification, 3D location and take off position are broadcasted
The project will also develop an urban lab to facilitate testing of innovative mobility concepts via Bluetooth to the mobile app.
and is intended to contribute to the integration of E-GNSS in future standards and regulations
to support UAM.
Further information can be found at: pildo.com/approaching-the-future-urban-sky-with-the-
delorean-project. Testimonial provided by the company
 DRIVERS AND TRENDS GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 57

INTEGRATED NAVIGATION SOLUTIONS ARE KEY FOR ENABLING FULL AUTOMATION

Automation of marine vessels Hull 2 Hull
Autonomous Surface Vessels (ASV) are increasing in relevance and are at the
The Hull 2 Hull (H2H) project combines sensor information from
forefront of maritime technology. There are numerous factors involved for
LiDAR and IMU with the Galileo and EGNOS systems to generate
the successful implementation and operation of an autonomous maritime
digital models of the vessel and surrounding objects of interest, and to estimate the accuracy of the location and an
navigation system. This includes not only a suite of sensors and receivers,
‘uncertainty zone’ for each object.
such as cameras, radar, LIDAR, acoustic, INS and GNSS to provide safe posi-
tioning and situation awareness, but also suitable communication means These uncertainty zones are multi-band zones around the vessel or object of interest. When the uncertainty zones
for traffic management and remote control / operation of the vessels. This overlap, warnings are given to the navigator, as well as a suggested course of action. These warnings progressively
latter point is more critical on smaller vessels, where limitations in size, become more urgent, depending on the proximity and extent of the overlap.
weight and power can restrict the size of antenna carried, and therefore
The system was successfully tested and demonstrated in early and mid-2020 in three areas:
inhibit the extent to which they can communicate. One workaround for
specific tasks is edge computing, where mission-oriented processing and • Trondheimsfjorden in Norway, utilising two Kongsberg Seatex test vessels.
analysis is carried autonomously on-board and only processed information
• Kanaal van Leuven in Belgium consisting of two demonstrations: a lock passing, and docking. This demonstration
need to be transmitted.
utilised 1/8 scale models.
• Kanaal Dessel Kwaadmechelen in Belgium, where a barge was used to demonstrate auto-mooring capability.
Integration and benefits of an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)
Further information is available at: sintef.no/projectweb/hull-to-hull
GNSS will remain the primary source of position information on an autono-
mous or semi-autonomous vessel as this technology is seen as affordable,
accurate and reliable; also integration with augmentation sources removes
most of its vulnerabilities. Such augmentations, possibly including EGNOS
/ EDAS or coupling with IMU(s), are needed to enhance the accuracy and
integrity of vessel positioning.
A particularly important case of integration is the coupling of GNSS with
an IMU, which offers multiple benefits. It improves the overall navigation
system through the ability of the Inertial Navigation System (INS) to provide
position and velocity estimates at very fast rates and very low noise. In a
tightly coupled INS / GNSS system (see page 26), the combined perfor-
mance exceeds that of the individual components, permitting fewer than
four satellites to play a role in the final navigation solution. Furthermore,
an INS has the ability to provide additional automatic warnings that other
sensors, such as GNSS, have failed or are operating at reduced accuracy.
Such warnings add an extra layer of safety and integrity.

© Kongsberg
Finally, if there was a failure in the GNSS receiver or other infrastructure, an
IMU is entirely autonomous, and as such does not need to send or receive
signals that can be blocked or interfered with. Since INS suffers from dete-
rioration of accuracy and position drift over time, however, autonomous
operations can be maintained only for limited duration depending on the
quality (‘grade’) of the IMU and on the required accuracy for the operations.
58 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 DRIVERS AND TRENDS

RAILWAYS WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF TECHNOLOGICAL EVOLUTIONS FOR WIDER AND BETTER SERVICES
GNSS is currently used for railway services around the world When ready, the deployment of fail-safe GNSS-based solutions for positioning will contribute to
rail modernisation, increased maintenance efficiency, facilitate ERTMS deployment and reduce
The adoption of GNSS in rail is increasing all around the world. Rail users face similar challenges
overall costs for train signalling.
compared to other ground transportation modes; increasing requirements versus local effects
that reduce performance.
GNSS receiver use cases in safe applications
Railway needs can be classified into two groups depending on their safety requirements. For
non-safety relevant applications, stakeholders continue to equip their fleets with GNSS receivers The European rail stakeholders are continuing their efforts for GNSS introduction in the ERTMS.
utilising EGNOS/EDAS/multi-GNSS and Galileo OS-NMA to support improved supply chain visibility Virtual Balise Transmission System (VBTS) architecture has been developed, where a physical balise
for logistics service providers and their customers, traffic management performance, and passenger of the existing Eurobalise Transmission System is simulated by GNSS-based location. The architecture
information systems. defined in the Shift2Rail (X2Rail2) project, ensures availability and safety even in the presence of
local effects common to every land transportation system, with fault detection and exclusion (FDE)
Safety-critical applications mainly concern signalling and train control. Rail network topologies
mechanisms and RAIM-like algorithms. The GSA H2020 ERSAT GGC project developed a methodol-
and the rules applied for ensuring safe train circulation strongly differ depending on the continent.
ogy to characterise the local effects along a line as a tool for VBTS design. For further applications
Europe has developed the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) for a harmonised
and other train subsystems such as Automatic Train Protection (ATP), the ongoing work consists
system between countries, and the USA has developed Positive Train Control (PTC). Universally,
in developing a continuous, accurate and safe positioning solution, capable of providing travelled
rail traffic management consists in ensuring the circulation and safety of several trains along the
distance, speed and absolute position of the train.
same 1D route utilising train position data based on absolute location (e.g. by balises), plus a safety
distance measured with respect to the absolute location (by the odometer). The 1D operational
constraint generates very high performance requirements for positioning in terms of accuracy, but
even more so for integrity, because the only applicable procedure to avoid a potential accident is
ERSAT GGC
braking. These needs cannot currently be met solely by GNSS technology. For both safety-critical This project, which ended in November
and non-safety critical options, users face the lack of GNSS-related standards and specifications 2019, finalised a safety and hazard analysis
in terms of accuracy, integrity or safety assessment methodologies. The definition of rail receiver of the Enhanced ERTMS Architecture based on GNSS and proposed a methodology for Track
guidelines is a work in progress, with the continuing preparation for possible inclusion of EGNOS Survey and Track Classification. A procedure and associated toolset have been developed for the
augmentation functions in the upcoming evolution of ERTMS TSI in 2022. classification of track areas as suitable or not suitable for the Virtual Balise placement, depending
on the occurrence of multipath, satellite visibility, and interference.
To date, most systems use Commer-
Further information is available at: ersat-ggc.eu.
cial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) chipsets and
investigate how to ensure their per-
formance in the rail environment with
hybridisation, redundancy or mitigation X2Rail2-WP3: development of a fail-safe
schemes. Performance will improve as positioning architecture
a result of adoption of multi-constel-
The objective of X2Rail2-Work Package 3 was to imple-
lation, multi-frequency receivers as
ment and support the main goal of S2R TD2.4 (Fail-Safe Train Positioning - including satellite
well as Galileo authentication to pre-
technology), which is to achieve a significant reduction of the use of traditional train detection
vent spoofing. Systems will need to
systems in ERTMS/ETCS owing to an absolute and safe train positioning system.
be assessed by independent notified
bodies before deployment. The project proposed an architecture for virtual balise operation and conducted research into
defining an enhanced safe train positioning subsystem to be utilised by other train subsystems,
Ongoing studies investigate EGNOS for longer term use such as odometry enhancement. It also performed a Cost Benefit Analysis
© Gettyimages

requirements for rail as well as the pos- (CBA) and drafted guidelines for railway MOPS.
sible use of EURORADIO to transmit
Further information is available at: shift2rail.org.
EGNOS data to the train.
 DRIVERS AND TRENDS GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 59

IN THE ROAD SECTOR, 5G SUPPORTS THE MOVE TOWARDS FURTHER AUTOMATION

Increasingly vehicles are connected to the Internet and to each other as
automotive technology advances towards higher levels of automation.
5GCAR
Driver-assisted and driverless cars need real-time safety systems that can 5GCAR (5gcar.eu) is a 26-month project funded by the European Commission, in the frame of the 5G
exchange data with other vehicles and fixed infrastructure around them. Infrastructure Public Private Partnership (5G PPP) that ended in June 2019.
This drive towards full automation and ambient intelligence generates
5G’s low latency and high bit-rate as enablers of connectivity, autonomy, and provision of safety services
increased communication needs and poses significant challenges to
were at the core of the research of 5GCAR. Specifically, technology components for the broadcast of assisted
the underlying communication systems, as information must reach its
GNSS data through 5G communications were developed, for enabling enhanced positioning in the cases of automated
destination reliably within a short time frame; beyond what current (up
vehicles and vulnerable road user protection.
to 4G) wireless technologies can provide.
An end-to-end optimised 5G network for V2X communications (vehicle-to-pedestrian, vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-net-
5G is expected to enable low-latency communications between vehicles
work, vehicle-to-mass-transit and vehicle-to-infrastructure) was designed, developed and tested, with recommendations
(V2V), between vehicles and roadside infrastructure (V2I), with a back-
for a path to global deployment/adoption and standardisation of the developed solutions made.
end server (e.g. from a vehicle manufacturer or other mobility service
providers), with the Internet (V2N), with a pedestrian (V2P), and in other Further information is available at: 5g-ppp.eu
use case scenarios. As such, 5G is a key enabler of future mobility and
transportation services.
Three examples highlight that the mobile communications industry
and the automotive industry are interwoven, jointly providing new
EMERGE is an Italian national initiative, exploring the possibilities offered by combining GNSS and 5G, with a focus on
connected vehicles. Launched in January 2020 for a duration of 36 months, the project will develop a solution integrating
capabilities and functionality for upcoming road safety services and
GPS-Galileo-based multi-constellation and multi-sensor fusion for localisation, 5G enabled V2X vehicular communication
future driving. These use-cases also present the way in which they
technologies, and cybersecurity techniques for protecting all vehicular communications.
cooperate; the automotive industry-composed consortium 5GAA, the
H2020 project 5GCAR and the case study EMERGE. The aim of EMERGE is the development, prototyping and test of innovative solutions to allow connected vehicles to operate
in daily or emergency scenarios. In particular:
• Geo-localisation of the vehicle with satellite multi-constellation (GPS+Galileo), augmentation algorithms and data-
fusion with on-board sensors;
5GAA
In 2016 key players of the automotive, technol-
• Communication inter and intra vehicles by inte-
grating cellular, satellite public networks, and 5G;
5G
ogy, and telecommunications industries established the 5G Auto-
motive Association (5GAA) global organisation. 5GAA provides a • Cybersecurity for enhancing security on intra and Localization Cybersecurity V2X Communication
inter vehicular communications and ensuring systems and Vehicle
platform for cooperation and common vision sharing in relation to algorithms
integrity on data for vehicle positioning; V2V V2P
the development of 5G-based end-to-end solutions, focused on the Vehicle
mobility and transportation sector. • Cloud/Edge computing by developing and imple- V2N
menting algorithms to identify and avoid potential V2I Pedestrian/
More than 130 companies have now VRU
hazards.
joined 5GAA, including automotive
manufacturers, tier-1 suppliers, Field trials will be carried out with commercial vehicles Infrastructure Network
chips/communication system pro- equipped with a prototype in the city of L’Aquila, where
viders, mobile operators and infra- a 5G technology experimentation is underway con-
© Gettyimages

structure vendors. sidering two operational scenarios (nominal/everyday Vehicular networking

and emergency situations). applications
More information at: 5gaa.org
60 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 DRIVERS AND TRENDS

THE ROLE OF GNSS IN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATIONS FOR FREIGHT TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS
Beyond connected vehicles, the automotive sector is already a significant user of wireless con- The role of GNSS authentication in freight transport and logistics
nectivity in multimodal transport and logistics hubs such as ports, airports, or railways stations.
For digital freight transport and logistics, GNSS-based technologies and solutions gather position
and timing information that, combined with inputs from other sensors, can enhance the supply chain
visibility, safety and security owing to a wider availability of data in electronic form. Considering
Digitalisation of freight transport documents
the liability characterisation of many transport or logistics operations, the quality of the position-
Freight transport documents feature information and data relating to goods, including means of ing, velocity and timing information (in terms of accuracy and reliability), and the reliability of the
transport, origin, authentication, and access to ports or customs clearance. The EU regulation on sources (in terms of trust and authenticity) play an important role. The use of multi-GNSS solutions
the digitalisation of the freight transport information (eFTI Regulation) published in 2020, provides and authenticated positioning support the development of tools and measures to ensure the
opportunities to streamline the exploitation of the large amount of data produced along the quality of exchanged digital data, the relevant trust and reliability, and official electronic validation.
logistics chain, to leverage the contribution of IoT in generating such information, and for cloud
GNSS authenticated positioning can allow involved entities (economic operators and authorities)
platforms to manage and process this data.
to evaluate the quality of the exchanged data, identify their source, and eventually assess the trust
The benefits expected from such digitalisation, however, strongly rely on a stable communications that can be placed in them.
backbone, in which reliability and trust of data are imperative. The requirements here include large-
Many applications oriented to authorities and governmental users are set to benefit from such
file and real-time exchange of data from multiple domains and stakeholders (transportation, public
confidence appraisal include law enforcement, emergency services in case of accidents, search and
administration, emergency services, weather sensing, etc.). This requires connectivity to infrastructure
rescue, remote control of access through gates, sensitive logistics hubs, and elaboration of statistics.
that can be enhanced by 5G. Even where the bandwidth requirements of such communications
are limited, the latency and reliability requirements – particularly when these communications While the benefits generated are primarily expected for liability and safety implications, widespread
become ubiquitous and essential to consumer and business life – will likely be better served by availability of trusted position and time information is also expected to result in commercial benefits
5G than by current wireless protocols. for business stakeholders, e.g. by fostering the
adoption of tracking and tracing solutions, and
Today’s 3G and 4G mobile networks were devel-
for electronic transport documents.
oped with consumer voice and data in mind.
Machine to-machine communications have For customs operations, various technological
only recently acquired prominence. Alternative solutions are adopted, generally identified as
solutions using dedicated Low Power Wide Area ‘intelligent cargo’. These include GNSS combined
Networks (LPWANs) deployed for the IoT (SigFox, with advanced sensors and tracking devices,
LoRa) are not largely applied in freight transport which are becoming more sophisticated and
and logistics. integrated with other sources, generating a very
large amount of data.
Crucially, 5G’s high bit-rate could enable the
upload and download of high volumes of trans- Risk assessment tools, blockchain, and artificial
port-related data or the upload of sensor data. intelligence solutions can take advantage of the
availability of high-quality position information
for prompt alarm raising in case of anomalous
conditions, for support to decision-making, risk
prevention and mitigation, emergency activa-
tion, and for generation of performance indica-
tors and statistics.

© Gettyimages
 E-GNSS ADDED VALUE GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 61

E-GNSS CONTRIBUTES TO SAFE AND EFFICIENT TRANSPORT

Galileo E-GNSS Contribution to Key Performance Parameters
The improved positioning and navigation performance offered by Galileo Key Performance
supports users in the transport sectors of aviation, maritime, rail and EGNOS contribution Galileo contribution
Parameter (KPP)*
road, to achieve the performance required by safety-critical systems,
often driven by rigorous standards and typically subject to certifica- Accuracy
tion. Accuracy and availability are already improved significantly by Availability
the availability of additional GNSS satellites from Galileo. Safety-critical
transportation solutions indeed need to be able to function at any point Continuity
in time; the availability of a greater number of GNSS satellites helps to
Integrity
ensure that valid positioning information is computed even in challeng-
ing operational environments. Furthermore, Galileo HAS will ensure Robustness
the enhanced accuracy required for applications such as autonomous
Time To First Fix (TTFF)
driving. Nevertheless, the key contribution of Galileo to the applications
featured in this macrosegment is in terms of robustness and resilience * The Key Performance Parameters are defined in Annex 3
of the receivers employed. The features of the Galileo signals, data and
frequencies make spoofing and jamming easier to detect, while the Major contribution, capable of enabling new GNSS applications
Galileo differentiators, including OS-NMA and CAS, ensure the signals Medium contribution, enhancing the user experience
have not been tampered with. Low contribution, performance improved but no major difference at user level

EGNOS
The main added-value from EGNOS is the provision of integrity and TRACE
continuity, making it an essential addition in domains such as aviation.
Here the service is a key enabler of Performance Based Navigation (PBN) Started in 2019, TRACE is a two-year project funded by the GSA
routes and procedures, and lives might be endangered if the location which promotes the use of EGNOS by developing a smart beacon
signals are incorrect. As a result of EGNOS ensured integrity, users to increase the safety levels of Very-Low-Level (VLL) operations, supporting the development of this new aviation sector.
can assess the trust that can be placed in the fidelity of the location The project aims to:
information supplied by the navigation system. Additionally, EGNOS
• Facilitate the integration of drones into the initial layers of U-Space services, therefore enabling registration, identifi-
provides timely warnings when the system or its data should not be
cation, geofencing and real-time tracking of drones as per European regulations, and;
used for navigation. EGNOS also provides a positive contribution in terms
of accuracy achieved, owing to the differential corrections broadcast. • Increase the situational awareness of General Aviation pilots of drone operations around their positions.
The project aims to utilise the improved accuracy from EGNOS to enable a reduction in separation among drones and
utilise the vertical positioning accuracy to open the possibility of two flight levels, with VLL flights managed by U-Space.
The increasing use of EGNOS is expected to provide sufficient integrity to avoid the need for U-Space service providers to
rely on additional RAIM or commercial services to complement positioning solutions.
Further information is available at: trace-project.com
62

HIGH-ACCURACY DEVICES

Macrosegment characteristics 63
Industrial landscape 64
Receiver capabilities 65
Receiver form factor 66
Drivers and trends 67
E-GNSS added value 74
 MACROSEGMENT CHARACTERISTICS GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 63

THE HIGH-ACCURACY SECTOR PUSHES THE BOUNDARIES OF PERFORMANCE

AND OPENS AVENUES TO MANY OTHER SEGMENTS
Characterisation of the macrosegment Key performance parameters for high-accuracy devices
Whether operating in difficult environments (such as marine surveying and engineering) or car- The key performance parameters are highly dependent on the specific application in question:
rying out activities essential for the economy and society (such as precise seeding in agriculture),
1. Accuracy requirements vary from metre to millimetre levels for different operations. It is
high-accuracy professionals are pushing the boundaries of GNSS performance. To that end, they
achieved by deploying multi-constellation and multi-frequency receivers and utilising real-time
rely on advanced receiver capabilities and a multitude of augmentation services and techniques,
kinematic (RTK), precise-point positioning (PPP), space-based augmentation services (SBAS)
placing them at the frontier of fast, reliable, and accurate GNSS solutions. Whilst each professional
or combinations thereof.
application is characterised by different operational conditions and consequently, different user
requirements, several trends apply in equal measure, transforming the high-accuracy sector as a 2. Availability may become critical, especially in attenuated environments or rural areas.
whole. This includes the application of multi-constellation, multi-frequency capabilities and the
3. Improved Time-To-First-Fix and (re)convergence time is translated into reduced overall time
continued digitalisation of services. It also entails increased reliance on sensor fusion and advanced
spent on a geomatics project and subsequently, to reduced costs.
data exploitation techniques supported by AI.
4. Integrity is of paramount importance when safety-of-life (and equipment) considerations
apply (i.e. machine control), and is relevant for capital intensive applications (e.g. mining and
Agriculture offshore applications).
Agriculture continues to benefit from precise GNSS-positioning as the centrepiece of a multitude of
5. Continuity is important for operations in which minimising operational downtime due to
activities. From the accurate steering of tractors to the application of inputs where, when, and how
obscured satellite reception is critical (e.g. marine engineering).
much as is needed, GNSS helps farmers achieve greater profitability, comply with regulations, and
protect the environment. Combined with Inertial Navigation Systems (INS), proximal (e.g. hyper-
spectral cameras) or remote sensing platforms (e.g. earth observation satellites), and exploited in a
High-accuracy devices key performance parameters
fully-digitised, AI-backed paradigm, GNSS drives the changes that are transforming the agricultural
sector. Swarms of robots performing tedious operations and drones scouting over the fields are Key Performance Parameter (KPP)* High-Accuracy Devices
no longer science fiction, nor an R&D-only scenario, but rather an emerging GNSS-enabled reality.
Accuracy
Geomatics Availability
Geomatics experts, whether land and marine surveyors, or construction and mining site managers, Continuity
all demand and seek to benefit from the full strength of GNSS-enabled high-accuracy solutions. With
Indoor penetration
multi-constellation, multi-frequency receivers being an absolute pre-requisite and with advanced
correction services continuously evolving, geomatics drives the fusion of data collected by differ- Integrity
ent sensors and processed using AI, Machine Learning and Big Data techniques. As high-accuracy
geomatics solutions are increasingly making inroads into mass-market sectors (e.g. autonomous Latency
driving), so do mass-market devices become increasingly able to perform low-end mapping and Power consumption
surveying activities.
Robustness
Time-To-First-Fix (TTFF)

High priority     Medium priority     Low priority

* The Key Performance Parameters are defined in Annex 3
64 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE

NEW ASIA-PACIFIC ACTORS ARE JOINING TOP COMPANIES ON THE WORLD STAGE
Main actors in the high-accuracy theatre Leading component manufacturers
Applications that require pinpoint GNSS accuracy are inherent for a vast array of professional
segments for land-based, water-based and airborne operations. AGJUNCTION North America agjunction.com

Geomatics is a large and complex segment that incorporates high-accuracy GNSS solutions for
BDSTAR (UNICORE) Asia-Pacific bdstar.com
cadastral, construction, mine and marine surveying, machine control, mapping and GIS, Continuously
Operating Reference Stations (CORSs), original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) chipsets, as well
as GNSS-enabled sensor amalgamations such as mobile mapping systems, aerial photogrammetry EOS North America eos-gnss.com
and LiDAR drones. For all land-based applications, Hexagon and Trimble continue to hold more than
half of the total market share, followed closely by Topcon. Asia-Pacific companies such as Hi-Target, HEXAGON AB (LEICA, NOVATEL) Europe hexagon.com
BDSTAR, Hemisphere, and CHCNAV however, combine now for more than 10% of the market in
geomatics. Marine surveying primarily utilises an integration of GNSS with inertial measurement
HI-TARGET Asia-Pacific hi-target.com.cn
units (IMUs) and bathometers to provide seabed mapping, oil and gas fields surveying, dam and
mine tailing floor monitoring, dredging, construction, and pipe and cable laying. Trimble and
Kongsberg are among the leading manufacturers of dedicated marine surveying GNSS instruments. HUACE (CHCNAV) Asia-Pacific chcnav.com

Agriculture as a sector is primarily investing in GNSS-based automated steering and field GNSS
NAVCOM (JOHN DEERE) North America navcomtech.com
receivers. The segment remains of primary interest for Hexagon, Trimble, Topcon and John Deere,
but some newcomers with noticeable market share have emerged including the U.S. based com-
pany Raven Industries. KONGSBERG Europe kongsberg.com
The whole industry traditionally collaborates with local, regional and global land- and satellite-based
correction services. The top component manufacturers in geomatics and agriculture produce RAVEN INDUSTRIES North America ravenprecision.com
dedicated receivers for CORS stations, while also operating proprietary terrestrial and space-based
augmentation systems, which in turn are increasingly used in mass market and other segments. SEPTENTRIO Europe septentrio.com

TOPCON Asia-Pacific topconpositioning.com

TRIMBLE North America trimble.com

UNISTRONG (HEMISPHERE,
Asia-Pacific unistrong.com
STONEX)
Note: This list does not include system and terminal integrators, and therefore some key industry players may not appear in the list. Manufacturers
appear in alphabetical order.
 RECEIVER CAPABILITIES GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 65

RECEIVER CAPABILITIES ARE STEADILY EVOLVING TOWARDS EXPLOITING ALL AVAILABLE CONSTELLATIONS
AND ALL AVAILABLE FREQUENCIES

Multi-constellation adoption Frequency capability of GNSS receivers1 Constellation capability of GNSS receivers2

The stringent performance requirements for a wide range of high-accuracy segments 100% 100%
translate into a need for increased availability of satellite signals and consequently,
faster Time-To-First-Fix (TTFF), improved positioning accuracy, better satellite 80% 80%
geometry, and better coverage. This drives the wide adoption of multi-constella- 60% 60%
tion capabilities at receiver level, virtually in all subsegments under high-accuracy.
Thus more than 70% of GNSS receivers can process signals from all four major 40% 40%
constellations. By contrast, fewer than 10% of receivers only track the satellites of
20% 20%
a single constellation.
0% 0%
L1 L2 E5 E6
Multi-frequency adoption

ou

eo

SS

AS
AS

GP

vI

QZ
lil
iD

SB
Na
ON
Ga
Be

GL
Typically high-accuracy device users seek to exploit the full breadth of capabilities 1
shows the percentage of receivers supporting each frequency band 2
shows the percentage of receivers capable of tracking
unlocked by multi-frequency receivers. By comparing the GNSS signal delays at each constellation
different frequencies, receivers can correct for the impact of ionospheric errors.
Owing to the added availability of complementary modern signals, primarily E5
and E6, users can achieve significant improvements in positioning accuracy. Finally,
multi-frequency receivers reduce vulnerability to interference. All this has led to Supported frequencies by GNSS receivers3 Supported constellations by GNSS receivers4
a significant rise in the number of receivers supporting all frequencies to 25%, as
35% 80%
compared to only 5% two years ago. This trend also supports the proliferation
30% 70%
of augmentation techniques such as PPP-RTK, which are less reliant on existing
25% 60%
ground infrastructure than RTK and can provide faster convergence times than PPP.
50%
20%
Another important trend is the increased adoption of E6, with currently more than 40%
20% of receivers able to process these signals, compared to less than 5% two years 15%
30%
ago. This paves the way, for instance, for the implementation of Galileo-enabled 10% 20%
value-added services, the High-Accuracy Service (HAS) transmitting PPP correc- 5% 10%
tions in E6-B, and the Commercial Authentication Service (CAS), giving access to 0% 0%
encrypted codes on the E6 signal pilot component (E6-C). 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
L1 only L1+L2 L1+E5 GPS only GPS + Galileo
L1+L2+E5 All frequencies GPS + GLONASS GPS + BeiDou
GPS + Galileo + GLONASS GPS + Galileo + BeiDou
GPS + GLONASS + BeiDou All
3
shows the percentage of receivers capable of tracking 1, 2, 3 4
shows the percentage of receivers capable of tracking 1, 2, 3
or all the 4 frequencies or all 4 global constellations

Disclaimer: The charts above reflect publicly available claims from each manufacturer regarding product capabilities, and judgement on the domains to which they are applicable.
Use in actual applications may vary due to issues such as certification, implementation in the end user product, and software/firmware configuration.
66 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 RECEIVER FORM FACTOR

ENRICHED CHIPSETS PROVIDE CONTINUITY AND RELIABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS

Typical state-of-the-art receiver specifications for high-accuracy macrosegment Compact sensor-enriched receivers provide reliable positioning in any environment
Features Geomatics Agriculture The modern high-accuracy GNSS receiver is a complex electronic device, capable of
Form factor Rugged smart antenna or modular unit with Rugged smart antenna, remote control box achieving millimetre-levels of accuracy using all available navigation signals in space.
external antenna State-of-the-art modernizations include the increasing integration of affordable yet
Channels 200-1100+ 200-1100+ accurate IMU sensors, which yield reliable and continuous positioning in constrained
environments. Many top manufacturers are developing positioning algorithms which
Typical observables Dual-frequency carrier waves: all receivers Dual-frequency carrier waves: all receivers
Triple-frequency: most high-end models Triple-frequency: most high-end models focus on constellation-agnostic approaches for signal processing via digital correlation
Quadruple: few high-end models Quadruple: few high-end models of all available navigation signals, regardless of satellite source. Innovative choke ring
CORS: Multi-frequency antenna designs with high-gain and multipath rejection are ensuring the quality of
Constellations Multi-constellation Multi-constellation CORS network services.
Receiver connectivity Serial, USB, TCP/IP, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, UHF/ Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 4G, NMEA,
FH915 radio, 4G, Lemo, RTCM input/output RTCM input, Serial Lemo/DB9 Reduction in number and size of components
CORS: + RJ45 Ethernet, Power over Ethernet,
External oscillator, Dual-Power Input, PPS decreases high-accuracy OEM form factor
Output Within the industry-standard high-accuracy OEM chipset (60x100 mm) there are
User interface Hardware buttons, web interface, external Hardware buttons, web interface, external currently many newly integrated sensors, and the number of GNSS channels exceeds
controller controller 1100. The advancements in chipset design enable use of fewer components and lower
CORS: + Web interface, FTP services, email
notifications power consumption, and many R&D companies are now producing compact (45x71
mm) and ultra-compact OEM boards (31x31 mm, e.g. Septentrio Mosaic-X5) without
TTFF/TTC RTK: < 10 s RTK: < 10 s
PPP: < 30 min worldwide (< 10 cm) PPP: < 30 min worldwide (< 10 cm) loss of accuracy. This is especially important for OEM board integration in high-accu-
< 5 min worldwide (< 50 cm) < 5 min worldwide (< 50 cm) racy drones, e.g. for mapping and agriculture. Sophisticated anti-jam and multipath
PPP-RTK: < 1 min PPP-RTK: < 1 min mitigation techniques, and positioning rates up to 100 Hz are becoming a common
Horizontal accuracy -95% Static: 2.5 mm + 0.5 ppm - commodity in GNSS receiver design.
RTK: 8 mm + 1 ppm RTK: 8 mm + 1 ppm
PPP and PPP-RTK: < 5 cm PPP and PPP-RTK: < 5 cm
DGNSS: 0.25 m + 1 ppm DGNSS: 0.25 m + 1 ppm The modern high-accuracy receiver features all capabilities
Vertical accuracy -95% Static: 5 mm + 0.5 ppm - While in the past the receiver form factor was primarily designed based on its appli-
RTK: 15 mm + 1 ppm RTK: 15 mm + 1 ppm cation mode (static, Differential GNSS, RTK or PPP), modern high-accuracy devices
PPP and PPP-RTK: < 10 cm PPP and PPP-RTK: < 10 cm
DGNSS: 0.5 m + 1 ppm DGNSS: 0.5 m + 1 ppm usually embed all those observation techniques into a single box. This provides flexible
receiver customization by the end user, who may select from the variety of additional
Sensors E-bubble, tilt, compass E-bubble, tilt, compass
IMU (high-end models) IMU (high-end models) high-accuracy options and correction services available in the chipset. Thus a receiver
may be configured either primarily for real-time operations, e.g. staking-out with
Roll/Pitch accuracy of IMU Up to 0.01° Up to 0.01°
centimetre accuracy or mapping/GIS with sub-meter accuracy, or as a static reference
(RMS)
station. Additional options for receiver upgrades can be unlocked by obtaining codes
Antenna Wideband with multipath rejection Wideband with multipath rejection provided by the manufacturer.
CORS: Dorne-Margolin choke ring
Heading (2nd antenna) High-end models in construction and mining High-end models in precision agriculture Notable exceptions from the smart antenna design are CORS receivers, as well as receiv-
ers dedicated for operations in harsh environments (e.g. machine control or marine
Heading accuracy Ranges between 0.05-0.30° Ranges between 0.05-0.30°
surveying and engineering); these are still manufactured as separate GNSS signal pro-
RTK&PPP readiness All Usually yes cessing units with external antenna. When GNSS-based heading is required, a typical
PPP-RTK readiness Few manufacturers, proprietary formats Few manufacturers, proprietary formats case for marine surveying and machine guidance, usually two antennas are utilised.
Disclaimer: The above specifications represent a typical GNSS receiver based on manufacturers’ published literature for their latest products. Consequently discrepancies may
exist between the installed receivers’ characteristics and those stated above.
 DRIVERS AND TRENDS GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 67

ACCURACY 4.0 – THE NEW TECHNOLOGICAL TREND IN THE HIGH-ACCURACY SEGMENT

High-accuracy is empowered by the Fourth Industrial Revolution GNSS/IMU empower all high-accuracy segments
Accuracy 4.0 is a newly-coined term describing the trend towards automation and data exchange There are several areas making wide use of GNSS/IMU integration within the high-accuracy seg-
within the high-accuracy GNSS segment. The main drivers include high-end receivers that are ment; receivers for geomatics, autonomous vehicles in agriculture, and mobile mapping systems
augmented with 4G connectivity and various sensors, backed with state-of-the-art data handling (road, aerial or marine). While geomatics utilises this integration within a single smart antenna for
methods like cloud-processing and deep learning. In a world of supercomputing, intelligent robots, its mobile field workflows, in agriculture the fusion is focused on autonomous navigation capa-
and autonomous vehicles, the high-accuracy segment is now fuses several technologies. The era bilities. In mobile mapping, the sensors are mounted on moving platforms (such as cars, marine
of digitalisation and the integration of powerful GNSS-enabled technologies has had a sizable vessels or airplanes).
impact in every high-accuracy application. In this integration, inertial measurement units (IMUs)
High-quality products in this segment ensure that
still play a key role.
GNSS and IMU data is consistently time-synchro-

al
nized to the mapping sensors (e.g. LiDAR, sonar,

n
sig
The evolution of GNSS/IMU integration - trends and sensor types etc.) to enable precise georeferenced mapping.

SS
GN
b
In geomatics, especially cadastral surveying and b a
An IMU is a sensor that is sensitive to force and rotation due to the Earth’s gravitational field and t
construction, this integration provides a signif-
revolution. An IMU consists of three main parts; a triad gyroscope (the rotation rate sensor), a Antenna horizon
icant reduction of trivial activities, such as site
triad accelerometer (as the motion sensor), and a computer for movement calculation. The single
stakeouts and objects measurements. Compared
integration of the gyroscope measurements provides information about the orientation of the
to the e-bubble and tilt sensors, the IMU provides
sensor, while the double integration of the accelerometer measurements provides its position. t b=a-t
much more accurate vertical angle determination
In areas with challenging conditions for GNSS (e.g. cadastral measurements in urban canyons or
with better positioning results.
agriculture in steep terrain), the GNSS/IMU integration gives rise to a reliable system that provides
flexible centimetre-level static positioning, GNSS-based heading information, centimetre-level
continuous mobile positioning, plus three-axis precision orientation.

Generic processing workflow of GNSS/IMU integration Advanced GNSS-Inertial technology for High-Precision Applications
For almost three decades Trimble has been providing GNSS-Inertial solutions to the geospatial
market. Initially focused on the position and orientation requirements for the airborne, land, and marine mapping industry,
today Trimble also implements GNSS-Inertial technology across many of its businesses. The key to this expansion has been
• Signal • Correlator the development of in-house inertial measurement unit (IMU) technology and its integration directly onto the GNSS circuit
• Preprocessing • Tracking loops
and sampling board. This IMU sensor data is tightly coupled with the GNSS observations in the RTK/RTX positioning and orientation
engine. Dynamic models based on real-world application data further assist the engine in providing continuous high-rate,
GNSS RECEIVER
low latency outputs to guidance and control systems such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and autonomous vehicles,
even in environments challenging for GNSS. Dual antenna GNSS-Inertial systems allow robust alignment of gyro sensors
• Inertial Sensor • Navigation • Position while the platform is static.
Measurement and Filtering • Orientation
• Preprocessing Algorithms The technology allows customers to be more productive and efficient. For example, the Trimble® SPS986 GNSS Smart
GNSS/IMU
TIGHT COUPLING SOLUTION Antenna allows construction contractors to compensate for tilt while standing, walking or driving. The Trimble BD940-INS
single board receiver delivers centimetre-level positioning and orientation to OEM and system
integrators for a variety of autonomous applications. All GNSS-Inertial receivers support GPS,
• Accelerometer Galileo, GLONASS, BeiDou, QZSS and NavIC constellations plus Trimble RTX correction ser-
• Gyrosensor vices with Integrity Monitoring delivering reliable, high-accuracy positioning without the
constraints of a local base station or cell modem.
IMU Testimonial provided by the company
68 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 DRIVERS AND TRENDS

PPP-RTK SERVICES – AN INCREASINGLY ADOPTED HIGH-ACCURACY TREND

New services yet to be exploited in the high-accuracy segment Benefits of PPP-RTK over standalone PPP and RTK
PPP-RTK is a solution that builds on the strengths of both RTK and PPP and promises to become a Several innovative, optimized PPP-RTK algorithms are currently being investigated by GNSS service
significant piece in the GNSS technological puzzle. It is an optimized variant of PPP which provides providers, most of which focus on un-differenced observations rather than double-differenced
single receiver users with information that enables fast and reliable centimetre-level accuracy. The ones with the ultimate goal - to achieve a higher independence from the density and coverage of
performance of PPP-RTK is empowered by an ionosphere model, whilst requiring a lower bandwidth the local Network Real Time Kinematic (NRTK) infrastructure. The OSR approach is typically imple-
to broadcast corrections than Network Real Time Kinematic (approx. 1500 bps, which is much less mented by NRTK operators through bidirectional links between the user and the server, which
than the Virtual Reference Station (VRS), Flächen-Korrektur-Parameter (FKP) and Master Auxiliary commonly limits the numbers of network connections and the stability of the system. On the other
Concept (MAC) protocols). A distinct characteristic of PPP-RTK is that it may combine data for hand PPP-RTK is based on a unidirectional link, which combined with the optimized update rate
orbital and clock corrections from a PPP network, while utilising data from a local RTK network to of the various error sources enables broadcast of precise corrections at lesser bandwidth, with fast
generate the ionospheric model. In addition, some of the data needed to model the ionospheric convergence time and unlimited number of user connections. Also, unlike GNSS augmentation
disturbances may be even provided by non-GNSS sources. service providers that require separate user subscriptions for NRTK (preferred in areas with good
reference station coverage) and PPP (used mainly in areas without such), PPP-RTK makes use of
Similar to PPP, PPP-RTK utilises the Space-State Representation (SSR) approach for the parametri-
a single user account, thus enabling a complete environment-independent service. Despite the
sation of the measurement errors. SSR provides users with individual corrections for all GNSS error
positive expectations, some applications that require nearly instantaneous initialisation may find
sources (clocks, orbits, biases, etc.) at an optimal update rate, allowing the user to reconstruct the
PPP-RTK still lacking the speed of TTFF of traditional RTK and network RTK methods. Also, PPP-RTK
compound error whilst optimising the required bandwidth. On the contrary, the observation-state
still relies on data from RTK networks, albeit with lesser density, hence it may become unavailable
approach (OSR), which is typically used in RTK, provides the user directly with a single combined
with increased distance from network coverage, e.g. at sea.
correction for all error sources. Both approaches are utilised for real-time data transmission via
either open or proprietary protocols.
Generic PPP-RTK service provision scheme
Both OSR (for RTK) and SSR (for PPP) corrections are supported in the standard Radio Technical
Commission for Maritime Services (RTCM) protocol, either for a single reference station or network Global CORS Network Regional CORS Network Physical infrastructure
(NTRIP). PPP-RTK implementation within the RTCM however is still missing. As a result there has
been a strong push from users in recent years for standardisation of PPP-RTK corrections via new Estimation of:
- Satellites orbits
Estimation of:
- Regional ionosphere
messages within the RTCM protocol. - Satellites clocks - Regional troposphere
- Satellites biases Corrections computation
- Global ionosphere and packaging
A detailed comparison of the features of PPP-RTK compared to the rest of the real-time methods
is given in the table below.
SSR messages generation

OSR (Observation State Representation) SSR (Space State Representation) Corrections delivery
Dissemination to users (Internet, L Band, others) (broadcast)
RTK Network RTK Carrier PPP Code PPP PPP-RTK User solution
Users PVT solution (up to PPP-RTK) (PPP, PPP AR or PPP-RTK)
Orbits, clocks,
Error mitigation Combined range correction Orbits, clocks, biases biases, iono,
tropo
Accuracy ~ cm < dm ~ 3 dm < cm PPP-RTK services as of mid-2020
Time required <5s ~ 20 min <1s < 5 s – 100 s(1) Several service providers are already offering different variations of PPP-RTK, e.g. Trimble RTX
global/ global/ Fast or TERIA PPP–RTK. In parallel, national or regional public efforts to provide PPP-RTK services
Service area local regional global are also fully underway. In Japan for instance, QZSS’s Centimeter Level Augmentation Service
regional regional
Single frequency receiver receiver (CLAS) - a satellite-based open PPP-RTK correction service – has been operational since November
(2)
capability dependent dependent 2018. Many testbeds are also in place including in South Korea, Australia, Germany and Denmark.
Required bandwidth medium medium-high low low low-medium On the commercial side, Fugro’s Marinestar G4+ is one of the prominent services for marine
surveying and engineering. On land, the SAPA services – released in early 2020 by Sapcorda
(1) depends on update rate Services GmbH – are PPP-RTK services that can be used throughout most of Europe and the USA.
(2) depends on the algorithm used
 DRIVERS AND TRENDS GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 69

GNSS FUSION FOR FULLY-CONNECTED AUTOMATED WORKFLOW MANAGEMENT

Cutting-edge GNSS-enabled applications require multi-instrumental approach Autonomous tractors equipped with multiple sensors drive agriculture into the future
Several high-accuracy segments embed GNSS as the core technology for achieving fully-automated The fusion of data collected by different sensors is a key component in the implementation of
workflows. Depending on the exact application, automation relies on interconnectivity and the precision agriculture. Its most widespread application is in the execution of variable rate applica-
incorporation of sensors, robots and powerful data analytics – e.g. GNSS, cameras (monocular, tion of inputs, whereby farmers use prescription maps developed using optical or radar satellites,
stereo, RGB with pixel depth, visual Simultaneous Location And Mapping or ‘SLAM’), LiDAR, IMUs, upload them onto the onboard unit of agricultural machinery (using ISOBUS) and then perform
sonar, odometers, bathometers, and others. site-specific management at even 2.5 centimetre level of relative accuracy. The tractors are also
equipped with mechanical and vision sensors (optical, multi-spectral, hyperspectral cameras and
Mobile Mapping Systems (MMS) utilise a pair of high-accuracy RTK GNSS receivers to georeference
even LiDAR), the readings of which are combined in real-time with GNSS signals.
in real time LiDAR-derived point cloud datasets and maintain a stable heading angle. Professional
mapping drones adopt ultra-compact Post-Processing Kinematic (PPK)-enabled OEM boards to reduce This paradigm has proliferated thanks to Artificial Intelligence (AI) which has enabled the automated
the reliance on real-time corrections via the Internet, as well as the necessity to establish Ground extraction and analysis of different data streams (e.g. geolocalised changes in field, soil, and other
Control Points (GCPs). In the architectural, engineering, and construction industries, all fully-con- agronomy-relevant properties and even weather/climate information). AI has also enabled the
nected GNSS operations at the construction site provide real-time data to the Building Information implementation of deep learning methodologies, extensively used for fully autonomous robots
Models, thus enabling higher data integrity, increased productivity, and faster decision making. performing tedious agricultural activities such as weeding or spraying. In such cases, robots combine
SLAM (achieved via IMUs and LiDAR) with GNSS to navigate the fields, use different types of cameras
For hydrographic mapping of lakes, dams or mine tailings, precise RTK GNSS receivers are coupled
and machine vision techniques to distinguish between plants, or between plants and weeds, and
with shallow single- or multi-beam sonar. Construction site elements may be visualized in situ
perform the necessary interventions. Such approaches strongly rely on multi-constellation and
with the aid of GNSS-enabled devices for mixed reality. Indoor mapping relies on the emerging
multi-frequency solutions supported by RTK, PPP or PPP-RTK corrections.
technology SLAM, which may be coupled with precise GNSS to ensure seamless transition from
the outdoor positioning mode. All these are examples that highlight the continuous fusion trend
in high-accuracy.

OEM7 Receivers setting the standard in positioning and performance

Building on six previous generations of positioning expertise comes Hexagon | NovAtel® OEM7® receivers.
The OEM7 receiver series delivers built-in redundancy for your signal connection. These receiver boards provide multi-constella-
tion and multi-frequency tracking for a consistent and reliable positioning solution. In applications requiring decimetre- to cen-
timetre-level accuracy, these multi-constellation and multi-frequency capabilities make the OEM7 flexible within any equipment
environment. OEM7 products can receive TerraStar® Correction Services via satellite to provide centimetre-level positioning for
land, unmanned, and airborne applications globally without the need for local base stations.
OEM7 receivers are upgradable with SPAN technology from NovAtel with an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). An OEM7 receiver
calculates your position in the world, but when combined with inertial measurements, you gain an understanding of your motion
within the world. Designed for autonomous vehicles requiring lane-level accuracy, full attitude measurements for unmanned
air vehicles, as well as marine survey applications requiring heave compensation; the OEM7 receiver’s positioning engine runs
specialized algorithms to provide assured autonomy and positioning.
Agriculture, automotive, unmanned systems, defence, marine, survey; the OEM7 is the assured solution for autonomy and posi-
tioning applications across many industries. Its potential for any application demonstrates the versatility and durability expected
of NovAtel products.

© Novatel
To learn more about the OEM7 series of receivers, visit novatel.com. Testimonial provided by the company
70 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 DRIVERS AND TRENDS

CORS NETWORKS ARE THE BACKBONE OF HIGH-ACCURACY POSITIONING

CORS networks are the modern realisation of geodetic coordinate systems Commercial CORS form the frontline of GNSS correction services
High-accuracy applications rely strongly on GNSS correction data from external sources. Serving In general, commercial CORS networks provide two types of services: Network RTK through dense
as the paramount provider of GNSS correction data, worldwide Continuously Operating Reference station distribution with national/regional coverage (approx. 1 station in every 70 kilometres) and
Station (CORS) networks enable most of the terrestrial sub-metre positioning services. Two major high availability of correction streams, or PPP from less dense networks (1 station in several hun-
types of CORS networks exist today: non-profit and commercial. dred kilometres) with worldwide coverage. Both are mainly exploited in real time, with corrections
broadcasted either though the Internet (NRTK and PPP) or via dedicated L-band satellite link (PPP
The International GNSS service (IGS) operates the largest non-profit CORS network in the world: a
mostly). Like their non-profit analogue, commercial CORS utilize dedicated GNSS receivers, frequently
complex system of 500+ reference stations, maintained by 200+ voluntary organisations (universities,
complemented with external clock oscillators, data processing centres and real-time dissemina-
self-funding agencies and research institutions). It is the main source of products that enabled the
tion of GNSS products. Commercial CORS networks are also providing precise local ionospheric
development and testing of the PPP method, such as real-time precise satellite orbit and clock data.
models to their clients, which are especially important in the recent uptake of the PPP-RTK and
GNSS data from IGS stations are used for periodical realisations of the International Terrestrial Ref- single-frequency PPP users. Without ionospheric models these users cannot eliminate the inherent
erence System (ITRS), which are produced by the IERS (International Earth Rotation Service) under ionospheric delay of the GNSS signal. Due to their low-cost, sub-metre accuracy, and large number
the name International Terrestrial Reference Frames (ITRF). The IERS processing centre integrates of possible users, single-frequency services became subject of renowned interest in the recent years.
GNSS with other sophisticated data sources (VLBI, SLR and DORIS). The resultant reference frame
Several RTK networks have started to distribute the new PPP-RTK products, which may provide
is the basis to which all GNSS synchronise their own geodetic reference systems. For example
a powerful driver for technological advancement within the high-accuracy segment. To acquire
WGS84, the reference system of GPS, performs secular updates of its coordinates with respect to
absolute coordinate accuracy in the segment, especially in geomatics applications like cadastral
ITRF. As a result the last realizations of WGS84 (update G1674) are coincident with ITRF2014 at the
surveying, all GNSS coordinates acquired from the array of RTK networks need to strictly comply
centimetre level. Like GPS, Galileo established a dedicated terrestrial reference frame (GTRF) as an
with the adopted national geodetic reference frames and the relevant transformation parameters
independent realization of the ITRS based on the estimated coordinates for each of the Galileo
to the ITRF. A good example for that are the PPP services, which are provided mostly in the ITRF
Sensor Station sites. According to Galileo requirements the three-dimensional differences of the
reference frame, and for critical high-accuracy applications (e.g. deformation monitoring) need to
position compared to the most recent ITRF should not exceed 3 centimetres (2-sigma).
be transformed to the legal reference system. Approaches such as GNSS levelling may ensure that
Currently IERS undergoes a project to provide the new ITRF2020 solution, which is planned to be these transformations can be also applied in vertical reference frames with respect to the geoid
released by late 2021. and other gravity-based models of the Earth.

High-accuracy antenna calibrations in the IGS frame The Multi-GNSS Experiment and Pilot Project (MGEX) IGS Multi-GNSS
Tracking, collating, and analyzing
all available GNSS signals
Apart from IERS, the IGS maintains a parallel GNSS-only derived reference The IGS MGEX had evolved from an experimental stage to being declared
frame, the current realisation being named IGS14. For most practical ‘pilot project’ in 2016. It provides tracking, collation and analyses of all IGS
MGEX
uses ITRF2014 and IGS14 are identical. IGS14 is currently adopted as the available GNSS signals – GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS, and
precise coordinate frame for satellite and receiver antenna calibrations. NavIC. MGEX CORS stations (numbering 313 in early 2020) are capable of multi-frequency
Two types of antenna calibration are available: the state-of-the-art multi-constellation data acquisition. They are providing data which expanded IGS’s products
absolute, and its predecessor - the relative. portfolio with precise ephemeris data and bias information for all constellations. Many of these
products are available in near real-time and are utilized in a number of different PPP services.
Absolute calibrations are routinely computed by several institutions
implementing different methods: field calibrations (picture on the Global map of the IGS MGEX stations, together with details of GNSS receivers used and precise
right) vs. anechoic chamber calibrations. Despite the methodological products is available at: igs.org/network?network=multi-GNSS.
differences, these methods show very close agreement.
 DRIVERS AND TRENDS GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 71

HIGH-END GNSS SCIENTIFIC APPLICATIONS REQUIRE ULTIMATE ACCURACY LEVELS

High-accuracy GNSS empowers weather forecasting and climate change research
The uptake of GNSS constellations has proved instrumental for high-end research endeavours that
BalkanMed Real Time Severe Weather Service
are vital for everyone on Earth. Complex analyses, combining space geodetic techniques, CORS (BeRTISS) project is developing a pilot transnational severe weather service
stations’ data and climate research provide many new products that would be unattainable without exploiting GNSS products to enhance the safety, quality of life and environmental protection
the application of high-accuracy GNSS. in the Balkan-Mediterranean region (Bulgaria, Cyprus and Greece). The project aims to provide
timely information and warning regarding severe weather events as well as long-term mon-
Remote sensing of the atmospheric water vapour with GNSS is an established technique, known itoring of weather and climate change in the region, through the mapping and visualization
as GNSS Meteorology. It is being used by high-end scientific applications for around a decade of water vapour via GNSS meteorology techniques. The EU-funded BeRTISS project is a bridge
and has a dedicated Working Group within IGS. Data from IGS and other CORS networks are used between the geodetic community, the GNSS remotely sensed data providers, the atmospheric
for operational positioning and monitoring of data time series. By mapping the distribution of community, and the data users.
gases within cross-sections of the troposphere (a technique similar to medical tomography, but
More information at: bertiss.eu
using GNSS signals instead), it provides reliable information on water vapour’s spatio-temporal
variability. The total tropospheric delay of the GNSS signal is usually expressed in zenith direction,
hence it is called zenith total delay (ZTD). Its conversion into Integrated Water Vapour (IWV) has
become routine in GNSS data processing. GNSS meteorology supports many Numerical Weather The COSMIC-2 GNSS-RO mission
Prediction (NWP) services on a global scale either as a primary tool, or as a complementary method This mission utilises six satellites launched successfully on June 25th 2019 into low-inclination
to classical weather atmospheric sounding techniques. One such service is the GNSS Water Vapour orbits. It is jointly operated by U.S. institutions (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Programme of the Network of European Meteorological Services (EUMETNET E-GVAP, egvap.dmi. (NOAA), Air Force (USAF), University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)) and Taiwan’s
dk). Consecutively, these models may be used to improve the positioning accuracy of PPP. Recently, National Space Organization. The GNSS-RO payload, named TGRS (Tri-GNSS Radio-occultation
Galileo has also entered this scientific domain through the high quality of the tropospheric esti- System), was developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and will be capable of tracking more
mation achievable by processing its signals. than 4,000 high-quality profiles per day (across the 6 satellite constellations). The COSMIC-2 is a
Another prominent approach for atmospheric studies, developed by high-accuracy GNSS users successor of the pioneering mission COSMIC-1 and will provide a revolutionary increase in the
in the scientific sector, is the GNSS Radio Occultation (GNSS-RO) technique. This technique was number of atmospheric and ionospheric observations, which will greatly benefit the research
developed by a group at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and over the years has demonstrated and operational communities.
unmatched impact on weather forecasts. It uses GNSS measurements received by a low-Earth Data products are available at: cosmic.ucar.edu
orbiting satellites to profile the Earth’s atmosphere and ionosphere with high vertical resolution
and global coverage. The high accuracy and vertical resolution of GNSS-RO data make them ideally
suited to study weather forecasting and atmospheric processes, climate monitoring and model Radio Occultation
verification, and space weather and ionospheric research. Some notable satellite missions that
Rising
incorporate GNSS-RO research are the German mission CHAMP, the US-German mission GRACE, occultation
and the US-Taiwan FORMOSAT/COSMIC mission.
While most of the GNSS-RO investigations are strictly confined to the research and weather
forecasting sectors, there are several companies that provide commercial services to scientific, 20,000 km Setting
occultation
government and other high-level end customers. For example, GeoOptics (geooptics.com) pro-
vides Radio Occultation services through its own dedicated constellation of nanosatellites, named

© Adapted from the COMET Program

CICERO. Another company, Spire, which currently operates 80 satellites in orbit, aims to leverage LEO
Radio Occultation technology to assimilate atmospheric density information into its own weather
model runs, providing accurate forecast to the Weather industry (spire.com/weather/).
600- 400 km top
1,000 km of thermosphere
72 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 DRIVERS AND TRENDS

HIGH-ACCURACY IS EXPANDING ITS HORIZONS WITH HELP FROM MASS-MARKET DEVICES

High-volume meets high-accuracy: an exciting two-way exchange
The interaction between the high-accuracy and the high-volume segments is driven by the conver- In order to support the proliferation of applications
gence of two trends: high-accuracy equipment becoming cheaper by losing some of its advanced using smartphones, GSA launched the GNSS Raw Meas-
features, whereas consumer grade equipment gets more capable and thus may become a possible urements Task Force (see page 37 for more) in 2017
alternative. In the latter case low-cost equipment reaches higher-grade performance level when and has been fostering progress ever since. Today, with
equipped with extra inertial modules, rugged enclosure, appropriate antenna and, when RTK is multiple dual-frequency smartphones in the market,
needed, radio packs. At the same time, some of the most advanced smartphones have been shown the exploitation of this opportunity is on the rise. As
to achieve (in rural environments) sub-metre accuracy, or even centimetre if post-processed using new algorithms are being developed and smart solu-
a professional-grade antenna and suitable augmentation data. To achieve sub-metre accuracy, tions regarding the antennas are being proposed, more
they are equipped with dual-frequency receivers (typically L1/E1-L5/E5a) and benefit from the cases of smartphone-based high-accuracy operations
wide-band signals that provide greater resilience to multipath effects. The desired positioning are documented. This effect is not only confined in
accuracy is achieved thanks to access to GNSS raw phase measurements (via APIs) and the fusion Mass-market applications but starts to spill over in
of GNSS with integrated inertial sensors and additional terrestrial based signals (4G/5G, WiFi, NFC, traditional geomatic domains such as geosciences
Bluetooth, UWB). Nonetheless, significant challenges remain in relation to the performance of the (e.g. for displacement analyses or ionospheric obser-

© TFI Systems
integrated antennas. vations). This trend is expected to grow as dedicated
tools (such as the GNSS Compare mobile application)
Whilst smartphones start to achieve high-accuracy (see also High-volume and transport devices
become available.
segments in previous chapters), the high-accuracy sector itself is looking more into smartphone-based
execution of certain operations. One of the most prominent is related to data collection. In that
regard, the ‘Bring your own device’ (BYOD) trend is emerging, whereby surveyors and mappers use
their own smartphones as an alternative to the proprietary data collection devices. In practice,
manufacturers are creating a user-friendly interface by pairing iOS and Android developers to their
Proliferation of Smartphone Tools in Agriculture
own hardware and firmware. In this paradigm, many of the leading manufacturers are providing There are tens of mobile farming tools on the App stores: from
dedicated Apps to their high-accuracy users allowing them to benefit from the best of two worlds: the applications that help with the soil sampling, through tools
familiar user interfaces and sophisticated data collection capabilities. that record everything that happens on the farm and geo-tag-
ging photos that support the digitisation of CAP, to machinery
guidance mobile apps that benefit from Galileo dual-frequency
Accessing high-accuracy with smartphones
or open and free access to Sentinel data.
The release of the Android Raw GNSS Measurements API – which is compatible with Android 7.0
One of the examples is the Tractor Naviga-
(Nougat) and higher, brought a revolution in the use of smartphones for the performance of GNSS-
tor app that got the second prize in GSA’s
based operations, some of which enter the lower realm of high-accuracy. In practice, the ability
MyGalileoApp contest: an intuitive tool pro-
to access not only the Position Velocity Time (PVT) solution but also the raw GNSS measurements,
viding guidance to farmers during their work,
allows developers to reconstruct pseudorange, carrier-phase, Doppler and signal-to-noise ratio
with enough accuracy for most small farms
(SNR) observables and access decoded navigation messages.
use cases. With no external device required,
farmers can set up the app for all their machines and use real-
time guiding information in the field while keeping costs on
the effective level.
 DRIVERS AND TRENDS GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 73

AGRICULTURE USERS KEEP BENEFITTING FROM E-GNSS AND COPERNICUS SYNERGIES

Agriculture: where Copernicus’ unique technical features European Space Programmes for the Common Agricultural Policy
meet higher accuracy enabled by Galileo Another important area of synergy arises in the case of checks for area-based EU Common Agricul-
Site-specific farm management systems have been helping farmers to optimise their agriculture tural Policy (CAP) payments. The enhanced monitoring approach uses the Earth Observation data
production and minimise their inputs whilst also protecting the environment. Knowing what is provided by the Copernicus Sentinels and other Earth Observation satellites, complemented when
happening where and when relies on continuous monitoring of the fields; for that, the help of needed by geo-tagged photos. The latter, taken with smartphones by the farmers themselves, ben-
Earth Observation satellites such as the Copernicus Sentinels has proven to be ground-breaking. efit from the increased accuracy and the upcoming authentication signal of Galileo Open Service.
For example, Sentinel 2 provides a 10-metre resolution that can be relevant even to individual This effort is greatly aided by the recently launched E-GNSS4CAP application.
land parcels, whilst its revisit time stands at 5 days making it highly relevant for crop dynamics
monitoring. By measuring the energy reflected in visible and infra-red bands, Sentinel 2 enables
the calculation of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aper- The E-GNSS4CAP application will help farmers to capture geo-
ture Radar (SAR) mission enables remote sensing regardless of the weather conditions (i.e. cloud tagged photos as an extra layer of evidence that both supports
masking). Finally, the optical instruments of Sentinel 3 may also contribute to large-scale vegetation and complements the Copernicus Sentinel-based monitoring
and crop condition mapping. approach for the implementation of CAP. Made available as
an open source, free mobile phone application for Android,
With rich time-series and accurate prescription maps in hand, farmers are able to plan their agri- E-GNSS4CAP makes use of Galileo differentiators (accuracy and
cultural inputs (e.g. fertiliser, seed, pesticide) more efficiently. For this to work, the use of ISOBUS authentication) to provide location and timing of photos of the
(i.e. the protocol that manages the communication between tractors, software and equipment) agricultural fields, thus supporting the efficient reporting to
is critical. It allows to load prescription maps onto the terminal, which in turn ensures that the Paying Agencies. Ultimately, this will help to reduce the number
appropriate application rates for the specific input are defined for the given GNSS coordinates. This of On The Spot Checks (OTSC) and ensure a fair, modern and
process strongly benefits from the higher accuracy enabled by E-GNSS services. accurate implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy.
Looking into the near future, additional synergies can be exploited. Notable among them is soil More information at: https://www.egnss4cap.eu/
moisture monitoring, where GNSS-Reflectometry and Sentinel-1 SAR measurements show strong
promise. Projects such as H2020 Mistrale and multiple start-ups and SMEs are exploring techno-
logical opportunities in that regard.

RTK positioning and navigation for autonomous agriculture vehicles

eFarmer B.V. is a developer and manufacturer of FieldBee(™) product line for high-accuracy navigation using smartphones and tablets. Field-
Bee GNSS receivers combine RTK positioning algorithms with modern IoT-technologies for flexible usage and integration with automotive
systems. This enables more affordable robotization for autonomous vehicles and precise operations. Such solutions can be used both on new and old machines. FieldBee(™) GNSS receiver combines
multi-constellation types with several communication channels, which are commonly used in IoT devices. The device is configured over Bluetooth or WiFi using open REST-protocol. The correction
signal is received either from NTRIP-provider over the Internet or from the reference station over the radio channel directly.
FieldBee(™) Tractor Auto Guidance system provides centimetre accuracy for the automation of fieldwork operations. It uses optimised elevation mask with less than
15 degrees that achieves better RTK performance. RTK 10 Hz positioning update rate provides sensitive navigation with operation speed 3.15km/h. The combination
of RTK receiver and IMU-sensors compensates terrain during navigation.
FieldBee(™) GNSS communication NMEA 0183, NMEA 2000, CANOpen protocols allow for the fast implementation of RTK in autonomous vehicles. The goal of eFarmer
B.V. is to make all agriculture machines autonomous, smart and precise.
More information at: fieldbee.com and efarmer.nl. Testimonial provided by the company
74 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 E-GNSS ADDED VALUE

E-GNSS SUPPORTS THE FULL RANGE OF HIGH-ACCURACY APPLICATIONS AND OPENS

NEW POSSIBILITIES FOR INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS
Galileo is a pillar of multi-frequency/multi-constellation solutions for high-accuracy GALIRUMI
With 22 active satellites in orbit, Galileo has enabled the full range of benefits associated with GALIRUMI project is building a
multi-constellation and multi-frequency receivers. Thanks to Galileo, high-accuracy users enjoy robot for herbicide-free weed control in dairy farming. Robotic weeding will reduce the envi-
greater service availability, faster times to first accurate fix and greater resilience to multipath and ronmental impact of dairy farming by eliminating herbicide use and reducing exposure of farm
interference effects. RTK providers have already upgraded their networks to be Galileo-ready, and workers to herbicides. It will also remove an important obstacle for dairy farmers to switch to
PPP as well as PPP-RTK providers follow suit. This effectively means that Galileo enables or con- organic production, thereby contributing to an increase in production of organically produced
tributes to the desired accuracy, continuity, reliability and overall performance of high-accuracy milk and higher incomes for farmers.
operations in any environment, including remote or challenging areas. This applies to virtually all
GALIRUMI will develop and demonstrate a number of innovative technologies in weed detection,
high-accuracy applications from agriculture, to land and marine surveying and from mining to
weed degradation, autonomous vehicles and robot-as-a-service for precision dairy farming
construction and mapping.
based on precise navigation provided by E-GNSS.
More information at: galirumi-project.eu
Galileo High-Accuracy, OS-NMA and Commercial Authentication
Services open up fresh possibilities for high-accuracy users
By transmitting PPP corrections through the Galileo E6 signal data component (E6-B) and by terrestrial
means (internet), the High Accuracy Service (HAS) will enable positioning horizontal accuracy of
under 20 centimetres in nominal conditions. Moreover, by empowering triple-frequency receivers
or disseminating atmospheric corrections for Europe, it will lead to faster convergence times. At the
same time, the Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OS-NMA), and the Commercial E-GNSS contribution to Key Performance Parameters
Authentication Service (CAS) will assure that the positioning is based on authentic measurements
and data transmitted by Galileo satellites. This is because these services provide access to encrypted Key Performance Parameter
EGNOS contribution Galileo contribution
codes on the E6 signal pilot component (E6-C). This has a profound impact for high-accuracy users (KPP)*
that need to increase the robustness against spoofing and meaconing. Accuracy
Availability

GISCAD-OV Continuity
GISCAD-OV project is developing and val- Integrity
idating an innovative service that relies on
Galileo HAS and Precise Point Positioning-Ambiguity Resolution (PPP-AR) quick convergence Robustness
techniques. This service will be supported by the GISCAD-OV Service Operator Centre, able to Time To First Accurate Fix (TTFAF)
fully integrate the existing Augmentation and National infrastructures for improving Cadastral
operations efficiency and effectiveness, reducing Cadastral procedures’ time for the benefit of Major contribution, capable of enabling new GNSS applications
the citizen. By exploiting the E-GNSS added value, this Horizon 2020 project will serve the whole
value chain in the cadastral domain. Medium contribution, enhancing the user’s experience
Low contribution, performances improved but no major difference at users’ level
More information at: giscad-ov.eu
* The Key Performance Parameters are defined in Annex 3
 75

TIMING DEVICES

Macrosegment characteristics 76
Industrial landscape 77
Receiver capabilities 78
Receiver form factor 79
Drivers and trends 80
E-GNSS added value 85
© Gettyimages
76 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 MACROSEGMENT CHARACTERISTICS

ACCURATE, RELIABLE AND ROBUST: THE DEMANDING REALITY OF TIMING DEVICES

Characterisation of timing and synchronisation solutions Key performance parameters for timing and synchronisation
Technologies and solutions presented in this chapter have been developed for the Synchronising network clocks requires the use of at least one reference clock, which can be sourced either
following Timing and Synchronisation (T&S) applications: in-house or externally. Three types of synchronisation can be distinguished; frequency synchronisation, phase
synchronisation, and time synchronisation. These are further described on page 80.
• Telecommunications: network management and synchronisation between
base stations; Most contemporary time synchronisation solutions require the use of a traceable time source so that events
across different locations can be correlated. In order to guarantee traceability, the time reference source origin
• Energy: to obtain exact and cyclic measurements of network status in order to
must be known so that the measurement results can be related to a time standard (e.g. International Atomic
monitor for possible failures and to intervene in a timely manner;
Time [IAT] or Coordinated Universal Time [UTC]) through a documented unbroken chain of calibrations.
• Financial: for institutions to timestamp financial transactions and to ensure their
With the advent of 5G and autonomous vehicles, the need for improved synchronisation accuracy*, continuity,
correct execution;
and availability is increasing. Besides timing accuracy, continuity, and availability, the most important parameters
• Transport: for safety-related applications, such as air traffic management or for timing solutions are integrity and robustness, in order to increase protection and resilience of the overall
autonomous vehicles. system against GNSS system faults, jamming or spoofing.
The telecom industry represents the largest user group, and ambitious plans for 5G
technologies will require better synchronisation accuracy than ever before. New regu-
latory frameworks require financial operators to synchronise their computer systems,
while energy networks will become more efficient through better synchronisation. Timing key performance parameters
A common driver for all these applications is the need for stable accuracy and improved
robustness and resilience. Significant research and development efforts have therefore Key Performance Parameter (KPP)* Timing Devices
been made at various levels of the timing processing chain to meet this demand. Accuracy
In particular multi-constellation and multi-frequency adoption, but also innovative
Time-Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (T-RAIM) and interference monitoring Availability
algorithms aim to respond to this demand for improved accuracy, increased resilience, Continuity
and improved availability.
Indoor penetration
This chapter also explores the role of GNSS in both digital networks (e.g. digital
cellular networks, wide area networks, local area networks) and analogue networks Integrity
(e.g. radio access networks, power distribution, fixed-line analogue telephone) archi-
Latency
tectures. It describes the main standards for the relay of precise, synchronised time
over a network and presents E-GNSS added-value in the overall T&S landscape, with Power consumption
both Galileo Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OS-NMA) and Galileo
Robustness
advanced timing functions.
Time-To-First-Fix (TTFF)
Traceability

High priority     Medium priority     Low priority

  * Accuracy refers to time, phase and frequency accuracy:
Frequency accuracy refers to the difference in frequency between the reference clock and the recovered client clock
over a time interval, expressed in parts-per quantity (e.g. parts per million (ppm), parts-per billion (ppb)).
Time/phase accuracy refers to the time/phase offset between reference clock and recovered client clock, expressed in seconds.
** The Key Performance Parameters are defined in Annex 3.
 INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 77

THE GNSS TIMING INDUSTRY IS STABLE AND MATURE, BUT ALL PLAYERS DIFFERENTIATE THEIR OFFER
BY MARKET SEGMENT AND FUNCTIONALITIES
Leading component manufacturers Key players in timing and synchronisation
BRANDYWINE For decades GNSS has provided significant benefits to T&S user communities by delivering a free
North America brandywinecomm.com and highly accurate time and synchronisation capability, available worldwide that is traceable
COMMUNICATIONS
to an international time scale (UTC). GNSS has been rapidly adopted by T&S user communities
ELPROM Europe elpromatime.com with a strong impetus from the telecoms industry, which still represents the largest user base.
The telecom sector’s needs and standards therefore have strongly influenced the corresponding
FREQUENCY ELECTRONICS Asia-Pacific freqelec.com developments and led to innovations that benefit other domains. Moreover, despite the maturity
of GNSS integration in T&S, the T&S industry is still very active with a view to overcoming many
challenges ahead. This is linked to an increased need for reliability and security, supported by an
FURUNO Europe furuno.com
evolution of regulation, and ever increasing user requirements in terms of accuracy, stability, and
reliability. With the advent of 5G, challenges linked to network calibration are becoming increas-
GORGY TIMING Europe gorgy-timing.co.uk ingly important. Technology developments will be driven by the need to expand services without
multiplying the networks (e.g. through the use of ‘small cells’), as well as the global demand for
JACKSON LABS North America jackson-labs.com broadband communication and new applications enabled by future mobile infrastructures (e.g.
V2X, smart city, robots, UAVs or autonomous vehicles).
MEINBERG Europe meinbergglobal.com The T&S value chain is primarily composed of GNSS chipset producers, who are usually general-pur-
pose module manufacturers and GNSS time product manufacturers, who then develop timing
MICROCHIP North America microchip.com products, either as Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) boards or as packaged systems. System
integrators then design, deploy and maintain GNSS T&S equipment in complex networks, whose
operators are the end users of the equipment. Calibration services or consultancy and maintenance
MICROSEMI North America microseni.com can also be provided by equipment resellers.
Most companies presented in the table usually specialize in a specific market sector subset such
OROLIA (SPECTRACOM) Europe orolia.com
as telecoms, energy, finance, transport, automation or military, which are served by more than
two hundred different products. They have started to develop solutions for improving robustness
OSCILLOQUARTZ Europe oscilloquartz.com against jamming/spoofing in their product roadmap. This includes in-house development and
technological partnership on specific components (e.g. smart antennas). Some companies also
SEIKO SOLUTIONS Asia-Pacific seiko-sol.co.jp acquired specific technologies via Mergers and Acquisitions.

SEPTENTRIO Europe septentrio.com

SEVEN SOLUTIONS Europe sevensols.com

TRIMBLE North America trimble.com

U-BLOX Europe u-blox.com

78 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 RECEIVER CAPABILITIES

IMPROVED ROBUSTNESS TO GNSS THREATS AND AVAILABILITY ARE BEHIND THE GROWING ADOPTION OF
MULTI-CONSTELLATION AND MULTI-FREQUENCY TIMING RECEIVERS
Multi-constellation adoption Frequency capability of GNSS receivers1 Constellation capability of GNSS receivers2
100% 100%
GPS L1 remains the standard configuration for timing receivers in 2020. While all
80% 80%
chips used in T&S applications are Galileo-enabled, more than 40% of GNSS T&S
60% 60%
products in use are Galileo-enabled.
40% 40%
Multi-constellation adoption responds to the demand for increased resilience and 20% 20%
improved availability (especially in attenuated environments, urban canyons, or 0% 0%
rural areas). Some operators however still remain reluctant to adopt multi-constel- L1 L2 E5 E6

ou

eo

SS

AS
AS

GP

vI

QZ
lil
iD

SB
lation solutions because of a lack of awareness of the issues that it may solve, and

Na
ON
Ga
Be

GL
because of potential inconsistencies with legacy equipment in their network that 1
shows the percentage of receivers supporting each frequency band 2
shows the percentage of receivers capable of tracking
are unable to track multiple constellations. each constellation

Thus, today 50% of timing receivers are capable of processing at least two constel- Supported frequencies by GNSS receivers3 Supported constellations by GNSS receivers4
lations. Among the multi-constellation receivers, the vast majority (over 60%) are 100% 60%
able to process four constellations. Few professional applications are capable of pro- 80% 50%
cessing only three constellations (around 20% of the multi-constellation receivers). 40%
60%
30%
The highest penetration for Galileo is in Europe, followed by Asia-Pacific (similar to 40%
20%
GLONASS). BeiDou and Galileo have a similar penetration in Europe. 20% 10%
0% 0%
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Multi-frequency adoption L1 only L1+L2 L1+E5 GPS only GPS + Galileo
A limited share (13%) of GNSS time products now offers multi-frequency, with L1+L2+E5 All frequencies GPS + GLONASS GPS + BeiDou
GPS + Galileo + GLONASS GPS + Galileo + BeiDou
L1 + L2 the dominant frequency pairing of choice, followed by utilisation of all GPS + GLONASS + BeiDou All
frequencies. The L1 + L2 share is expected to reduce in favour of L1 + E5 products, 3
shows the percentage of receivers capable of tracking 1, 2, 3 4
shows the percentage of receivers capable of tracking 1, 2, 3
or even triple-frequency L1 + L2 + E5 capability. or all the 4 frequencies or all the 4 global constellations

Multi-frequency solutions are currently only integrated in high-end solutions to

improve accuracy and increase robustness. Penetration of dual-frequency and
triple-frequency receivers therefore remains low, although a growth is expected
Towards strong adoption of GNSS resilience features
in the next five years. T&S receiver manufacturers have demonstrated strong interest in the implementation of GNSS resilience fea-
tures against signal disruption and corruption, and this interest is expected to grow over the next five years.
Dual-frequency solutions are only deployed in North America and Europe, as one Multi-constellation and multi-frequency features remain the favoured approach for increasing T&S receiver
of the responses to the increased demand for improved critical infrastructure robustness, however anti-interference monitoring algorithms are now offered by 10% of T&S products, followed
robustness. by anti-spoofing monitoring algorithms at 8%.
T-RAIM integrity monitoring algorithms are gaining wider levels of adoption within the T&S receiver market
and is offered within 7% of T&S GNSS products. The performance of T-RAIM algorithms are expected to improve
dramatically with the availability of dual-frequency measurements. Accordingly, a growth in the number of
dual-frequency receivers could fuel growth in the use of T-RAIM algorithms. The increased availability of dual-fre-
Disclaimer: The charts above reflect publicly available claims made by manufacturers regarding their product capabilities, and
quency receivers is also expected to benefit anti-interference monitoring algorithms to improve mitigation and
judgement on the domains to which they are applicable. Use in actual applications may vary due to issues such as certification, avoidance performances against single-band interferences.
implementation in the end user product, and software/firmware configuration.
 RECEIVER FORM FACTOR GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 79

GNSS TIMING DEVICES DEVELOPED TO RESPOND TO SPECIALISED DEMANDS

Typical state-of-the-art receiver specifications for the timing devices macrosegment The vast majority of T&S products target telecom applications, followed by
Features Chip Module OEM Board Standard Slot Packaged System Modular System energy and generic timekeeping. The financial transactions industry’s needs
Dimensions 5 x 5 x 0.36 mm 24 x 30 x 4,5 mm 100 x 50 x 20 mm SFP, PCI/PCIe 1 Rack Unit Single or multiple can be addressed by 15% of the current product offerings.
expansion slot chassis
Number of channels 12 - 72 channels 12 - 72 channels 12 -112 channels 12 -112 channels 12 -112 channels More than 100
GNSS timing devices can range from specialised chips for commercial appli-
channels cations to high-end final modular solutions in a chassis rack. Each solution is
Constellations Multi-constellation Multi-constellation Multi-constellation Multi-constellation Multi-constellation Multi-constellation developed to ensure the optimum value proposition in a specific targeted
Frequencies Single frequency Single frequency Single frequency Single frequency Single frequency Single frequency market. Therefore there is a plethora of equipment choices and the selection
band (L1/E1) band (L1/E1) band (L1/E1), some band (L1/E1) band (L1/E1), some band (L1/E1), some between the devices is usually a trade-off between accuracy requirements,
are multi-frequency are multi-frequency are multi-frequency
(L1/E1, L2, L5/E5) (L1/E1, L2, L5/E5) holdover capabilities, interfaces, and cost.
Output Time 20 ns 15 - 50 ns 10 -150 ns 25 ns - 1us 5 ns -1 ms* 10 ns - 10ms*
Accuracy *In NTP mode *In NTP mode
Holdover N/A Basic holdover Depends on Depends on Depends on Depends on Accuracy level is still a critical aspect to consider
(VTCXO/TCXO) oscillator option: oscillator option: oscillator option: oscillator option: when selecting a timing solution
±5µs over 24 hour Basic holdover Basic holdover Basic holdover Basic holdover
(TCXO/OCXO) (TCXO/OCXO) (TCXO/OCXO) ±5µs (TCXO/OCXO) Timing synchronisation accuracy varies with the timing and synchronisation
±5µs over 24 hour ±5µs wer 24 hour over 24 hour ±5µs over 24 hour
Full holdover Full holdover (Rb/Ca) Full holdover Full holdover solution in use; for instance nanosecond accuracy cannot be expected when
(CSAC/Rb) ± 1.1 µs over (Rb/Ca/CSAC) (Rb/Ca/CSAC) relying on a Network Time Protocol (NTP) interface. Some high-end T&S solu-
± 1.1 µs over 24 hours ± 1.1 µs over ± 1.1 µs over
24 hours 24 hours 24 hours tions are now able to reach up to 5 nanoseconds accuracy, with good holdover
Output 10 MHZ, 1 PPS 10 MHZ, 1 PPS 10 MHZ, 1 PPS, 10 MHZ, IEEE-1588v2 10 MHZ, IEEE-1588v2 10 MHz, IEEE-1588v2 owing to the capability to track four constellations in dual-frequency mode,
interfaces NTP/SNTP, IRIG-x (PTP), SyncE, (PTP), SyncE, 1 (PTP), SyncE, 1 PPS, the implementation of multipath, and interference mitigation algorithms,
1 PPS, G.8272 PPS, NTP/SNTP, NTP/SNTP, G.8272
V.11, STANAG/ G.8272 V.11, V.11, STANAG/ as well as the adoption of atomic clocks.
HaveQuick, IRIG-x STANAG/ HaveQuick, IRIG-x
HaveQuick, IRIG-x
Operating -40/85ºC -40/85ºC -40/85ºC -40/85ºC -40/85ºC -40/85ºC Interfaces and protocols influence the performance of the overall network
Temperature range
Antenna External, active and External, active and External, active and External, active and External, active and External, active and If T&S chips and modules only offer a Pulse Per Second (PPS) and 10 MHz
passive supported passive supported passive supported passive supported passive supported passive supported interface, high-end T&S receivers are designed to be as flexible as possible.
Smart antennas Smart antennas
being developed being developed
They also provide multiple interfaces so that they can be used for various
GNSS Multi Constellations, Multi Constellations, Multi Constella- Multi Constellations, Multi Constellations, Multi Constellations,
purposes such as T&S server Precision Time Protocol (PTP), NTP, Primary Ref-
resilience anti-interference anti-interference, tions, anti-inter- anti-interference, anti-interference, anti-interference, erence Time Clocks (PRTC), or Synchronous Ethernet (SyncE) synchronisation
features TRAIM ference, TRAIM anti-spoofing anti-spoofing, TRAIM anti-spoofing, TRAIM units. ‘White rabbit’ based solutions are currently being developed but could
Price Range 30 - 50 euros 75 - 5000 euros 200 - 5000 euros 500 - 3500 euros 500 -12000 euros 3000 - 60000 euros be increasingly adopted in the years to come (see page 82 for more details
Disclaimer: The above specifications represent a typical device based on manufacturers’ published literature for their latest products. Consequently, discrepancies may exist between the on the white rabbit protocol).
installed receivers’ characteristics and those stated above.

Resilience is increasingly important in the decision making process and the choice of holdover is paramount
T&S functions are crucial for most critical infrastructure and cannot be disrupted over a long period without a negative impact at national, or even cross-country level. The occurrence of GNSS interfer-
ence, jamming and spoofing events reached an all-time peak in 2019, confirming the importance of having a GNSS receiver that is robust against signal disruption and corruption. Most specialised T&S
commercial applications now offer resilience features such as multi-constellation, anti-interference, anti-spoofing, and T-RAIM solutions.
As these features do not fully protect against GNSS signal disruption, a holdover capability with a level of stability depending on the T&S applications is required. In the case where a basic holdover is
required, Oven Controlled Crystal Oscillators [OCXOs] (63% of the T&S solutions) and Temperature Compensated Crystal Oscillators [TCXOs] (36%) are the most common oscillator options for all form factors.
Concerning the most stringent holdover requirements, rubidium clocks are the most widely offered option (35%), while caesium clocks and Chip Scale Atomic Clocks (CSACs) account for 8% and 5% of the
T&S solutions respectively. For example, some applications such as telecom or electricity transmission often require microsecond accuracy. With a basic holdover capability, GNSS disruption can be held up
to 5 hours without surpassing one microsecond accuracy. This can be extended to more than 22 hours with a full holdover, allowing more time for maintenance without putting quality of service at risk.
80 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 DRIVERS AND TRENDS

TIMING AND FREQUENCY TRANSFER TECHNOLOGY: A PANORAMA

Time, phase and frequency synchronisations respond to different needs
Though Timing and Synchronisation (T&S) is commonly used as a general term for time distribution and clock alignment, three different types of synchronisation actually exist. For these various types
of synchronisation, GNSS receiver outputs can be used as frequency reference signals (10 MHz output), reference timing signals (Pulse per second or ‘PPS’ output), or time reference (e.g. Inter-Range
Instrumentation Group or ‘IRIG’, National Marine Electronics Association or ‘NMEA’ outputs).

00:01:00 00:01:01 00:01:02

T1 T1 = T2 T1 T1 = T2
A A A
t t t
T2 T2 00:01:00 00:01:01 00:01:02
B B
B
t t
t

Frequency synchronisation is the distribution Phase synchronisation is the distribution of a reference Time synchronisation is the distribution of a time reference to the real-time clocks
of frequency reference signals to the real-time timing signal to the real-time clocks of a network. The lead- of a network. The leading edge of clocks A and B’s pulses are at an identical moment
clocks of a network. The leading edge of clocks ing edge of clocks A and B’s pulses are at identical positions. and identical time. They share a common time scale (e.g. UTC, International Atomic
A and B’s pulses are at the same velocity but at Clocks A and B’s phases and frequency are aligned but they Time, GPS) and related time origin (or ‘epoch’). Distributing time synchronisation is
different positions. do not share a common time origin (or ‘epoch’). one way of achieving phase and frequency synchronisation.

Three main types of time and frequency transfer methods can be used to synchronise a network
Time and frequency transfer is a scheme where multiple sites share a precise reference time and frequency. Multiple methods have been developed over time, two of them involving the use of GNSS.
Reference
signal
One-Way Method
GNSS
Receiver In a one-way time transfer system, a GNSS constellation transmits a standard time reference to a GNSS receiver which then adjusts its local clock to
GNSS the time reference. This method is the simplest but least accurate and varies with the GNSS constellation in view.
Constellation System clock
(user)

Common view Method GNSS System clock A

Receiver A (source)
The same GNSS satellite clock is used to transmit a standard and common time reference to two GNSS receivers located at two separate
sites. Each GNSS receiver reports the time information to its own system clock. The time difference between the two system clocks is Common
then determined accurately by simultaneously comparing the received times of arrival as measured by clock A and clock B. Such method view
GNSS
improves accuracy versus the One-Way method but requires a communication channel between clock A and clock B. Satellite GNSS System clock B
Receiver B (user)

Two-Way Method
The local clock A and remote clock B simultaneously exchange messages to determine their time difference. Both satellite communication and
System clock A System clock B
(source) (user) digital networks can be used to exchange these messages. Unlike the common view, the GNSS signal is not used as an intermediary reference and
Two – way does not have to be simultaneously transmitted to clocks A and B. Clocks A and B however can drift from a standard time reference, requiring GNSS
to keep clock source A aligned with a standard time reference.
 DRIVERS AND TRENDS GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 81

GNSS TECHNOLOGY HAS A KEY ROLE IN TIMING AND SYNCHRONISATION NETWORK ARCHITECTURES
Understanding the timing and synchronisation standards for a digital network
Implementation of synchronisation networks depend on the type of applications served by the digital Evolutions of the primary clock reference standard
network (e.g. data, voice and video exchange, time stamping). The industry has established three main
The ITU Telecommunication 2012 2016 2020+
standards for the transportation of time and frequency over digital networks; Synchronous Ethernet
Standardisation Sector (ITU-T)
(SyncE), Network Time Protocol (NTP) and Precise Time Protocol (PTP).
is actively contributing to the PRTC ePRTC Virtual PRTC
All these standards consist of a hierarchical timing distribution solution, where GNSS receivers are commonly evolution of primary clock ITU-T G.8272 ITU-T G.8272.1 No standard defined
used to synchronise the most accurate clocks (or time servers) located at the top of the hierarchy, or to standards that make use of Time, phase, freq. Time, phase, freq. Time, phase, freq.
regenerate the timing signal running through the lower hierarchy levels. GNSS. Perf. = 100 ns Perf. = 30 ns Perf. = 100 ns

The PRTC standard was born in 2012 as a response to the increasing use of Ethernet.
SyncE architecture for physical layer frequency distribution Over time, two types of PRTCs (PRTC-A and PRTC-B) have been specified, both of which
rely on GNSS. In 2016, with the need to increase performance and protect against GNSS
Ethernet has become the dominant technology for data transmission. The asynchronous nature of the
outages, a new standard called enhanced PRTC (ePRTC) has emerged. In addition to
Ethernet however can be an hurdle for services such as voice/video transmissions or hands-off calls, which
GNSS, an ePRTC uses inputs from atomic clocks (e.g. caesium) as frequency references.
require the source and destination nodes to be synchro-
After 2020, 5G adoption is expected to bring significant changes in the synchronisation
nised.
paradigm. 5G is expected to require the use of ePRTC close to a large number of cell
The SyncE standard has been developed as an answer to GNSS towers. To ensure successful 5G deployment, the concept of virtual PRTC has been
Receiver PRTC
such a pitfall. This standard is based on a clock hierarchy introduced by the industry. It consists of transmitting an ePRTC time reference using
and relies on the Ethernet data stream for the distribution SEC SEC
PTP over an optical network, thus avoiding the installation of ePRTC close to cell towers.
of a timing signal. A Primary Reference Time Clock (PRTC)
is commonly placed at the top of the hierarchy. Synchroni- SEC SEC
sation Supply Units (SSU) are then placed at the next level
of the hierarchy, and used to regenerate the PRTC timing GNSS GNSS PTP architecture for time and frequency distribution (master-slave clock hierarchy)
signal along its journey from Synchronous Equipment Clocks Receiver Receiver
(SECs) to other SECs that are implemented as part of the PTP, as defined by IEEE 1588, enables the accurate time-transfer between two clocks by
transmission network nodes. GNSS signals are commonly SEC SEC the transmission of messages containing the accurate timestamps of the time at which the
used to feed the PRTC as well as the SSUs with a common packet is sent. The repeated transmission of messages allows the derivation of frequency.
time reference. Synchronisation Synchronous
SEC
Supply Unit (SSU) Equipment Clock Unlike NTP, PTP clocks are more
specialized equipment. The PRTC
time reference signal (locked to
NTP architecture for time and frequency distribution (server-client hierarchy) GNSS
GNSS signals) is distributed to PTP Receiver PRTC One way transfer
method
NTP, as defined by IETF RFC 5905, is now in its fourth version. This protocol grandmasters which then rely on
GNSS is one of the oldest and most widely used and accepted standards for the boundary clocks to synchro- Two-way transfer
Receiver GM GM method
maintaining time across a network. A basic NTP network is composed of nise one network segment to
PTP Grand
NTP time servers and user equipment (e.g. workstations, routers, other another. PTP time slave clocks GM
Master
Stratum I NTP Server GNSS
servers). NTP networks are usually structured into stratums in order to correspond to the end-applica- Receiver BC
PTP Boundary
prevent potential traffic congestion or disruption. Each time a server is tions’ clocks and are the desti- BC
Stratum II Clock
assigned to a stratum level, it corresponds to its distance from an accu- nation of the boundary clocks BC BC PTP Time Slave
TSC
rate source. Only Stratum I servers have a direct access to a standard synchronisation reference. Clock
time source such as GNSS.
TSC
User equipment
82 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 DRIVERS AND TRENDS

IMPROVING T&S NETWORK ACCURACY IS A PRIMARY RESEARCH AREA

Timing and frequency accuracy requirements are expected to increase with 5G adoption and could Optical Time Transfer (OTT) solution: towards sub-nanosecond accuracy
exceed the current timing and synchronisation network capabilities. As a result, improving the T&S
OTT projects aim at exploiting fibre technology to provide high-performance and reliable time
network accuracy has become one of the main areas of research.
and frequency services.
OTT takes advantage of the optical fibre technology to assemble a highly symmetric link over long
Reaching tight synchronisation accuracy is a huge challenge for network operators distances (hundreds of kilometres) where delay fluctuations (due to temperature changes over the
Ensuring synchronisation accuracy of primary reference clocks in a network can be a challenge. years, the Earth’s rotation, and chromatic dispersion) affect the forwards and backwards directions
Indeed, several factors contribute to deterioration in T&S accuracy, several of which are related to very similarly. These highly symmetric links allows accurate monitoring of frequency propagation
GNSS. delays by measuring the phase difference between the input and feedback signal (round-trip)
and correcting it. Owing to this correction mechanism, network operators are expected to only
• Natural effects: The ionosphere is the largest natural source of time errors for a GNSS receiver.
experience a sub-nanosecond discrepancy when comparing their primary clocks.
Indeed, GNSS signal delays through the ionosphere depend on space weather (e.g. sun activity)
and have a 24 hour diurnal cycle. Timing dual-frequency receivers are increasingly being
utilised to reduce this error. Development of advanced T-RAIM algorithms is also very impor- White Rabbit: first commercial switches now available
tant to offer GNSS integrity to Timing users.
White Rabbit (WR) is the name of a collaborative project including CERN, GSI
• GNSS receiver (local) environment: GNSS receiver accuracy may be affected by its local envi- Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research, and other partners from universities
ronment and more specifically by interference and multipath effects. Several detection and and industry aiming at developing an open source Ethernet based network for
mitigation techniques have been developed at antenna, pre-correlation, and post-correlation general purpose data transfer and sub-nanosecond accuracy time distribution. It takes advantage
levels to make GNSS receivers more accurate and more robust to the environment in which of the latest developments for improving timing over Ethernet, such as SyncE and PTP.
it is used.
Instead of using a traditional two-way PTP scheme which cancels fibre transmission delays but
• GNSS hardware: Hardware effects between the antenna phase centre and the receiver code generates synchronisation traffic overheads, the WR project uses continuous measurement of
correlation point may delay (or advance) GNSS signals. In order to counter such effects, GNSS the phase (similar to SyncE) of the bounced back clocks with respect to the transmitting clocks in
receivers can be calibrated in two ways; absolute or relative. Such calibration is subject to each of the switches.
degradation and needs to be periodically reiterated.
The central component of the WR system structure is the WR switch. As for the T&S standards (i.e.
• Internal clocks: Noise and transients also affect timing and synchronisation accuracy as it leads NTP/PTP, SyncE), a hierarchical timing distribution architecture is used. The first WR switch in the
to time jitter and wander at the physical layer, and contributes to Packet Delay Variation (PDV) hierarchy receives its ‘clock’ from an external source (e.g. GNSS) and transmits time information to
at the network layer that should be appropriately filtered by the synchronisation network. other WR switches lower in the hierarchy.
• Architecture and implementation: The PDV at the network layer depends on the compo- The first WR element to be developed was the ‘white rabbit switch’, financed by the government
nents, architecture, and implementation of network elements. Asymmetric slave-master and of Spain and CERN, and produced by Seven Solutions. Since then, companies such as OPNT and
master-slave links in the networks, as well as the use of different elements such as switches CreoTECH have also developed their own WR commercial solution.
and routers, generate further PDV in a network.
In the years 2015-2016, WR was successfully deployed by the Horizon 2020 project DEMETRA
service #3, and tested for distributing Galileo precise UTC using ground fibre service.
 DRIVERS AND TRENDS GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 83

SECURING TIME FOR CRITICAL APPLICATIONS IS TO BE CONSIDERED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE DELIVERY CHAIN

Space segment services GNSS receiver detection & mitigation techniques

Galileo will offer several authentication services A plethora of techniques have been developed at receiver level in order
(e.g. OS-NMA and CAS), providing more robustness to detect and mitigate jamming and spoofing events. Some examples
against spoofing attacks. SBAS regional services include:
(e.g. EGNOS) can be used in order to guarantee • Jamming/spoofing detection: Jammer to Signal ratio (J/S) level test,
GNSS signal integrity and produce improved clock offset test, Doppler shift test, Direction of Arrival test, signal or
correction data. message authentication, integrity monitoring (T-RAIM);
• Jamming/spoofing mitigation: Frequency domain filtering, hybrid-
isation, spurious response rejection.
GNSS antenna GNSS
Control of radiation pattern antenna (CRPA) can Receiver Critical application system security
be used to detect a spoofing signal (null steering).
Moreover, it is possible to receive several frequen- Critical In case of a master clock, the synchronisation network can be secured by
Application authenticating NTP/PTP messages and controlling access to the network.
cies from several GNSS constellations in order to System
avoid single band or single constellation jamming
attacks.
Time reference redundancy
External A critical application system clock is commonly required to feature good
time holdover capabilities. Such performance can be achieved by imple-
Cloud services reference menting an external time reference independent from GNSS in case of
a GNSS service disruption. This external time reference can be retrieved
A GNSS receiver can benefit from the take-off of
from existing radio infrastructure (e.g. eLORAN, ALS162), other existing
cloud technology. Indeed, the cloud can be used
networks (e.g. SDH/SONET), clock network services (e.g. CLONETS), or
to relieve the security constraints at receiver level
atomic clocks (e.g. caesium).
associated to the use of authenticated services
(e.g. crypto computing, crypto key storage, secu-
rity rules). The use of machine learning and AI are GNSS reference signal security
also being investigated for their ability to detect
and mitigate jamming and spoofing attacks (see This signal is delivered from a GNSS receiver to a critical application system clock, and is susceptible to man in the middle
below for more information). attacks as well as counterfeit attacks, and can be secured by implementing mutual authentication mechanisms and/or by
ciphering the exchanged messages.

Mitigating GNSS jamming and spoofing using artificial Intelligence and machine learning
Another research area to mitigate GNSS jamming and spoofing includes machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques. These solutions leverage the huge amount of data collected from
all the GNSS receivers in networks as well as external data collected from independent sources from GNSS satellites (e.g. satellite ephemeris), from GNSS maintenance (e.g. forecast or unscheduled
satellite outages), or from weather/space weather data (e.g. ionospheric conditions, tropospheric path delay). In addition to the position and time, each GNSS receiver in the network may provide
the list of GNSS satellites in view, Carrier-to-Noise-Ratios (CNR), azimuth, elevation, or Automatic Gain Control (AGC). Artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms are used to process this
huge amount of data and then deliver different set of services, including remote site analysis and automated detection of potential GNSS service degradation, especially GNSS jamming or spoofing.
84 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 DRIVERS AND TRENDS

HIGH ACCURACY GNSS TIMING WILL SUPPORT FUTURE APPLICATIONS

5G adoption: a new synchronisation paradigm The emerging transport applications rely on GNSS T&S
5G is much-awaited for the new business opportunities that it will enable. However, connecting every devices with low GNSS T&S is widely used in transport applications. For instance, in aviation
latency and increased data bandwidth will be much more demanding in terms of timing synchronisation accuracy. GNSS is a key component for 4D applications but also as a timing refer-
ence for Air Traffic Control.
Indeed, with the 5G advanced radio features (e.g. enhanced inter-cell interference coordination, joint transmission), the
timing synchronisation accuracy requirement is expected to ramp-up from 1.5 microseconds for 4G, to 130 nanoseconds Moreover emerging transport applications such as smart and autono-
for 5G. Such requirement could even go up to 65 nanoseconds at the next phase of the 5G development. mous vehicles require strong communication and connectivity for their
development. To ensure this communication, a cellular-based protocol
In addition, even if it is still under discussion, the 5G network would also be required to estimate the position of connected
called V2X (vehicle-to-everything) has been defined. This new protocol
devices within a range of 10 metres (for 80% of users) as a support to location-based services and emergency calls. Such
allows vehicles to communicate with other vehicles (V2V), pedestrians
positioning capability could require even tighter timing synchronisation accuracy requirement for the 5G network.
(V2P), networks (V2N), and the surrounding infrastructure (V2I).
The combined use of White Rabbit switches, PTP and SyncE (Synchronous Ethernet) is expected to provide sufficient timing
In order to avoid exchanging and using past or even future information,
and synchronisation accuracy performance and is explored by telecom service operators. These standards will use GNSS but
each vehicle uses its own GNSS receiver as a standard time reference in
might also rely on atomic clocks (e.g. caesium) as external time references. However, improved test devices will be needed
order to timestamp consistently its data (coming from vehicle sensors
to verify that 5G requirements are met, which is considered as a major challenge.
or computer) before exchanging them through the V2X communication
network.
As the vehicles are moving elements, the network topology must be
The invisible utility: position, navigation and timing flexible and the vehicles must often communicate without being able to
go through a digital cellular network, in such a case, a sidelink network
Critical Infrastructure relies on position, navigation, and timing (PNT), which is now
is established. When establishing a sidelink network, one vehicle of the
almost exclusively delivered using GNSS. The threat of GNSS errors has become real:
network is designated as the synchronisation source (as a replacement of
signal anomalies, regional disruptions and even global outages already have occurred. Governments across the globe
the digital cellular base station). This vehicle uses the GNSS timing infor-
now ask their critical infrastructure providers for plans and solutions to defend against this serious threat.
mation to generate synchronisation signals allowing the other vehicles to
Multi-constellation technology has become a standard capability for most GNSS receivers. In an uncertain world of GNSS determine where the V2X frames begin and end.
jamming, spoofing, and geopolitical unrest, the ability to track multiple GNSS constellations can provide one more element
of operational peace of mind. Together Galileo and GPS are
Robots also need time
looked upon as the most ideal global GNSS constellations
for use within critical infrastructure such as mobile/tele- In order to perform its tasks, a robot embeds multiple sensors (e.g. video,
com networks, utility power grids, financial trading, data odometer, range sensor) that are generating data. If its sensors are not
centres, aviation and emergency services. In addition to synchronised, the robot can act based on out of time or even future sensor
tracking multiple GNSS constellations, operators are now data (i.e. data time tagged in the future compared to other sensors data).
able to deploy advanced monitoring solutions that can
Methods used for synchronisation can be software-based by using timing
detect GNSS anomalies, and switch to backup sources
and synchronisation standards such as NTP or PTP or hardware-based by
until the anomalous condition has cleared.
using directly a GNSS receiver unit embedded within the robot to get a
At Microchip, a leading supplier of precision timing solu- proper Pulse Per Second (PPS) signal that can be used to synchronise the
tions, we support Galileo with proven, highly secure and robot sensors.
resilient GNSS solutions for critical infrastructures around
Considering the rising complexity of tasks that robots have to accomplish
© Microchip

the world.
in the industry or in the health sector, timing synchronisation accuracy
Testimonial provided by the company requirements are expected to increase.
 E-GNSS ADDED VALUE GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 85

ADVANCED TIMING FUNCTIONS

To better serve the needs of the user community in the important Timing & Synchronisation sector, GSA is continuously monitoring the development of functions and applications.
The functions listed below are currently being followed closely.

1 - Time integrity Time integrity function

Time integrity ensures a given level of trust, which the timing
users can put in the timing information disseminated by the Galileo
Galileo system. satellite
This indicator or flag could be added to the already existing Nav. message
Galileo OS navigation message as a complement to the Galileo
status, integrity and corrections data information.
Owing to the Galileo time integrity feature, timing users would Confidence level
be able to test the integrity of the Galileo signal and be informed indicator
of the status of Galileo timing. The system might offer three
states: monitored, not monitored, don’t use, within a given Time-
to-Alert (TTA).
User Terminal

2 - Certified time steering and monitoring 3 - Trusted time distribution and remote audit 4 - Robust accurate time
Many applications currently rely on local time sources with GSA is also closely following the dissemination of UTC time and Synchronisation of networks using GNSS signals that are
limited stability for continuity of operations. frequency over Internet using NTP (or PTP) as well as remote robust against system failures and/or attacks such as jamming
assessment of the client clock synchronisation, allowing audits or spoofing is a key challenge. In this respect, an application
One developing function monitored by GSA aims to improve
and reports. could be able to synchronise a network of atomic clocks up to
the stability of these local oscillators through steering correc-
thousands of kilometres apart using GNSS with very stringent
tions from Galileo. This could provide accurate and dependable This is based on three main functionalities that are fundamental
accuracy requirements, e.g. compliant with the requirements
time-certified solution for a large set of downstream applications. for many applications requiring traceability: trusted time distri-
for Telecom applications.
bution, remote audit and retrospective time verification of the
client clock. Relevant features for this type of application are: 1) the scala-
bility in terms of number of nodes or geographical coverage,
2) the security offered by a multi-layer approach to authentica-
tion, integrity and confidentiality, and 3) the compatibility with
already-operational systems.
86 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 E-GNSS ADDED VALUE

CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURES WILL BE MORE ROBUST WITH GALILEO AUTHENTICATION SERVICES

Galileo authentication services for more robustness Development of a Galileo-based timing receiver for critical
With increasing GNSS spoofing threats and the heavy reliance of critical infrastruc- infrastructures robustness (GIANO)
tures on GNSS timing and synchronisation applications, the need for a more robust Thales Alenia Space has been awarded a grant under the GSA’s FE funding mechanism for the develop-
timing source has become critical. In response to this growing concern, the Galileo ment of the GIANO receiver, which aims to make critical infrastructure more robust against interference,
programme has designed two E-GNSS civil authentication services: jamming and spoofing. The timing platform prototype to be developed and validated will integrate all the
• Galileo OS Navigation Message Authentication (OS-NMA) provides a rein- latest innovative technologies, including professional products from Thales Alenia Space, paving the way
forced authentication capacity compared to the Galileo OS and with free access. for future Galileo-based timing receivers that offer improved resilience and accuracy at a reasonable cost.
More information at: gianoproject.eu
• Galileo Commercial Authentication Service (CAS) provides reinforced authen-
tication capacity compared to the Galileo OS-NMA with access potentially condi-
tioned to fee.
Thanks to the E-GNSS authentication services, the time source validity is known by the GalilEo Authenticated Robust timing
user and a secure and accurate time traceability to UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) System (GEARS)
can be obtained. In particular OS-NMA provides a first level of robustness against
spoofing with a marginal impact on the receiver (in terms of security constraints and Funded by the FE, a consortium gathering Orolia, FDC, NLR, NLS-FGI and NavCert is developing a prototype
extra computational requirements). This makes it appealing for civil users interested of timing and synchronisation receiver. The project is building a new standard for timing and synchroni-
in an improved security but reluctant to deal with the crypto management constraints sation applications, leveraging benefit from unique Galileo services such as accurate dual-frequency time
as well as additional GNSS receivers costs. transfer and OS-NMA to provide unprecedented resilience and confidence. The multiple layered filtering
approach creates a robust, secured and adaptative protection against radio frequency and cyber threats.
As such, it will set an assured service for critical operations.
More information at: gnss-fantastic.eu
FANTASTIC: Galileo OS-NMA
benefits for improving
robustness against spoofing Safety-and liability-critical key performance parameters
and meaconing
Key Performance Parameter (KPP)* EGNOS contribution Galileo contribution
FANTASTIC, a project funded by the FE funding mechanism, is a first commercial
step towards secure GNSS timing products implementing time authentication Accuracy
and spoofing detection and rejection. Among others, the FANTASTIC project has
assessed the benefits of OS-NMA as an anti-spoofing technique. Availability
An authentication software has been developed and validated against the version Continuity
1.1 of the OS-NMA Interface Control Document (ICD). The authentication software
Integrity
authenticates the navigation messages and only allows their use in the positioning
engine if they are authenticated. It also has an option to block signals in real time if Robustness
anomalies on the authentication are detected, which typically mitigates a spoofing
Time-To-First-Fix (TTFF)
attack in about one minute.
More information at: gnss-fantastic.eu Major contribution, capable of enabling new GNSS applications
Medium contribution, enhancing the user experience
Low contribution, performances improved but no major difference at user level
* The Key Performance Parameters are defined in Annex 3
 87

EDITOR’S SPECIAL:
SPACE DATA FOR EUROPE

Overview 88
EU space infrastructure 89
Tools to support data management 90
Cloud services 91
Challenges 92
Vision and benefits 93
Data and green deal 94
88 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 THE SPACE DATA FOR EUROPE OVERVIEW

THE ROLE OF SPACE DATA IN OVERALL DATA MANAGEMENT IS INCREASING

The volume of data produced globally is growing at a breath-taking rate. In IDC’s ‘Data Age 2025’ white paper, it is estimated that the collective sum of the World’s data will reach 175 zettabytes in 2025,
from 33 zettabytes in 2018, representing a compound annual growth rate of 61 percent. To provide a yardstick, a zettabyte corresponds to a trillion gigabytes and while presenting the data, IDC comments:
‘If one were able to store 175 ZB onto Blu-ray discs, then you’d have a stack of discs that can get you to the moon 23 times.’
Undoubtedly, the storage, exchange and processing of this massive amount of information, as well as the development of related technologies, will stand at the forefront of the current technological
revolution. Combined with other major technological changes in domains such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), connectivity or computing, availability of this vast amount of data offers a multitude of
possibilities to fuel economic growth and societal wellbeing.
In the EU, many growth opportunities are connected to the creation of a single EU market for data. According to the European Commission: between 2018 and 2025, the number of professionals
employed in the data economy is set to double and overall the data economy is expected to contribute more than 5.8 % of the EU27’s GDP. This development will contribute to making the EU economy
more competitive globally and will enable innovative processes, products and services.
Data coming from space – alone or integrated with ground-generated information – represents a relevant piece of the jigsaw. Within the EU, Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus provide data and information
that are increasingly used by organisations and consumers. The potential of data is, however, still far from being fully exploited.
Traditionally, space systems such as Galileo and Copernicus have provided end-to-end services to users. This approach is expanding to the
direct use of space data thanks to improving data technologies and industry capacity to build innovative value-added services directly
using space data. On the other hand, a limiting factor of space data exploitation has been the difficulty of managing and processing the The value of the data economy
vast amount of data, to make it usable for end users. (EU27)
2018 2025
In this Editor’s special, we focus on the trends and the challenges connected to the data-driven revolution, on the specific space data contri-
bution, and on how the EU plans to shape its digital future. European GNSS and Earth Observation (EO) capacities have a powerful role to
play within this new technological shift. With an increasing penetration of GNSS-based applications in our daily lives as well as the growing
importance of geospatial assets to deal with environmental and security-related issues, space-based technologies and applications indeed
foster the use of a booming amount of data and bring unprecedented possibilities in many domains.
2.8x

€301 billion €829 billion

(2.4% of EU GDP) (5.8% of EU GDP)

A booming production of data

2,500 The number of data professionals
2,142
(EU27)
2,000
Volume (zettabytes)

2018 2025
1,500 1 zettabyte = 109 terabytes
1021 bytes
1,000
612
500 2x
175
0
2 12 33 47
5.7 million 10.9 million
2010 2015 2018 2020 2025 2030 2035
Data Source: © Statista JDN Source: EC
 EU SPACE INFRASTRUCTURE THE SPACE DATA FOR EUROPE GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020
89

COPERNICUS GENERATES EASILY ACCESSIBLE SPACE DATA GEOREFERENCED BY EGNSS

Through cameras and other sensors satellites continuously gather a large amount of data. These global environmental observations are then collected by ground stations and processed using analytical
software to produce various geophysical variables that help to describe the Earth’s atmospheric, oceanic, and terrestrial domains. Within this context, GNSS contributes by enhancing the value of the data
owing to its georeferencing capabilities. This so-called space data is mostly the result of public investments. Traditionally, only governments have been able to undertake this kind of venture, although
lately more and more private space firms have improved their ability to build, launch and manage satellites.
Copernicus, the European Union’s Earth Observation Programme, aims to achieve a global and high-quality Earth observation capacity based on satellite and in-situ (non-space) data. Copernicus with
over 20 TB of Earth Observation (EO) data generated daily, is a major data provider globally and offers data and information services freely and openly accessible in a wide range of application areas. As
cloud computing is changing the way businesses and individuals use software, space-related applications benefit from this revolution. For instance, to facilitate the use of Copernicus data, the European
Commission has funded the development of five cloud-based platforms called DIAS (see box below).
EGNOS and Galileo integrate with other GNSS to provide positioning and timing information, essential for time and geo-referencing of virtually all other data (e.g. environmental data). This ubiquitous
location and timing data is powered by EGNSS in devices such as wearables, smartphones, tablets, vehicles, shipping cargo, or IoT, where EGNSS provides location information of increasing relevance for
many sectors such as finance, transport, health, retail, environment and many more.

Data from EU Space Programmes Copernicus’s Data and Information Access Services (DIAS)
GALILEO satellites Broadcast signals Including The European Union’s Copernicus Pro-
four different Galileo navigation messages that contain The DIAS and where to reach them
gramme produces up to 20 terabytes of
all the parameters that enable the receiver to compute
data each day and Copernicus services are
the users location or a precise timing Information.
EGNOS satellites Broadcast corrections and SENTINEL-1 Radar Mission provided free of charge to users.
Integrity information for GPS satellites 30x Galileo and All-weather, day-and-night radar imaging
In order to facilitate and standardise access
4x EGNOS satellites satellite for land and ocean services
to Copernicus data and information ser-
vices, the European Commission has
SENTINEL-6 Altimetry Mission SENTINEL-2 HR Optical Mission funded the deployment of five cloud-based
Observes changes in sea surface height Medium Res Multispectral optical satellite for platforms providing centralised access to
with an accuracy of a few centimeters observation of land, vegetation and water Copernicus data and information, as well
as to processing tools.
These platforms are known as the DIAS, or Data and Information Access Services. The
five DIAS online platforms allow users to discover, manipulate, process and download
Copernicus data and information together with cloud-based tools (open source and/
SENTINEL-5 LEO Atmospheric Chemistry Mission SENTINEL-3 MR Optical and Altimetry Mission or on a pay-per-use basis). The five DIAS are called CREODIAS, MUNDI, ONDA, SOBLOO
Measures air quality and solar radiation, monitors Measures sea-surface topography with a resolution
stratospheric ozone and the climate and WEKEO and their architectures enable further extraction of value from Copernicus
of 300m, sea and land surface temperature and
colour with a resolution of 1 km data and information and increase the ease with which it is handled.
Each of the five platforms also provides access to additional commercial satellite or
SENTINEL-5P LEO Atmospheric Chemistry Mission non-space data sets. Furthermore, DIAS allows the users to develop and host their
Global observation of key atmospheric constituents,
own applications in the cloud, while removing the need to download bulky files from
including ozone, nitrogen, dioxide, sulphur dioxide
and other environmental pollutants SENTINEL-4 GEO Atmospheric Chemistry Mission several access points and process them locally. This opens the doors to additional
Provides hourly updates on air quality with data on private users and data aggregators who can further create value from Copernicus
atmospheric aerosol and traces gas concentrations space data, thus expanding the value of space data.
90 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 THE SPACE DATA FOR EUROPE TOOLS TO SUPPORT DATA MANAGEMENT

TOOLS TO SUPPORT DATA MANAGEMENT: AI, COMPUTING, CONNECTIVITY, CYBERSECURITY

The opportunities offered by data to develop Edge computing
new products and services will be tapped
The last decade has seen a move towards systematically transferring data from the place it is gener-
only if the massive amount of data resulting
ated to a central processing system. This is evidenced in the move to cloud computing services
from digitalisation is appropriately processed,
and the development of IoT and the multi-sensory environment.
exchanged and secured through state-of-
the-art technologies like Artificial Intelli- Based on a distributed network infrastructure approach, edge computing consists in processing
gence, quantum computing, high-perfor- and stacking large data sets locally while transmitting pre-processed data to a computing centre.
mance networks or blockchain. By doing so, it avoids unnecessary network and storage costs, reduces traffic from the data centre
to the device and solves latency issues.

© Gettyimages
There is a mutual dependence (e.g. AI is
needed to identify patterns or detect trends Combined with new networking technologies and AI models optimised to run ‘at the edge’, edge
in large volumes of data and reciprocally, data computing will support the creation of real-time applications.
availability is essential for training AI systems)
and sometimes there is simply a one-way dependence (e.g. using AI to analyse large data volumes
Artificial Intelligence
requires high computing capacities). Creating a Europe fit for the digital age is a complex undertaking
with many interconnected pieces, as highlighted by the European Commission’s Communication Artificial Intelligence is certainly one of the most promising computer science developments with
‘Shaping Europe’s digital future’. The GSA have analysed the main pieces of such a system. a wide range of applications, including those in which satellite navigation and Earth Observation
play a key role. For instance, AI will help to reduce traffic congestion and to develop safer and
cleaner public and private transport means. It will help to offer better public services, support
Connectivity personalised healthcare services, improve farming management systems and support the fight
Many of the applications made possible by ongoing progress in computer science and data against climate change.
management also require enhanced network capacity. Critical applications like autonomous vehi-
However, the potential of AI goes far beyond these few applications, ranging from automated
cles or remote surgery for instance will require communication networks offering extremely high
facial recognition and mood analysis to behavior prediction. Speech recognition or language
availability and reliability as well as low latency. In addition, the proliferation of the IoT will require
processing and generation will open the door to many other revolutionary applications. For
that a massive number of sensors and smart devices are connected simultaneously.
example, in the years to come, AI might well enable the implementation of fully automated
Owing to the performance they will offer (multi-Gbps peak data rates for each cell, 1-5 ms latency, drones or self-driving cars.
connection density of 1 million devices per square km, high reliability), 5G and 6G networks should
be a game changer for many sectors.
Cybersecurity
As any other technological progress, the increasing digitalisation of our societies also brings a
High-Performance Computing, quantum computing number of safety and security concerns. Indeed, with billions of connected devices producing data,
High-performance computing (HPC) is being used to solve problems requiring complex compu- a key issue is how to protect this distributed (and sometime critical) information from hackers and
tation such as climate research, weather forecasting, aerodynamic simulation and virtual reality malicious uses. Additionally, the threat of unauthorized access to people’s sensitive data poses a
(VR). However, the advent of AI and IoT requires more and more processing capacity. Quantum big danger in terms of privacy protection.
computing is expected to have a strong impact in domains like AI and Big Data, where processing
One of the emerging technologies enabling cybersecurity is Blockchain, which can secure the IoT
power is a limitation. For instance, quantum computing could support the development of more
by ensuring that the transfer of data generated by devices is protected, among other applications.
humanlike AI by helping to run neural networks or could support more reliable and more accurate
In healthcare, blockchain can be used to secure the storage of and access to patients’ medical data.
weather forecasting and climate projections. It could also help to solve complex navigation prob-
Logistics is another use case of blockchain, where this technology can be used to protect data such
lems (e.g. optimise route planning and traffic flows) better and quicker than classical computing,
as the location and status of supplies all along the supply chain. The same applies to autonomous
as illustrated earlier in this report.
vehicles for which the data produced by the onboard sensors and cameras must be stored securely.
 CLOUD SERVICES THE SPACE DATA FOR EUROPE GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020
91

CLOUD SERVICES OFFER A VARIETY OF SOLUTIONS FOR EFFICIENT DATA STORAGE AND PROCESSING
Cloud computing services cover a vast range of options, from the basics of storage, networking, and
processing power through to natural language processing and artificial intelligence, as well as standard
office applications. One benefit of using cloud computing services is that firms can avoid the upfront cost
Three main types of cloud services
and complexity of owning and maintaining their own IT infrastructure, and instead simply pay for what
they use. In turn, providers of cloud computing services can benefit from significant economies of scale by
delivering the same services to a wide range of customers, while hardware failures do not result in data loss
owing to networked backups. Three main types of service are offered:
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): refers to the ability to provide customers with storage, networks, and
other fundamental resources to deploy and run software such as operating systems and applications End users
SaaS
via the Internet. Cloud hosted
• Platform as a Service (PaaS): providers allow customers such as application developers to avoid applications
managing virtual servers to create applications by using the coding environment offered by the provider

Value visibility to end user

and uploaded on the cloud. The providers maintain the operating systems and related hardware.
Application developers PaaS
• Software as a Service (SaaS): is used to deliver an application as a service over the Internet. Instead of Operating system, dvp tools,
installing the software on a locally hosted server, the software is installed on third-party infrastructure database management
and streamed to users and organisations as a service. SaaS has been widely used by many companies
and organisations to reduce cost and improve efficiency because the software is only used when needed.
The difference between the layers lies in which part of the stack is managed by client versus which part is Network architects laaS
managed by the provider. In a Software as a Service model, the Cloud provider manages everything: they Physical data center, servers, storage,
firewals & security, network
manage the web application of that software, the operating system and the hardware that resides in their
Cloud data centre, as illustrated on the right.

Worldwide public cloud service revenue forecast (€ billion)

300.00
In terms of market size, the global public Cloud services market is forecast to grow
250.00 17% in 2020 to a total €226.3 billion, from €193.5bn in 2019, according to Gartner.
62.93
200.00 52.06 Of those services, the biggest generator of revenues is SaaS followed by IaaS and
42.46 PaaS. The market is highly concentrated with the top 3 vendors – Amazon Web
150.00 34.22
27.51 128.31 Services, Microsoft and Google - controlling over 50% of it.
98.51 112.94
100.00 84.49
72.78 The cloud computing services market has been rising sharply in Europe and is
50.00 22.42 27.34 33.71 41.02 49.25
expected to surpass €67bn by the year 2026, as the market will see a steady uptake
0.00 of cloud computing platforms. Some noteworthy European players are emerging
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 and can be categorised into three groups according to their origin: in pure cloud-
born, telecom-born and software-born cloud providers. The main providers are
Cloud Application Infrastructure Services (PaaS)
Cloud Application Services (SaaS) Source: Gartner
OVHcloud and Orange in France; SAP, 1&1 and T-Systems (Deutsche Telekom) in
Cloud System Infrastructure Services (IaaS) Germany; BT in UK and Acens (Telefónica) in Spain.
92 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 THE SPACE DATA FOR EUROPE CHALLENGES

DESPITE TECHNOLOGIAL PROGRESS EUROPE NEEDS TO FACE SEVERAL CHALLENGES

Digitalisation affects all areas of life and work and is becoming increasingly important globally. Data interoperability and integrity must be improved
Digital transformation cuts across all economic and societal activities, raising opportunities and
The value of data often comes from its combination with other data. For instance, the combination
challenges and calling for appropriate policy responses to prepare the EU economy and society
of data on air quality with data on sources of pollution (e.g. transport, agriculture), on epidemiology
to reap the full benefits of this transformation.
and on population density can help assess the impacts of air pollution on health. However, the
This section details the main technological challenges, especially in the EU context, that need to successful combination of data is highly dependent on the interoperability of data sets.
be overcome in order to best benefit from the many opportunities offered by the current digital
The interoperability issue, which in the case of geographical data gave birth to the INSPIRE Direc-
transformation.
tive, will be exacerbated with the proliferation of data sources. Another major challenge is the
integration and processing of a growing volume of unstructured data (e.g. images, audio, videos).
EU independence in HPC and Cloud resources must be strengthened The combination of large volumes of data raises the issue of the validation of datasets, which may
include redundant, contradictory, or biased data.
There is a significant gap between computing needs and capacities
in Europe: while European users consume about 29% of the available This latter aspect is particularly critical in the AI domain since the
HPC resources in the world, only 5% of these resources comes from quality of any AI system is intrinsically dependent on the quality of
European providers and no EU supercomputer is in the top 10. the datasets on which it is trained. Methods and tools enabling the
assessment and improvement of data quality are worth investigating.
Similarly, the market for cloud services is dominated by foreign actors
and the large European actors remain very limited in number. This The generation of large volumes of data and the lack of processing
situation poses serious risks to the EU’s capacity to guarantee the capacities have led to the creation of a stock of unexploited data
long-term availability, integrity and protection of data. which, according to current estimates, might represent up to 90% of
data in certain cases. Another challenge of digitalisation is to exploit
so-called ‘dark data’ (data which is acquired through the computer
The ICT sector must be ‘green’ network but not exploited to derive insights) so that their storage
While a reduction in carbon intensity is part of the benefits expected represents not only a cost but also an opportunity.
from the implementation of innovative applications based on the
massive availability of data and the use of technologies such as Arti-
Not enough data available for reuse

© Gettyimages
ficial Intelligence (e.g. through the development of traffic manage-
ment systems), the fact is that the ICT sector itself has a non negligible The value of data lies in its use and re-use. Currently there is not
environmental footprint, with 5-9% of the world’s total electricity enough usable data available for innovative use and re-use, including
consumption and more than 2% of emissions, according to ‘The Shift the development of artificial intelligence.
Project’.
This can be improved via: use of public sector information by business (Government to business
One of the challenges of the entire sector (datacentres, smart devices, sensors, communication (G2B) data sharing), sharing and use of privately-held data by other companies (business-to-busi-
networks) is therefore success in its own green transformation and the adoption of ‘digital sobriety’ ness (B2B) data sharing), use of privately-held data by government authorities (business-to-gov-
(the term for using the Internet and technology in a more mindful and responsible way as opposed ernment (B2G) data sharing), and through data sharing between public authorities.
to cutting it out entirely) as a principle.
Skills shortage and low data literacy
The rights and interests of EU companies and citizens must be preserved Currently, big data and analytics are top of the list of critical skills shortages. According to IDC,
Given the multitude in number and type of cyber threats, another important challenge is to there were approximately half a million unfilled positions in the area of big data and analytics in
guarantee that the digital revolution will fully preserve the rights and interests of EU companies the EU27. Moreover, general data literacy in the workforce and across the population is relatively
(e.g. commercial trade secrets, ownership) and citizens (e.g. privacy). This requires that efficient low and participation gaps exist.
approaches for big data cryptography are developed as the encryption methods currently in use
for securing small/medium volumes of data may not be optimised in a big data context.
 VISION AND BENEFITS THE SPACE DATA FOR EUROPE GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020
93

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION LEADS THE WAY TOWARDS AN EU DATA REVOLUTION

Shaping Europe’s digital future
Digital solutions are key to fighting climate change, achieving the green transition, enabling a vibrant and sustainable economy, and opening new opportunities for business.
The Data Strategy and the White Paper on Artificial Intelligence are the first foundations of the new digital strategy of the European Commission.

Creating a single market for data will make the EU more competitive globally and will enable innovative processes, products and services
SHAPING Data has become the core of the digital transformation, influencing our production, consumption and overall lifestyle. Concrete benefits can be brought to citizens owing to
EUROPE’S
DIGITAL better use of data. Benefits include savings related to real-time traffic avoidance or real-time notification of delayed trains. Data is also an essential resource for start-ups and
FUTURE small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing products and services and for training artificial intelligence systems, with products and services rapidly moving
from pattern recognition and insight generation to more sophisticated forecasting techniques and, thus, better decisions. To fulfil this potential and ensure Europe’s global
competitiveness and data sovereignty, the European Strategy for Data aims at creating a single market for data.

This will be achieved through four pillars:

EGNSS and Copernicus potential contribution to Common European Data Spaces
• A cross-sectoral governance framework for data access and use, which sets clear rules on access and re-use

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of data, making data more widely available by opening high-value publicly held datasets across the EU and

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• Investing in next generation standards, tools and infrastructures to store and process data via federating
energy-efficient and trustworthy cloud infrastructures and related services (a European High Impact Galileo &
Project); EGNOS
• Empowering individuals to learn digital skills and capacity building for SMEs; and Copernicus
• Fostering the roll-out of nine common European data spaces in strategic economic sectors and domains
of public interest (manufacturing, Green Deal, mobility, health, finance, energy, agriculture, public admin- High-value data sets from the public sector
istration). Copernicus and EGNSS have the potential to contribute to all those data spaces (see chart on (including data from Galileo, EGNOS & Copernicus)
the right).
Several steps towards the development of the data economy have been taken since 2014. With the General
Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the EU created a solid framework for digital trust. Other initiatives are the White Paper on Artificial Intelligence – A European approach to excellence and trust
Regulation on the free flow of non-personal data (FFD) and the Cybersecurity Act (CSA). A relevant aspect of
The Commission introduced the White Paper on Artificial Intelligence in February
the EU Data Strategy is how to enable citizens and businesses, especially SMEs, to benefit from high-quality
2020, which presents policy options to enable a trustworthy and secure development
public sector data. Under the ‘Open Data Directive’ – entered into force on 16 July 2019 – and the related imple-
of AI in Europe, in full respect of the values and rights of EU citizens. The strategy is
menting act, it is foreseen that high-value data sets should be made available for free, in machine-readable
divided into two frameworks:
formats, via APIs and (where relevant) as bulk downloads. Thematic categories of high-value datasets include:
geospatial, Earth Observation & environment, meteorological, statistics, companies & company ownership, • The Policy Framework, aiming to mobilise resources to achieve an ‘ecosystem of
and mobility. Many of the themes are affected by space data. To ensure easy and free access to data, the excellence’ along the entire value chain, starting in research and innovation, and
EU Open Data Portal (https://data.europa.eu/euodp/), the point of access to public data published by the EU to create the right incentives to accelerate the adoption of solutions based on AI,
institutions, agencies and other bodies, has been established. The Data Strategy may also cover the intercon- including by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);
nection of existing infrastructure capacities such as the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) platform (www. • The Regulatory Framework that will create a unique ‘ecosystem of trust’, ensuring
eosc-portal.eu) and the EuroHPC initiative (https://eurohpc-ju.europa.eu/). compliance with EU rules, including the rules protecting fundamental rights and
consumer rights.
94 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 THE SPACE DATA FOR EUROPE DATA AND GREEN DEAL

DIGITALISATION: A KEY ENABLER FOR THE ‘GREEN DEAL»

The European Green Deal, recently proposed as the new growth strategy for Europe, aims to transform the EU into a fair and prosperous society, with a modern, resource-efficient and
European
Green competitive economy where there are no net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 and where economic growth is decoupled from resource use. To achieve this objective, the EU needs
Deal
to deeply rethink its policies in many domains. As part of this major transformation, the EU has the ambition to promote and invest in digital transformation.

The dual challenge of a green and digital transformation of the EU The ‘Destination Earth’ initiative
The important role of data and digital infrastructures in support to the European Green Deal is Data and information have become the fuel of our society, allowing us to better model, predict, and
indisputably reflected through many cross-sector aspects of the proposed strategy. understand the impact of human activities on our fragile ecosystem. In addition, the most recent
technological advances offer enhanced simulation, modelling and predictive capacities, boosting
First, the digitalisation and the interconnection of the energy
our ability to tackle the most urgent and complex socio-environmental challenges of our times
market is a key measure to decarbonise the European energy
using the enormous amount of data available.
system. The optimisation of the energy mix has indeed The ‘Digital Twin’ concept aims
become unavoidable if short- and medium- terms climate Using these capacities to build digital twins of the different to create a digital replica of a
objectives are to be reached. Earth sub-system (i.e. urban areas, local ecosystems, physical object or an intangible
cryosphere, climate-related events, etc.) already enables system that can be examined,
The digital transformation also brings major opportunities
support of the main priorities of the different European altered and tested without inter-
to the development of a clean and circular economy, both

© Gettyimages
strategies. acting with it in the real world.
domestically and globally, through the creation of inno-
vative sustainable business models. The use of electronic Taking the concept a (big) step further, the European
product passports could also improve the availability of Commission has the ambition, through its ‘Destination Earth’ initiative, to create a digital twin of
information and therefore the behaviour of European consumers. Such approaches, as well as the Earth in its entirety: an interactive replica of our planet in the digital domain, allowing its anal-
the implementation of digital smart-farming practices, are particularly important to foster an ysis in the past, present, and future, based on a powerful combination of observations (satellite,
environmentally-friendly food system. It also contributes to the implementation of the ’Farm to in-situ, crowdsourced data), AI, Earth system science, and modelling.
Fork’ strategy, improving the place of farmers, fishermen and local producers in the value chain.
Yet, many technological gaps will have to be filled and significant progress will have to be made
The construction, use and renovation of buildings is also a central tenet of this dual challenge.
in the modelling of complex and interconnected natural and anthropogenic processes before a
Building and renovating in an energy and resource-efficient way must pass through increased
digital twin Earth becomes a reality.
digitalisation and climate-proofing of the building stock. Smart mobility will also play a leading
role in these transformations, especially in urban areas where congestion and pollution must be In this perspective, the European Space Agency has recently launched the ‘Digital Twin Earth
drastically reduced. Precursors’ with the objective to bring together scientists, industry, modellers and policy makers
to jointly establish the initial building blocks for the future development of this ground-breaking
Earth representation. Once available, this digital twin Earth should become a key element in the
Space-based data on the front lines development of public policies and the assessment of environmental impact.
Space-based data and information, owing to their ubiquity and continuity, play a significant role
in this dual transformation, fostering a myriad of new green-related applications. EARSC, the European Association of Remote Sensing Companies, is a mem-
bership-based, non-profit organization which coordinates and promotes
In agriculture, the implementation of smart-farming practices relies on the combined
the activities of European companies engaged in delivering Earth obser-
use of both GNSS location information and EO environmental data, allowing farmers to vation-derived geo-information services. EARSC represents this sector in
maximise harvests, while optimising resource consumption. its broadest sense, creating a network between industry, decision makers
In transport, which represents a quarter of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions, GNSS and users and covering the full EO value chain from data acquisition through processing, fusion,
PNT information helps to optimise traffic management patterns while EO data allows a analysis to final geo-information products & services.
thorough monitoring of pollution levels. EARSC is working to ensure that the needs of the European EO community are met in the devel-
opment of the Digital Twin Earth and that the maximum benefit will be delivered to society
In the energy sector, GNSS timing data is used to precisely synchronise transmission from this ground-breaking project.
networks, while EO data helps optimise the production of renewable energy. Text provided by EARSC. For more information visit: http://earsc.org
 95

ANNEXES

Annex 1: GNSS constellations and frequencies 96

Annex 2: Augmentation systems 97
Annex 3: Definition of Key GNSS Performance Parameters 99
Annex 4: Radio-Frequency interference threats to GNSS 100
Annex 5: List of acronyms 101
Annex 6: Methodology 103
Annex 7: About the authors 104
96 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 ANNEXES ANNEX 1: GNSS CONSTELLATIONS AND FREQUENCIES

ANNEX 1: GNSS CONSTELLATIONS AND FREQUENCIES

GNSS frequency bands

GNSS constellations 1176.45 MHz 1227.6 MHz 1575.42 MHz

L5-I P-Code M-Code M-Code P-Code

BPSK(10) BPSK(10) BOC(10,5) BOC(10,5) BPSK(10)
Parameter GPS GLONASS Galileo BeiDou III L1C-I
BOC(1,1)
C/A
Orbital Period (MEO) 11hrs 58min 11hrs 15mins 14hrs 04mins 12hrs 37min L5-Q L2C
BPSK(1)
L1C-Q
BPSK(10) BPSK(1) TMBOC(6,1,4/33)

Orbital Height (MEO) 22,200 Km 19,100 Km 23,222 Km 21,528 Km 1246.0 MHz 1602.0 MHz

L1SF
Inclination (MEO) 55° 64,8° 56° 55° L2SF
BPSK(5.11) BPSK(5.11)

Number of Orbital FDMA

L2OF L1OF
6 3 3 3 BPSK(0.511) BPSK(0.511)
Planes (MEO)
1176.45 MHz 1202.025 MHz 1248.06 MHz 1600.995 MHz
1575.42 MHz
Number of satellites 24 MEOs + 24 MEOs + 24 MEOs + 24 MEOs + L5OC-I L3OC-I
L2OC L1OCI L1OC
BPSK(1) BPSK(1)
6 spares 2 spares 6 spares 3 GEOs + 3 IGSOs BOC(1,1) BOC(1,1)

+ spares CDMA
L2SC L1SC
L5OC-Q L3OC-Q BOC(5,2.5) BOC(5,2.5)

Reference frame WGS-84 PZ-90 GTFR CGCS 2000 1176.45 MHz 1207.14 MHz 1278.75 MHz 1575.42 MHz
Alt-BOC(15,10) E6B, E6C E1B, E1C
Reference time GPS Time (GPST) GLONASS Time Galileo System BeiDou Time E5a-I E5b-I BPSK(5) CBOC(6,1,1/11)

(GLONASST) Time (GST) (BDT)

E6A E1A
E5a-Q E5b-Q BOCcos(10,5) BOCcos(15,2.5)

RNSS constellations (regional coverage) 1207.14 MHz 1268.75 MHz 1561.098 MHz
B2-I(OS) B3-I(AS) B1-I(OS)
BPSK(2) BPSK(10) BPSK(2)
Parameter NAVIC QZSS
BeiDou II

Coverage India and a region extending 1,500 km B2-Q(AS)

BPSK(10)
B3-Q(AS)
BPSK(10)
B1-Q(AS)
BPSK(2)
Asia-Oceania region
(930 mi) around it
1176.45 MHz 1207.14 MHz 1268.52 MHz 1575.42 MHz

Number of B2a-D(OS)
ACE-BOC(15,10)
B2b-D
B3I B1-C
BOC(1,1) Data
5 IGSOs + 3 GEOs 3 IGSOs + 1 GEO BPSK(10)
BOC(1,1) Pilot-I
satellites B3-A
BOC(15,2.5)
B1C
BOC(6,1) Pilot-Q
BeiDou III
B3
Reference frame WGS-84 JGS B2a-P(OS) B2b-P BPSK(10)

1176.45 MHz 1227.6 MHz 1278.75 MHz 1575.42 MHz

Reference time IRNSS Network Time (IRNWT) QZSS Time (QZSST)
L5-I L2C LEX C/A, SAIF
BPSK(10) BPSK(1) BPSK(5) BPSK(1)
L1C-I
QZSS BOC(1,1)
L5-Q
BPSK(10)

1176.45 MHz

SPS
BPSK(1)
NavIC RS
BOC(5,2)

E5/L5 Band L2 Band E6 Band E1/L1 Band

Source: adapted from Navipedia, http://www.navipedia.net/index.php/GNSS_signal

 ANNEX 2: AUGMENTATION SYSTEMS ANNEXES GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020
97

ANNEX 2A: AUGMENTATION SYSTEMS AND SERVICES EXPAND TO SERVE NEW MARKETS
Augmentation systems and services allow the improvement of GNSS perfor- Public SBAS service providers plans to provide other value-added services
mance parameters. SBAS and DGNSS systems are examples of augmentations
As introduced earlier in this report (see page 14), several SBAS service providers have announced their intention to
historically developed for improving both GNSS accuracy and integrity. PPP,
provide added-value services, primarily Precise Point Positioning (PPP) service, and thus address new markets. The
RTK improve accuracy down to the centimetre level. A-GNSS supports better
following table lists the PPP service plans under discussion at the SBAS Interoperability Working Group (IWG) level.
availability, shorter TTFF and lower power requirements. The technical princi-
ples behind each of these augmentations are presented in details in the Editor’s
special of the first edition of this report (2016). This edition provides a compara-
tive review of these augmentation systems and their key performances, in pages Name Service Stated accuracy Supported Constellations Owned by
17-18.
Current: GPS
SBAS
Globally, there is more than ever a plethora of augmentation services available A-SBAS Future: GPS + Galileo ASECNA
at local, regional or global scale, on a free-to-access basis or on commercial PPP-AR* GPS + Galileo
subscription.
Horizontal: <5m Current: BDS + GPS + GLONASS
Both public and private sector providers are undertaking efforts to make high-ac- SBAS
BDSBAS Vertical: <8m Future: BDS + GPS + GLONASS + Galileo China
curacy positioning widely available to all categories of users from mass market PPP-AR BeiDou
to professional ones. This trend is triggered by the demand from emerging appli-
cations such as self-driving cars or UAVs operating in urban environment and Horizontal: <1m Current: GPS
SBAS
enabled by multi-frequency capabilities of current or future GNSS systems. EGNOS Vertical: <1.5m Future (EGNOS V3): GPS + Galileo European Union
PPP-AR GPS + Galileo
Horizontal:1.5m
GAGAN SBAS GPS India
Vertical: 2.5m
Horizontal: <1m
KASS SBAS GPS Korea
Vertical: <1.7m
Current: GPS
MSAS SBAS <2m Future (MSAS V4): GPS + GLONASS Japan
+ Galileo + BeiDou+QZSS
Horizontal: 0.5m Current: GPS + GLONASS
SBAS Russian
SDCM Vertical 0.8m Future: GPS + GLONASS + Galileo + Beidou
Federation
PPP-RTK GPS / GLONASS / Galileo / BeiDou
Current: GPS
SBAS <1 m Australia
SPAN Future: GPS + Galileo
and New Zealand
ppp* GPS + Galileo
Horizontal: <1m
WAAS SBAS GPS USA
Vertical: <1.5m
* Experimental only stage in March 2020
98 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 ANNEXES ANNEX 2: AUGMENTATION SYSTEMS

ANNEX 2B: MAIN COMMERCIAL AUGMENTATION SERVICES

Commercial GNSS Augmentation Services remain Name Service Stated Performance Supported Constellations Delivery Method Method Provider
a key enabler of high-accuracy operations, whilst Atlas Basic < 50 cm GPS + GLONASS + Galileo + BeiDou L band PPP
also expanding into the mass-market domain Atlas Atlas H30 < 30 cm GPS + GLONASS + Galileo + BeiDou L band PPP Hemisphere
Atlas H10 < 8 cm GPS + GLONASS + Galileo + BeiDou L band PPP
Many operations have long relied on the increased C-NavC1 < 15 cm GPS L band PPP
C-Nav Oceaneering
accuracy, integrity and availability secured by commer- C-NavC2 < 5 cm GPS + GLONASS Internet, L band PPP
cial augmentation services. Provided at a global, conti- PPP Float L1 50 cm GPS + GLONASS + Galileo + BeiDou Internet, L band PPP
nental or regional scale, these services today consist PPP Float L1/L2 10 cm GPS + GLONASS + Galileo + BeiDou Internet, L band PPP
primarily of PPP and RTK solutions, with some legacy GeoFlex PPP Fix 4 cm GPS + GLONASS + Galileo + BeiDou Internet, L band PPP GeoFlex
Local PPP Fix&Rapid 4 cm GPS + GLONASS + Galileo + BeiDou Internet, L band PPP
D-GNSS maintaining a solid presence in the market. At
Global PPP Fix&Rapid 4 cm GPS + GLONASS + Galileo + BeiDou Internet, L band PPP
the same time, PPP-RTK solutions are emerging along-
Here HD GNSS <1m GPS + GLONASS + Galileo + BeiDou Internet PPP Here
side commercial augmentation solutions in an effort Magic MagicPPP < 10 cm GPS + GLONASS + Galileo + BeiDou + QZSS Internet PPP GMV
to make the most of both worlds. Whilst traditionally NAVCAST NAVCAST < 20 cm GPS + Galileo Internet PPP SpaceOpal
serving professional users operating in demanding VBS <1m GPS L band DGNSS
contexts and environments, in recent years there has HP 5-10 cm GPS L band PPP
OmniSTAR Trimble
been a clear trend towards transport or mass-market XP 8-10 cm GPS L band PPP
use of commercial augmentation services. Most G2 8-10 cm GPS + GLONASS L band PPP
providers seek to exploit the full multi-GNSS breadth ViewPoint <1m GPS + GLONASS + Galileo + BeiDou + QZSS Internet, L band PPP
RangePoint < 50 cm GPS + GLONASS + Galileo + BeiDou + QZSS Internet, L band PPP
by utilizing all available constellations in their offering. RTX Trimble
FieldPoint < 10 cm GPS + GLONASS + Galileo + BeiDou + QZSS Internet, L band PPP
Some major commercial operators and services avail- CenterPoint < 2 cm GPS + GLONASS + Galileo + BeiDou + QZSS Internet, L band PPP
able at a global level are listed in the table on the Sapa Basic <1m GPS + GLONASS Internet, L band PPP-RTK
SAPA Sapa Premium < 10 cm GPS + GLONASS Internet, L band PPP-RTK Sapcorda
right. Despite our best efforts, this table is incomplete
Sapa Premium + < 10 cm with Integrity GPS + GLONASS Internet, L band PPP-RTK
due to the very fast pace of change in this industry
Skylark Skylark 10 cm GPS + Galileo Internet PPP Swift Navigation
sector. We do apologise to readers and to missing SF2 < 10 cm GPS + GLONASS L band PPP
service providers, and recommend visiting our site Starfire John Deere
SF3 < 3 cm GPS + GLONASS L band PPP
at: usegalileo.eu/EN/inner.html#data =surveying for a G2 < 10 cm GPS + GLONASS Internet, L band PPP
more complete and up-to-date list of augmentation G2+ < 3 cm GPS + GLONASS Internet, L band PPP
providers. Starfix
G4 < 10 cm GPS + GLONASS + Galileo + BeiDou Internet, L band PPP
Fugro
XP2 < 10 cm GPS + GLONASS Internet, L band PPP
HP < 10 cm GPS Internet, L band DGNSS
L1 <1m GPS Internet, L band DGNSS
TerraStar-L 50 cm GPS + GLONASS L band PPP
TerraStar TerraStar-C 5 cm GPS + GLONASS L band PPP Hexagon AB
Terra Star-C PRO 3 cm GPS + GLONASS + Galileo + BeiDou L band PPP
Apex < 5 cm GPS L band PPP
Apex2 < 5 cm GPS + GLONASS L band PPP
Apex5 < 5 cm GPS + GLONASS + Galileo + BeiDou + QZSS L band PPP
Veripos Ultra < 10 cm GPS L band PPP Hexagon AB
Ultra2 < 10 cm GPS + GLONASS L band PPP
Standard <1m GPS L band DGNSS
Standard2 <1m GPS + GLONASS L band DGNSS
 ANNEX 3: KEY PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS ANNEXES GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020
99

ANNEX 3: DEFINITION OF GNSS KEY PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS

Key GNSS requirements and performance parameters
Accuracy is the difference between true and computed solution (position or time). This is expressed Latency is the difference between the reference time of the solution and the time this solution
as the value within which a specified proportion - usually 95% - of samples would fall if measured. is made available to the end user or application (i.e. including all delays). Latency is typically
This report refers to positioning accuracy using the following convention: centimetre-level: 0-10 accounted for in a receiver, but presents a potential problem for integration (fusion) of multiple
centimetres; decimetre level: 10-100 centimetres; metre-level: 1-10 m. positioning solutions, or for high dynamics mobile devices.
Authentication gives a level of assurance that the data provided by a positioning system has been Power consumption is the amount of power a device uses to provide a position. It will vary
derived from real signals. Radio frequency spoofing may affect the positioning system resulting in depending on the available signals and data. For example, GNSS chips will use more power when
false data as output of the system itself. scanning to identify signals (cold start) than when computing a position. Typical values are in the
order of tens of milliwatts (for smartphone chipsets).
Availability is the percentage of time the position, navigation or timing solution that can be
computed by the user in the coverage area. Values vary greatly according to the specific application Robustness relates to spoofing and jamming and how the system can cope with these issues. It is
and services used. a more qualitative than quantitative parameter and depends on the type of attack or interference
the receiver is capable of mitigating. Robustness can be improved by authentication information
• System availability: is what GNSS Interface Control Documents (ICDs) refer to. Values typically
and services.
range from 95 to 99.9%.
Time To First Fix (TTFF) is a measure of time between activation of a receiver and the availa-
• Overall availability: takes into account the receiver performance and the user’s environment.
bility of a solution, including any power on self-test, acquisition of satellite signals and navigation
Values vary greatly according to the specific use cases and services used.
data and computation of the solution. It mainly depends on data that the receiver has access to
Continuity is the ability of a system to perform its function (deliver PNT services with the required before activation: cold start (the receiver has no knowledge of the current situation and must thus
performance levels) without being interrupted for the intended operation. It is usually expressed as systematically search for and identify signals before processing them – a process that can take up
the risk of discontinuity and depends entirely on the timeframe of the application. A typical value to several minutes); warm start (the receiver has estimates of the current situation - typically taking
is around 1*10-4 over the course of the procedure where the system is in use. tens of seconds) or hot start (the receiver understands the current situation - typically taking a few
seconds).
Indoor penetration is the ability of a signal to penetrate inside buildings (e.g. through windows).
Indoor penetration does not have an agreed or typical means for expression. In GNSS this param-
eter is dictated by the sensitivity of the receiver, whereas for other positioning technologies there
are vastly different factors that determine performance (for example, availability of WiFi base
stations for WiFi-based positioning).
Integrity is a term used to express the ability of the system to provide warnings to users when it
should not be used. It is the probability of a user being exposed to an error larger than the alert
limits without timely warning. The way integrity is ensured and assessed, and the means of deliv-
ering integrity related information to users are highly application dependent. Throughout this
report, ‘integrity’ is to be understood at large, i.e. not restricted to safety-critical or civil aviation
definitions but also encompassing concepts of quality assurance/quality control as used in other
applications and sectors.

Important Notices:
1. Applications often trade off parameters against each other depending on their requirements. For example, in safety-critical applications integrity is
prioritised over accuracy, whilst in mass market applications low power consumption and TTFF are prioritised over integrity.
2. The above definitions are applicable to this report only and are not meant to be used for any other purpose.
100 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 ANNEXES ANNEX 4: RADIO-FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE THREATS TO GNSS

ANNEX 4: RADIO-FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE THREATS TO GNSS

Due to the nature of GNSS (signals received with very low power level), these Deliberate RF interference - jamming
systems are vulnerable to either natural (e.g. ionospheric scintillation) or
Although GNSS jammers are illegal to market, sell and use in most countries, they can nevertheless be bought by the
man-made (e.g. radio-frequency interferences (RFI) of all sorts) phenomena that
public on the internet. A typical motivation for using a jammer is to fool devices used in asset tracking. However, such
may severely disrupt their operation – up to a partial or total denial of service.
jammers often disrupt GNSS over a much larger area than advertised, transforming an alleged ‘privacy protection
Such phenomena can be deliberate (jamming and spoofing attacks), but can
device’ into a major public nuisance.
also be unwanted (spurious radiation of other radio devices, GNSS multipath
propagation). Regardless of their nature, these phenomena threaten or degrade
GNSS signal reception and should be mitigated against. Unintentional RF interference
Multipath: a multipath effect is, by definition, a self-interference occurring when the direct path GNSS signal is
combined with a delayed replica of itself. It affects carrier as well as code phase measurements. However, by knowing
A simplified taxonomy of man-made RF threats to GNSS
the nature of the interfering signal one can devise specific mitigation strategies.

Deliberate
Other RF interferences: These are unpredictable events, due to abnormal spurious adjacent band or harmonic radi-
(Jamming) ations. Reported incidents have implied sources as diverse as microwave devices, airport radars and TV transmitters.
Denial of Service
(Interferences) Multipath
Unintentional Generating a forged GNSS signal
Others RFI
Data bits generation: There are two approaches to data bit generation, namely navigation messages replica and
GNSS threats

forgery.
Data Bits Generation • Navigation messages replica: Data from space is replayed to reuse the authentic data and/or the ephemeris of
Forged signal
generation the live signal.
Spreading Sequence
& Carrier Generation • Navigation messages forgery: The attacker can theoretically forge the navigation message to achieve a desired
Deception of Service
(Spoofing) PVT (Position, Velocity, Timing) at the receiver. If message authentication is used, the authentication tag must
Real-Time Replica also be forged.
Replay attacks
(Meaconing) Spreading sequence and carrier generation: A GNSS system modulates the data with Direct-Sequence Spread
Record and Replay Spectrum (DSSS). For all open services, these sequences are published in the system’s Interface Control Documents
(ICDs), and may be used to construct a simulated signal. Such a forged signal may then be broadcast with or without
synchronising the simulated and real-satellite spreading sequences and at various power levels.

Spoofing is a more sophisticated and malicious form of attack than jamming

Replay attacks – meaconing
(successful spoofing goes undetected). Although jamming is a well-known threat,
the classification of spoofing attacks that affect GNSS signals is not straightfor- Real-time signal replica: signals from space can be delayed and replayed with appropriate hardware, e.g. by using
ward, with the following parameters being vulnerable to attack (independently cables that introduce delays into the propagation times, allowing errors in the order of 100 to 200 metres to be
or not): timing information, ranging information, ephemeris data, almanac data, introduced in the position solution. Even if this approach isn’t sufficient to simulate a desired PVT or trajectory, a
corrections data, integrity data, service parameters and authentication data. user might use it to cheat unprotected liability-critical applications (self-spoofing).
The different types of threats are further introduced on the right side of this Record and replay: this attack is performed using already commercially available products. The typical architecture
page, while information on how to get protected against them are provided on of these devices consists of a down-converter and analogue-to-digital converter (ADC), glue-logic, digital storage
pages 24 and 83. (hard disk), and a digital-to-analogue converter (DAC) and up-converter for the retransmission of the signal.
 ANNEX 5: LIST OF ACRONYMS ANNEXES GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020
101

ANNEX 5: LIST OF ACRONYMS (1/2)

3D Three Dimensional CSA Cyber Security Act GSO Geosynchronous Orbit
ABAS Aircraft-Based Augmentation System CSAC Chip Scale Atomic Clock GSS Galileo Sensor Station
ADAS Advanced Driver Assistance System DAC Digital-to-Analogue Converter GSWG GNSS Sub-Working Group
ADC Analogue-to-Digital Converter DACU Digital Antenna Controller Unit GTRF Galileo terrestrial reference frame
ADS-B Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast DF Dual Frequency H2020 Horizon 2020
AGC Automatic Gain Control DFMC Dual Frequency Multi-Constellation H2H Hull 2 Hull
A-GNSS Assisted GNSS DGNSS Differential GNSS HAS High Accuracy Service (Galileo)
AI Artificial Intelligence DSSS Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum HE Horizon Europe
AIS Automatic Identification System EARSC European Association of Remote Sensing Companies HEO Highly Elliptical Orbits
AltBOC Alternative BOC modulation EC European Commission HPC High Performance Computing
AMC Acceptable Means of Compliance EU27 European Union (27 Member States) H-ARAIM Horizontal-ARAIM
AR Augmented Reality EDAS EGNOS Data Access Service IALA International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation
ARAIM Advanced RAIM EGNOS European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service and Lighthouse Authorities
ARNS Aeronautical Radio Navigation Service E-GNSS European GNSS IAT International Atomic Time
A-SBAS ASECNA Satellite-Based Augmentation System eLORAN enhanced Long-range Navigation ICAO International Civil Aviation Organisation
ASECNA Agence pour la Sécurité de la Navigation Aérienne ELT Emergency Location Transmitters ICD Interface Control Document
en Afrique et à Madagascar ICG International Committee on GNSS
EMBB Enhanced mobile broadband
ATM Air Traffic Management
EO Earth Observation IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer
ATP Automatic Train Protection
EPIRB Emergency Positioning Indicator Radio Beacon IERS International Earth Rotation Service
AUV Autonomous Underwater Vehicle
ePRTC enhanced PRTC IF Intermediate Frequency
BDS BeiDou Navigation Satellite System
ERTMS European Rail Traffic Management System IFR Instrument flight rule
BDSBAS BeiDou Satellite-Based Augmentation System
ESA European Space Agency IGS International GNSS service
BeiDou Chinese GNSS, formerly known as Compass
EU European Union IGSO Inclined Geo-Synchronous Orbit
BDS-3 Third generation BeiDou system
EUROCAE European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment ILS Instrument Landing System
BDT BeiDou Navigation Satellite System Time
FDE Fault Detection and Exclusion IMU Inertial Measurement Unit
BOC Binary Offset Carrier modulation
FDMA Frequency Division Multiple Access INS Inertial Navigation System
BPSK Binary Phase-Shift Keying
FE Fundamental Elements funding mechanism IoT Internet of Things
BYOD Bring Your Own Device
FKP Flächen-Korrektur-Parameter ISM Integrity Support Message
CAA Civil Aviation Authority
FFD Free flow of non-personal data regulation ITRS International Terrestrial Reference System
CAP Common Agricultural Policy
GADSS Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System IRIG Inter-Range Instrumentation Group
CAS Commercial Authentication Service
CAT I, II, III ILS Categories for precision instrument approach and landing GAGAN GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation ISOBUS or ISO BUS or ISO 11783: communication protocol based
GA General Aviation upon SAE J1939 for the agriculture industry
CSWaP Cost, Size, Weight and Power
GBAS Ground Based Augmentation System ITS Intelligent Transport System
CDMA Code Division Multiple Access
GAST GBAS Approach Service Type ITU International Telecommunication Union
CED Clock and Ephemeris Data
CGCS 2000 China Geodetic Coordinate System 2000 GEARS GalilEo Authenticated Robust timing System ITU-T International Telecommunication Union-Telecommunication
CLAS Centimeter Level Augmentation Service (QZSS) GEO Geostationary Orbit JGS Japan satellite navigation Geodetic System
CLONETS CLOck NETwork Services GDPR General Data Protection Regulation JRC (EC´s) Joint Research Centre
CNR, C/N0 Carrier-to-Noise Ratio GIS Geographic Information System KASS Korean Augmentation Satellite System
COMPASS see BeiDou GLONASS Russian GLObalnaya NAvigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema KPI Key Performance Indicators
CORS Continuously Operating Reference Station GM Guidance Material KPP Key Performance Parameter
COSPAS- Russian Cosmicheskaya Sistyema Poiska GMDSS Global Maritime Distress and Safety System LBS Location Based Service
SARSAT Avariynich Sudow - Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System LEO Low Earth Orbit
COTS Commercial off-the-shelf (product) GPS Global Positioning System LiDAR Light Detection And Ranging
CPU Central Processing Unit GRC Galileo Reference Centre LNA Low-Noise Amplifier
CRPA Controlled radiation pattern antenna GSA European GNSS Agency LPV Localizer Performance with Vertical guidance
102 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 ANNEXES ANNEX 5: LIST OF ACRONYMS

ANNEX 5: LIST OF ACRONYMS (2/2)

LPWAN Low Power Wide Area Network PPP Precise Point Positioning SSR State Space Representation
LTE Long-Term Evolution, commonly known as 4G LTE PPS Pulse Per Second SPP Single Point Position
MAC Master Auxiliary Concept (NRTK protocol) PRS Public Regulated Service SSU Synchronisation Supply Units
MAC Message Authentication Code PRTC Primary Reference Time Clock SyncE Synchronous Ethernet
MCS Mission Critical Services PTC Positive Train Control T&S Timing and Synchronisation
MEMS Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems PTP Precision Time Protocol TCXO Temperature Controlled Crystal Oscillator
MEO Medium Earth Orbit PVT Position, Velocity, Timing TESLA Timed Efficient Stream Loss-Tolerant Authentication
MEOLUT Medium Earth Orbit Local User Terminal PZ-90 Parametry Zemli 1990 (Parameters of the Earth 1990) TF Triple Frequency
MEOSAR Medium Earth Orbit Search and Rescue satellites QZSS Quasi-Zenith Satellite System TGRS Tri-GNSS Radio-occultation System
MF Medium Frequency QZSST Quasi Zenith Satellite System Time TOA Time Of Arrival
MGEX Multi-GNSS Experiment and Pilot Project R&D Research and Development TRF Time Reference Facility
MIoT Massive Internet of Things R&I Research and Innovation TSG Time Signal Generator
MMS Mobile Mapping System RAIM Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring TSI Technical Specifications for Interoperability
MOPS Minimum Operational Performance Standards RFC Request for Comments TTA Time-to-Alert
MRT Main Reference Times RFID Radio-Frequency Identification TTFF Time-To-First-Fix
MSAS MTSAT Satellite Augmentation System RF Radio-Frequency TT&C Telemetry, Tracking & Control
NavIC Navigation with Indian Constellation: Operational name of the Indian RF Russian Federation T-RAIM Time-Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring
Regional Navigational Satellite System
RFI Radio-Frequency Interference TCXO Temperature Compensated Crystal Oscillator
NMA Navigation Message Authentication
RGB Red Green Blue UAM Urban Air Mobility
NMEA National Marine Electronics Association
RINEX Receiver Independent Exchange Format UAS Unmanned Aircraft System
NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RLM Return Link Message UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
NSP Navigation System Panel
RLS Return Link Service UCAR University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
NTP Network Time Protocol
RNP Required Navigation Performance UHF Ultra-High Frequency
NTRIP Network Transport of RTCM via Internet Protocol
RNSS Regional Navigation Satellite System ULS Galileo Uplink Station
NRTK Network Real Time Kinematic
RSMC Regional Short Message Communication USAF US Air Force
NWP Numerical Weather Prediction
OBU On-Board Unit RTCA Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics UT User Terminal
OCX Next Generation Operational Control Segment (GPS) RTCM Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services UTC Coordinated Universal Time
OCXO Oven Controlled Crystal Oscillator RTK Real Time Kinematic UTM UAS Traffic Management System
ODTS Orbit Determination and Time Synchronisation. SAR Search and Rescue UWB Ultra Wide Band
OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer SAR Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) V2I Vehicle-to-Infrastructure
OS (Galileo) Open Service SARPs Standards and Recommended Practices V2N Vehicle-to-Network
OS-NMA Open Service Navigation Message Authentication SBAS Satellite Based Augmentation System V2P Vehicle-to-Pedestrian
OSR Observation Space Representation SCE Spreading Code Encryption V2V Vehicle-to-Vehicle
OTAR Over The Air Rekeying SDCM System for Differential Corrections and Monitoring V2X Vehicle-to-everything
OTT Optical Time Transfer SEC Synchronous Equipment Clock VBS or VRS Virtual Base Station or Virtual Reference Station
PBN Performance Based Navigation SESAR Single European Sky ATM Research VBTS Virtual Balise Transmission System
PCO Phase Center Offset SF/DF/TF Single/Dual/Triple Frequency VR Virtual Reality
PCV Phase Center Variation SIMOPS Simultaneous Operation VRS Virtual Reference Station
PDV Packet Delay Variation SLAM Simultaneous Location And Mapping V-ARAIM Vertical-ARAIM
PKI Public Key Infrastructure SLAS Sub-metre Level Augmentation Service (QZSS) WAAS Wide Area Augmentation System
PLB Personal Locator Beacon SoC System on Chip WGS-84 World Geodetic System 1984
PLL Phase-locked loop SoL Safety of Life WiFi Wireless Fidelity. Wireless communication protocols standardised by
PND Portable Navigation Device SORA Specific Operations Risk Assessment IEEE 802.11 (ISO/CEI 8802-11)
PNT Positioning, Navigation and Timing SPAN Southern Positioning Augmentation Network WP Work Programme
PPK Post-Processing Kinematic SQM Signal Quality Monitoring WR White Rabbit
 ANNEX 6: METHODOLOGY ANNEXES GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020
103

ANNEX 6: METHODOLOGY USED FOR CREATING THE GNSS USER TECHNOLOGY REPORT

This GNSS User Technology Report is an output of the GSA’s internal Technology Monitoring The analysis includes all major receiver manufacturers in Europe and worldwide: Apple (Intel),
Process (TMP). Bdstar (Unicore), Brandywine Communications, Broadcom, Cobham, Collins Aerospace, DJI,
Eca, Elprom, Esterline, Frequency Electronics, Furuno, Garmin, Gmt, Gorgy Timing, Hemisphere
It complements the market monitoring and forecasting process behind the GSA`s GNSS Market
(Agjunction, Stonex), Hexagon AB (Leica, Novatel), Hi-target, Honeywell, Huace (Chcnav), Huawei
Report, and its objective is to monitor trends and developments in the GNSS supply industry.
(Hisilicon), Jackson Labs, John Deere (Navcom), JRC, Kongsberg, Microchip, Mediatek, Meinberg,
It supports the GSA in defining the best strategy to support Galileo market adoption; provides
Microsemi, Navico, Orolia, Oscilloquartz, Qualcomm, Raven Industries, Samsung, Seiko Solutions,
updated statistics on Galileo penetration in user terminals and chipsets; and analyses Galileo’s
Septentrio, Seven Solutions, STMicroelectronics, Thales Avionics, Topcon, Trimble, u-blox, Unisoc.
positioning among other GNSS and location technologies.
Military / defence receivers, chipsets and modules are not discussed in this report.
Part of the process is to keep up-to-date independent analysis, which assesses the capabilities of
receivers, chipsets and modules currently available on the market. For the analysis, whose outputs The information contained within this report is a compilation of in-house knowledge, scientific
are visible not only on pages dedicated to receiver`s capabilities in all macrosegments, each device papers, receiver and other user technology manufacturers’ websites and, if needed, has been veri-
is weighted equally, regardless of whether it is a chipset or a receiver, and no matter what its sales fied by consultation with experts in the relevant domain.
volume is. The results should therefore be interpreted not as the split of constellations utilised by
end-users, but rather the split of constellations available in manufacturers’ offerings.

Disclaimer
The GNSS User Technology Report Issue 3 preparation was carried out by the European GNSS Agency in cooperation with the European Commission and with the support of FDC, Egis, Evenflow,
Université Gustave Eiffel, VVA and LE Europe.
Although the Agency has taken utmost care in checking the reasonableness of assumptions and results, the Agency accepts no responsibility for the further use made of the content of the Report.
Any comments to improve the next issue are welcome and should be addressed to: [email protected]
104 GNSS User Technology Report | Issue 3, 2020 ANNEXES ANNEX 7: ABOUT THE AUTHORS

The European Commission The European GNSS Agency (GSA)

European Commission (EC) is responsible for management of the The GSA’s mission is to support European Union objectives and achieve the
European satellite navigation programmes, Galileo and EGNOS, highest return on European GNSS investment, in terms of benefits to users and
including: economic growth and competitiveness, by:

• Management of funds allocated to the programmes; • Designing and enabling services that fully respond to user needs, while continuously improving
the European GNSS services and infrastructures;
• Supervising the implementation of all activities related to the programmes;
• Managing the provision of quality services that ensure user satisfaction in the most cost-efficient
• Ensuring clear division of responsibilities and tasks in particular between the European GNSS
manner;
Agency and European Space Agency;
• Engaging market stakeholders to develop innovative and effective applications, value-added
• Ensuring proper reporting on the programme to the Member States of the EU, to the European
services and user technology that promote the achievement of full European GNSS adoption;
Parliament and to the Council of the European Union.
• Ensuring that European GNSS services and operations are thoroughly secure, safe and accessible.
The Galileo and EGNOS programmes are entirely financed by the European Union.

The authors would like to convey special thanks to the contributors of this report:
• Galileo Services;
• Companies providing testimonials: Broadcom, ICaune, FieldBee, f.u.n.k.e, Google, Hexagon,
Microchip, Rokubun, Septentrio, Sony, Trimble, Unifly.
105
Integrated Market Development at the GSA
The GSA GNSS User Technology Report is a product of ongoing market development and
technology monitoring activities that aim to:

• Stay close to the user and the value chain: involving GNSS users, downstream industry, experts
and other stakeholders in key market segments by managing relationships with stakeholders,
organising and participating in user and industry fora, identifying needs and assessing stake-
holder satisfaction.

• Monitor GNSS market and technology: forecasting future developments by market segment,
including regular collection, modelling and expert validation of current information, drivers and
assumptions; analysis of the GNSS downstream industry market share; cost-benefit analyses
of the European GNSS Programmes and future scenarios; monitoring trends in positioning
technology; and tracking of E-GNSS penetration.

• Build and implement E-GNSS market strategy with market players and institutional
stakeholders: fostering the use of E-GNSS in all GNSS market segments; promoting integra-
tion of E-GNSS inside chipsets, receivers and devices; organising workshops and testing; and
supporting EU industry business development and competitiveness.

• Manage EU-funded R&D on GNSS applications and services within FP7 & H2020
programmes: leveraging results for E-GNSS adoption and EU industry competitiveness, includ-
ing ~400 demonstrations of E-GNSS applications; 90 products, 300 prototypes, 25 patents/
trademarks – with more results on the way.

• Manage EU-funded R&D on GNSS chipsets, receivers and antennas: gearing these end-prod-
ucts to end-users from all segments, aiming to support the EU industry with grants or tenders/
procurements tailored to meet current and future user needs.

The European GNSS Agency: linking space to user needs.

[email protected] © 2020 European GNSS Agency

www.gsa.europa.eu Copyright note: This information can be republished without charge provided the
European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged. If you do republish, we would be
@EU_GNSS
grateful if you link back to the GSA website (www.gsa.europa.eu).
@EGNOSPortal
Facebook.com/EuropeanGnssAgency ISBN 978-92-9206-049-7 TS-AD-20-001-EN-N